WCQ | Window 1 | Match Day 3: Canada vs El Salvador- Wednesday, Sept 8th, 7:30pm Eastern / 4:30pm Pacific - Toronto, BMO Field

[Grandbloke]

1 hour ago, WestHamCanadianinOxford said:

We tried to blow Honduras away and it didn't work.  Let's really play three in midfield control the game.  El Salvador are a good team and we will have to work but we don't have to rely on moments of brilliance to win.  A good team depth performance will do it in my opinion.   A 352 or 451/433 with three central midfielders is what we need, I think. 

 

I know it is a must win and I know it we can't underestimate El Salvador, but also, some people need some rest at some point if we want them back in decent shape for the later windows.

Eustaquio for one has played 14 games in the last 8 weeks, vast majority 90'.  The biggest break in the last year was between June 16th (WCQ Haiti game) and July 12th (Gold Cup).  If my math holds up.   He slated to play again on Saturday afternoon, and if plays against El Salvador, he will start at the equivalent of 1:30 am on Thursday. 

Wotherspoon has not played a lot lately and red card aside, has been praised as being in the form of his career by Scottish commentators. Give him a go in there with two others.

Lille play on Friday night, so we either go all in with him and he misses that, to play against Wolfsburg on Tuesday or he is out. 

Vitoria plays Sunday, and they have few other commitments so go with him.

Would really, really be nice to get big minutes out of Cavallini but whether you injure him again, if he is just able to come back, is the risk. 

So here is what I got, feel free to tell me it is not good enough but there would be a ton on the bench to change the game with 5 subs if needed. 

 

----------------------David-------------

---------------------Hoillett------------

Buchanan Wotherspoon Atiba Laryea 

---------------------Piette-------------

---------------Miller Vitoria Henry-----

---------------------Borjan------------

 

Looks good. I would start Osorio instead of Atiba. After 60 minutes bring in Cavallini for David or Hoilett, and if Davies is good to go, sub him in for Buchanan or Laryea.

[shorty]

I like the idea of David withdrawn and Cavallini leading and bashing for 60. Plus we left 2-3 hard driven balls through the six on the table that others have pointed out Cava would have tapped in. For that you need non-inverted wingers/wingbacks. That suggests Davies on the left for as long as you can and Buchanan on the right. Get goals early and put it to bed.

So, similar to the above, but bring on Larin when Cava is done. Replace Davies with Adekugbe if you still want width on the left or Laryea, either on the right with Buchanan switching to the left or staying tucked in on the left.  Hoilett for David if you’re chasing which means David hasn’t produced; bring on Piette, Hutch, etc if you’re locking it down. I actually like Henry a lot but only in the center of a back 3 or right side of a back 4.  I think Johnston and Eustaquio will be the iron men though if the two I gave Johnston the better chance of going a third 90.

                 Cava

                 David

      Wotherspoon Osorio

                 Eustaquio 

Davies                        Buchanan

    Miller   Vitoria   Johnston

Edited September 6, 2021 by shorty

[Kadenge]

The cumulative impact of 3 matches in 7 days plus some travel is starting to take a toll on some players. Davies looked totally gassed last night and Johnston made some poor tackles which maybe due to fatigue. Ritchie has done a lot of running in 2 games. No idea who JH starts but both Oso and Kaye have had few minutes. ZBG would have slotted nicely at RWB for at least 60 mins to allow Laryea to come on as a sub...

 

 

 

[dyslexic nam]

10 minutes ago, Kadenge said:

The cumulative impact of 3 matches in 7 days plus some travel is starting to take a toll on some players. Davies looked totally gassed last night and Johnston made some poor tackles which maybe due to fatigue. Ritchie has done a lot of running in 2 games. No idea who JH starts but both Oso and Kaye have had few minutes. ZBG would have slotted nicely at RWB for at least 60 mins to allow Laryea to come on as a sub...

 

 

 

Of all the guys who missed out, ZBG is one that I feel bad for.  He looks really good for Montreal and he has been consistently solid for them since last season.  It know it is just due to the talent we have on the right side with Johnston, Laryea, and Buchanan, but I am still hoping that Brault Guillard gets a chance to strut his stuff during this process.  I definitely think he is at that level.   

Edited September 6, 2021 by dyslexic nam

[JohnnyFranchise]

3 hours ago, WestHamCanadianinOxford said:

We tried to blow Honduras away and it didn't work.  Let's really play three in midfield control the game.  El Salvador are a good team and we will have to work but we don't have to rely on moments of brilliance to win.  A good team depth performance will do it in my opinion.   A 352 or 451/433 with three central midfielders is what we need, I think. 

 

I know it is a must win and I know it we can't underestimate El Salvador, but also, some people need some rest at some point if we want them back in decent shape for the later windows.

Eustaquio for one has played 14 games in the last 8 weeks, vast majority 90'.  The biggest break in the last year was between June 16th (WCQ Haiti game) and July 12th (Gold Cup).  If my math holds up.   He slated to play again on Saturday afternoon, and if plays against El Salvador, he will start at the equivalent of 1:30 am on Thursday. 

Wotherspoon has not played a lot lately and red card aside, has been praised as being in the form of his career by Scottish commentators. Give him a go in there with two others.

Lille play on Friday night, so we either go all in with him and he misses that, to play against Wolfsburg on Tuesday or he is out. 

Vitoria plays Sunday, and they have few other commitments so go with him.

Would really, really be nice to get big minutes out of Cavallini but whether you injure him again, if he is just able to come back, is the risk. 

So here is what I got, feel free to tell me it is not good enough but there would be a ton on the bench to change the game with 5 subs if needed. 

 

----------------------David-------------

---------------------Hoillett------------

Buchanan Wotherspoon Atiba Laryea 

---------------------Piette-------------

---------------Miller Vitoria Henry-----

---------------------Borjan------------

 

That is a very good point and I like the lineup except I'd swap oso in for wotherspoon. I'm a big fan of vitoria AND henry in the back end.

[apbsmith]

5 hours ago, canuckgbp said:

El Salvador didn't rotate last night. Same lineups for last two games. They are a young team but will have tired legs. 

El Salvador are playing well and will be tough. They haven't been sitting back and they want possession. Think we have an opportunity to expose them. 

They have Zavaleta anchoring the back... and as we know he can be exposed. They don't have real quality on paper but they seem to be *playing better then the sum of their parts as we saw in GC and WCQ so far.*

 

Even though at home those are excellent results for them vs Honduras and USA. 

Also, except for about the first 10 mins of their match vs Qatar in the Gold Cup they have played fairly quality soccer. 

Down 3-0 they also were inches away of completing the full 3-3 comeback. 

We need to beat them, we can beat them, but it definitely by no means is a walkover. 

We can't panic if things don't go our way early or late, which so far we have proven we don't. 

Edited September 6, 2021 by apbsmith

[sstackho]

IS DAVIES OK 

IS DAVIES OK 

IS DAVIES OK 

IS DAVIES OK 

IS DAVIES OK 

<refreshes Twitter>

[gator]

1 hour ago, sstackho said:

IS DAVIES OK 

IS DAVIES OK 

IS DAVIES OK 

IS DAVIES OK 

IS DAVIES OK 

<refreshes Twitter>

They mentioned on the post match show they don't expect we will see much of him even if healthy, Bayern Munich would be less than thrilled if we ran him into the ground and there is more likely to be a niggle to keep him from being released in future windows! It's bullshit but that's the way it is, I feel that way about QPR striker Lyndon Dykes when I see him playing so many tough minutes for Scotland and then comes back to the club tired and crocked! The bottom line is these guys earn their money playing club football and no matter how dedicated they are to playing for their country they have to look after their careers!

[RS]

 

[trc2014]

 

sooo yeah, lets just hope he’s good for October at this point.

Edited September 6, 2021 by trc2014

[Floortom]

10 minutes ago, trc2014 said:

 

sooo yeah, lets just hope he’s good for October at this point.

I thought it was just cramps…surprised they got an MRI. Regardless, think we have to assume he won’t be playing on Wednesday for sure. Obviously we still have more than enough to beat El Salvador at home without Davies

[Approve My Account Pls]

 

edit: ps how do i embed a tweet, can someone explain 

Edited September 6, 2021 by Approve My Account Pls

[jtpc]

@Approve My Account Pls I wondered the exact same thing. Here are the steps:

- In Twitter on the tweet you want, click on the 3 dots on the right hand side of the tweet
- Click embed tweet
- A new window will open. Copy the url in the "What would you like to embed?" box
- Paste the url into the box you would type a reply in on a thread and click submit reply

[Stryker911]

I refuse to be intimidated by a team that has Zavaletta as their starting CB. Maybe it's a tough place to play away, but I'm sure he will revert to his normal form in Toronto.

Side note. Is this game for sure on OneSoccer. I don't have Sportsnet 1.

Edited September 6, 2021 by Stryker911

[jtpc]

The mystery code seats in 126 have now sold as well!

[RS]

16 minutes ago, jtpc said:

@Approve My Account Pls I wondered the exact same thing. Here are the steps:

- In Twitter on the tweet you want, click on the 3 dots on the right hand side of the tweet
- Click embed tweet
- A new window will open. Copy the url in the "What would you like to embed?" box
- Paste the url into the box you would type a reply in on a thread and click submit reply

You don't need to do all that. Just cut and paste the URL from the tweet itself into this forum and it will do the rest.

 

[narduch]

Alright so which Marriott is this?

[EJsens1]

16 minutes ago, Stryker911 said:

I refuse to be intimidated by a team that has Zavaletta as their starting CB. Maybe it's a tough place to play away, but I'm sure he will revert to his normal form in Toronto.

Side note. Is this game for sure on OneSoccer. I don't have Sportsnet 1.

Yes it is on OneSoccer 

[Blackjack15]

 

Edited September 6, 2021 by Blackjack15

[RS]

Apparently El Salvador flew commercial to Toronto today, not charter.

https://www.elgrafico.com/futbol/Hara-cambios-Hugo-Perez-para-el-juego-ante-Canada--20210906-0017.html

[JamboAl]

45 minutes ago, RS said:

You don't need to do all that. Just cut and paste the URL from the tweet itself into this forum and it will do the rest.

 

The one at the Rogers Centre.  Wonder where our team is at?

[CanadaFan123]

30 minutes ago, RS said:

Apparently El Salvador flew commercial to Toronto today, not charter.

https://www.elgrafico.com/futbol/Hara-cambios-Hugo-Perez-para-el-juego-ante-Canada--20210906-0017.html

They had a bunch of fans waiting at Pearson this afternoon when we landed from Nashville. 

[red card]

10 hours ago, canuckgbp said:

100%. It is a must win. If we can't beat El Salvador at home then I don't think we will qualify. We need to be ruthless in these home games. 

El Salvador isn't a deep team and they started the exact same lineup last two matches. Odds are if everyone is healthy they will trot out the same one. 

Herdman can't get cute. We were playing well during the USA game to start and then he tried a 4-4-2 high press and we almost got burned several times. Stick to what works, we have the quality. 

3 points. We can't settle for anything less especially after how the Honduras game went. 

It's not being cute. They don't believe one strategy will work for the whole match as the opposing teams will eventually adjust and/or the players being relied upon the most to execute will get wore down.

Herdman did this with the women's team and has continued it. They have pre-set plans for every 15-20 minutes - maybe 30. They won't shift materially in every phase and not every shift will work but in the bigger picture of a whole match, it keeps the opposing team off balance.

Certainly many of the opposing players will have a hard time adjusting on the fly and will need to rely upon the skills of their manager to direct them. It's also taking advantage of the various Canadian players that can play multiple positions and hybrid positions - something Herdman has regularly mentioned he looks for in player selection.

People have started to notice as one question to GGG before the match described Canada's soccer as complex, unpredictable and shifty. And I believe Platt in yesterday's post game OS show also noted it.

Edited September 6, 2021 by red card

[canuckgbp]

17 minutes ago, red card said:

It's not being cute. They don't believe one strategy will work for the whole match as the opposing teams will eventually adjust and/or the players being relied upon the most to execute will get wore down.

Herdman did this with the women's team and has continued it. They have pre-set plans for every 15-20 minutes - maybe 30. They won't shift materially in every phase and not every shift will work but in the bigger picture of a whole match, it keeps the opposing team off balance.

Certainly many of the opposing players will have a hard time adjusting on the fly and will need to rely upon the skills of their manager to direct them. It's also taking advantage of the various Canadian players that can play multiple positions and hybrid positions - something Herdman has regularly mentioned he looks for in player selection.

People have started to notice as one question to GGG before the match described Canada's soccer as complex, unpredictable and shifty. And I believe Platt in yesterday's post game OS show also noted it.

So regardless of what is happening on the field a "pre-set" plan will happen? The team was playing well, absorbing pressure and countering. USA looked out of ideas. Why make a switch? He does the "pre-planned" adjustment and chaos ensues. You have to manage on the fly and base your decisions on what the game is giving you. 

In the last two matches these "pre-planned" switches have not worked. In Honduras we gave up a goal and rendered both wing players useless. In this one it was pure chaos until we switched back. 

It is getting cute because he feels the need to tinker. Obviously if we are getting overrun or the other team is doing something that is exposing us then going to a plan to counter that is smart. 

With Honduras he way over thought it. 4-4-2 in defence but in attack Laryea in the midfield where he hasn't played in years? Switching Davies and Tajon because it was pre-planned? 

Edit- nothing complex about a 5-4-1 low block and a deadly counter. They couldn't break it down, they were slow to cycle the ball. It was working. It was a good setup. 

 

 

Edited September 6, 2021 by canuckgbp

[canuckgbp]