WCQ: Third Round - Window 2 (October 7-13, 2021)

[canuckgbp]

The average squad called by the other 7 Nations was about 28 players last window. 

-Jamaica called more then they usually would (32 I think) but they had those covid protocols to deal with. 

-USA I think had 4 injuries before and during the window and didn't replace all of them I believe. 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 28, 2021 by canuckgbp

[Shway]

3 hours ago, trc2014 said:

So come up with three names.

we also have to get over a larger than 23 person squad - JH all but confirmed on the OneSoccer interview this wasn’t happening.

I wasn’t against those names, just stating the obvious.

Would like to see Ennin though.

[Yoginess]

19 hours ago, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

5 players

Vitória, Laryea, Kaye, Buchanan, Adekugbe 

Wonder if any of them take an "Eustaquio yellow" in the Mexico match

[dyslexic nam]

1 hour ago, Yoginess said:

Wonder if any of them take an "Eustaquio yellow" in the Mexico match

I am not sure why they would.  To me the Jamaica game is there for taking.  I think we could grab 3 huge road points in Kingston - which is why I am not a fan of going with our absolute best 11 against Mexico in a game that historically we just don’t win.  We have a better chance of beating Jamaica away than Mexico, so not sure why we would have someone intentionally miss out on the Jamaica game.  And if we happen to miss one or two of those guys when we host Panama, I think we still have the firepower to get the job done.  Not underestimating them - but we need to be able to handle teams like that at home during this stage.  

[EJsens1]

1 hour ago, dyslexic nam said:

I am not sure why they would.  To me the Jamaica game is there for taking.  I think we could grab 3 huge road points in Kingston - which is why I am not a fan of going with our absolute best 11 against Mexico in a game that historically we just don’t win.  We have a better chance of beating Jamaica away than Mexico, so not sure why we would have someone intentionally miss out on the Jamaica game.  And if we happen to miss one or two of those guys when we host Panama, I think we still have the firepower to get the job done.  Not underestimating them - but we need to be able to handle teams like that at home during this stage.  

I don’t think we should just concede the Mexico game by playing a weak line up.  I think getting a point is achievable.  Tough?  For sure and probably unlikely.  We’ll see what the roster is like next week but I think we have strong enough depth to hang with them 

[theaub]

11 hours ago, EJsens1 said:

I don’t think we should just concede the Mexico game by playing a weak line up.  I think getting a point is achievable.  Tough?  For sure and probably unlikely.  We’ll see what the roster is like next week but I think we have strong enough depth to hang with them 

The last sentence contradicts the first here but I agree with the general idea.  I think we will play a "weaker" lineup against Mexico, but that is a signficiantly stronger side than it has been in any previous cycle.

Personally though, if Davies/Layrea/Buchanan didn't touch the field in Mexico I wouldn't be losing any sleep.  4-6 points is the goal this window and its pretty clear where those should be coming from.

[mrstepp817]

I've been a fan of playing the long game in these 3-game windows.....I think you shoot for 3 vs Jamaica and Panama....you play a "rotational side" at Mexico and if there's points to be had late you bring on some key subs for 15-20 min...everyone has to play a rotational side in one of these games in the 3-game window at some point

 

Its just hard for me to justify running out your key guys in Mexico at altitude and then they aren't available for the Jamaica game which I think is more important in the big picture

[CanadaFan123]

Quite honestly I don't think a rotated side is a significant drop off anyhow. We have the personnel to be competitive against anyone in the region as we showed vs. Mexico at the Gold Cup and again vs. the States. 

[dyslexic nam]

FWIW, I don’t think that rotating some players for the Mexico game is the same as just “conceding” the game.  Every guy on our roster is capable of getting a result.   

What I am advocating is being strategic with how we approach the game.   Maybe Eustaquio could play all 270 minutes of the window (with the first 90 minutes at altitude) but Piette is really strong defensively so giving him the start in that one would allow us to defend while keeping ‘Staq fresh for the other two.   We could use Cav to smash and bang the Mexican CB, rather than David for the bulk of the game.   Maybe we only play Davies for the second half so that he isn’t going flat out the whole time.  Etc.  That isn’t tossing in the towel - it is being tactical about how we approach our most difficult game of this entire process (away to Mexico) in the context of a 3 match window where the first game is played at extreme altitude.   

Edited September 28, 2021 by dyslexic nam

[CanadaFan123]

9 minutes ago, dyslexic nam said:

FWIW, I don’t think that rotating some players for the Mexico game is the same as just “conceding” the game.  Every guy on our roster is capable of getting a result.   

What I am advocating is being strategic with how we approach the game.   Maybe Eustaquio could play all 270 minutes of the window (with the first 90 minutes at altitude) but Piette is really strong defensively so giving him the start in that one would allow us to defend while keeping ‘Staq fresh for the other two.   We could use Cav to smash and bang the Mexican CB, rather than David for the bulk of the game.   Maybe we only play Davies for the second half so that he isn’t going flat out the whole time.  Etc.  That isn’t tossing in the towel - it is being tactical about how we approach our most difficult game of this entire process (away to Mexico) in the context of a 3 match window where the first game is played at extreme altitude.   

I think we need Eustaquio in Mexico, no question. I'd go with Kaye-Osorio and Stache in midfield. 

Basically I'd go with the same lineup as in the Gold Cup except I'd have Borjan in for Crepeau, Davies in for Buchanan and Cavallini in for Akindele.

Maybe Davies doesn't go the full 90 in Mexico but he has to start. He's our big name/big game player and this is as big as it gets in CONCACAF. 

Edited September 28, 2021 by CanadaFan123

[Club Linesman]

We have already proven we can play with Mexico without our top stars.  We need at least 4 points from this window to stay competitive in the Oct.  It is unrealistic to think we will beat Mexico in Mexico so we really should start our “Gold Cup” squad and throw on the superstars if we have a chance at points in the latter part of the second half.  If we are trailing by 2 or more (highly doubtful) then they should be glued to the bench.  If it’s within a goal or tied, then we unleash Davies and David to grab points.  Playing the gunners for 90, then again vs Jamaica could be a major screw up if we finish those games on 0 points.  Then they are gassed going into a must win game vs Panama.  
We could finish this window with 7 points (amazing) or 0-1 if the  team flames out in Mexico and then Jamaica and is too bagged to get a proper result vs Panama.  The points against teams other than Mexico are way to valuable in the Oct so Herdman must be strategic in his lineups.  
He also should call more than 23 but that may be a financial limitation.

[frmr]

I'm just waiting for the freakout when Herdman goes for the win and plays our best XI against Mexico. I honestly don't see him playing a weakened side.

[MtlMario]

48 minutes ago, Club Linesman said:

He also should call more than 23 but that may be a financial limitation.

I hear what you are saying and are probably right BUT "you need money to make money". Find and spend the money now to get to the world cup and then we (the CSA) will make the money. I have to say this because I'm tired of hearing "we don't have the money". Find the f*cking cash. As a business man once told me "if your on the dance floor you better be dancing".

Edited September 28, 2021 by MtlMario

[dyslexic nam]

1 hour ago, frmr said:

I'm just waiting for the freakout when Herdman goes for the win and plays our best XI against Mexico. I honestly don't see him playing a weakened side.

Lol.  No matter what he does, there will be a sizeable cohort on here that are unhappy.  

[cronaldo7]

1 hour ago, frmr said:

I'm just waiting for the freakout when Herdman goes for the win and plays our best XI against Mexico. I honestly don't see him playing a weakened side.

I think Herdman has shown strategic acumen regarding team selection. I believe he’s treating these 3-game windows like mini-tournaments and I suspect he will not go all out with our best 11 vs Mexico, in Mexico.
 

We’ve seen it in the Gold Cup and the first window. His starting sides’ having been chosen very methodically.

[SpursFlu]

Herdman is definitely strategic. Ill give him credit for that. Unfortunately, i think at times he's a bit guilty of overthinking things

[lenny]

1 hour ago, MtlMario said:

I have to say this because I'm tired of hearing "we don't have the money".

I hear this on this board all the time, but does the CSA actually offer this as a reason to call fewer players, or not play friendlies?

[narduch]

Not good

 

[trc2014]

6 minutes ago, narduch said:

Not good

 

Time for Cornelius to step up and be the player we saw at the 2019 US game at BMO.

Unfortunate but with these tight windows we all knew there would be injuries that every team in the Ocho would be dealing with, including Canada. 

Edited September 28, 2021 by trc2014

[Stryker911]

Injury summary.

Kennedy out

Larin and Hutch not playing this week due to injury

Borjan tested positive for Covid.

I knew there would be the odd injury but 4 of probably top 15 players potentially being unavailavle is very unfortunate.

Is there anyone else that may be out?

[trc2014]

3 minutes ago, Stryker911 said:

Injury summary.

Kennedy out

Larin and Hutch not playing this week due to injury

Borjan tested positive for Covid.

I knew there would be the odd injury but 4 of probably top 15 players potentially being unavailavle is very unfortunate.

Is there anyone else that may be out?

Lucky that Crepeau is ready to step up..... 

[EJsens1]

7 hours ago, theaub said:

The last sentence contradicts the first here but I agree with the general idea.  I think we will play a "weaker" lineup against Mexico, but that is a signficiantly stronger side than it has been in any previous cycle.

Personally though, if Davies/Layrea/Buchanan didn't touch the field in Mexico I wouldn't be losing any sleep.  4-6 points is the goal this window and its pretty clear where those should be coming from.

It doesn’t contradict it at all.  My point is that we have good depth and good players that we can insert players across the window and achieving results is realistic/possible.  I truly believe that.  Is every player interchangeable?  Obviously not.  Clearly some starting 11s will be more formidable than others.

[trc2014]

I take back my initial statement...this is once again an interesting roster release.

[Yoginess]

5 hours ago, SpursFlu said:

Herdman is definitely strategic. Ill give him credit for that. Unfortunately, i think at times he's a bit guilty of overthinking things

kind of a hard thing to judge. What do you consider "overthinking"? Because realistically, it just making a call and it happening to not work out. 

I have what I believe should be done to put us in a position to getting the most points out of this window but what ever Herdman decides, he's earned my trust at this point. 

[trc2014]

22 minutes ago, Yoginess said:

kind of a hard thing to judge. What do you consider "overthinking"? Because realistically, it just making a call and it happening to not work out. 

I have what I believe should be done to put us in a position to getting the most points out of this window but what ever Herdman decides, he's earned my trust at this point. 

Sticking with a plan to switch away from a formation that was working very well mid-game against Honduras.

Edited September 28, 2021 by trc2014