2023 U20 CONCACAF Championship and U23 Olympic Qualification to be merged in a tournament in Summer 2022

[VinceA]

1 hour ago, Pottsy3 said:

We felt disjointed between the defense -> midfield, and the midfield -> attack.

Our defending off the ball was great, but our backline looked like deer in headlines when in possession, especially Campagna who was prone to turnover. 

Everything has already been said about Smith. Zouhir was one of the more disappointing pieces for me. I expected more from a player who CF Montreal has trusted with main team appearances 11 times. I thought Pellegrino showed some promising creativity, but was a bit out of his element. Catavolo was a little spark plug, reminiscent of the last few caps when Herdman used Teibert as a late sub.

Attacking wise, it felt like we had nothing in the wings and that honestly might be down to tactics. There was no "beating them wide", and oftentimes it felt like Lowell Wright was on an island, sort of like a Cyle Larin on a pre-2019 CanMNT. 

Not going to right off any individuals from that showing, but hell that group did not seem to mesh well.

I agree with the wide players. For all their hype Assi and Habibullah looked very underwhelming.

[TOcanadafan]

It’s bordering on pathetic that we haven’t qualified for the U20 World Cup since 2005.  I know Herdman has been given ultimate responsibility for everything, but the amount of restructuring that is needed to our elite youth program is too big for just him alone.  I think it’s also a reflection of the poor quality of the coaching/development at Canadian MLS academies - they have a lot of money / resources yet we consistently complain about the quality of our prospects (no touch, technical ability or tactical awareness compared to their age group peers from other nations).

Edited June 27, 2022 by TOcanadafan

[Big_M]

3 of the 4 teams that got qualification directly to the knockout stage got smashed in the round of 16...another format masterpiece by montagliani

[narduch]

2 minutes ago, Big_M said:

3 of the 4 teams that got qualification directly to the knockout stage got smashed in the round of 16...another format masterpiece by montagliani

And if you include the Women's U17 and U20 from earlier this year, only 1 of 12 teams have advanced.

Good thing next year's Men's U17 Concacaf Qualifying will use the same format.

[VinceA]

The Dominican Republic are going to the U20 WC!

[Stryker911]

On 6/27/2022 at 1:18 PM, Big_M said:

3 of the 4 teams that got qualification directly to the knockout stage got smashed in the round of 16...another format masterpiece by montagliani

The other one qualified for the world cup...

[xabuep2]

And the other surprise of the day: Guatemala to the U-20 World Cup. Mexico is left with nothing in its hands. There will be an unexpected Concacaf qualifier for Paris 2024.

[Unnamed Trialist]

Dominican Republic, just went through their players.

Most play in the national league, in various teams. You can't say the level is higher than CPL so arguments about "the talent being there or not" are irrelevant. Then they have two guys at Inter Miami, the keeper is at Houston Dynamo, and a defender at Real Oviedo in Spain. So basically not even a team founded on the Dominican exile, or on guys on stronger teams abroad, all the more merit to their accomplishment.

Just yesterday I read an interview with a former Barça player from the 80s, Ramon Calderé, who coaches some of them on a Dominican team, Jarabacoa. He never said it was not totally modest, but did argue the potential for improvement was there. But still, a major accomplishment (the interview was really about a famous reffing scandal from the 80s).

Of course Guatemala taking out Mexico only partially softens the blow to us, at least we can say that the team that beat us in penalties was actually decent and nothing to look down on.

Edited June 30, 2022 by Unnamed Trialist

[CanadaFan123]

One of Guatemala and the Dominican Republic will go to the Olympics. Wow. Glad this joke format blew up in CONCACAFs face. 

[JamboAl]

3 hours ago, CanadaFan123 said:

One of Guatemala and the Dominican Republic will go to the Olympics. Wow. Glad this joke format blew up in CONCACAFs face. 

Disagree.  Why was it a joke format?  I like seeing other teams making the big boys look bad (sometimes that is us that is the “other teams” and sometimes it’s us that is the “big boys”).

If sports were predictable, it would be boring.

[narduch]

3 minutes ago, JamboAl said:

Disagree.  Why was it a joke format?  I like seeing other teams making the big boys look bad (sometimes that is us that is the “other teams” and sometimes it’s us that is the “big boys”).

If sports were predictable, it would be boring.

Parachuting in 4 teams at the knock out stage is kinda stupid 

[JamboAl]

2 hours ago, narduch said:

Parachuting in 4 teams at the knock out stage is kinda stupid 

I think it’s a bit outside the box and don’t mind it.  It’s nowhere near as crazy as using FIFA rankings to determine the HEX positions.

[ADP10]

6 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Of course Guatemala taking out Mexico only partially softens the blow to us, at least we can say that the team that beat us in penalties was actually decent and nothing to look down on.

or you could argue it hurts more because it could have been us 🥹

[Unnamed Trialist]

21 minutes ago, ADP10 said:

or you could argue it hurts more because it could have been us 🥹

The majority opinion here seemed to be "we were going to lose to Mexico anyways", so the Guatemala loss did not matter.

Which shows the lack of mentality amongst the fan base which coincides with the team's psychological fragility.

Irks me that Guatemalans and Dominicans believe in themselves and Canadians are so weak-minded that we need a golden generation and a mental wizard at the helm to get into the right mindset.

[xabuep2]

6 hours ago, JamboAl said:

Disagree.  Why was it a joke format?  I like seeing other teams making the big boys look bad (sometimes that is us that is the “other teams” and sometimes it’s us that is the “big boys”).

If sports were predictable, it would be boring.

The only thing that doesn't fit me is doing two qualifiers in a single tournament. The CONCACAF used an u23 tournament for the qualifications to the Olympic Games. I guess they decided to save a little.

[Kadenge]

2 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

The majority opinion here seemed to be "we were going to lose to Mexico anyways", so the Guatemala loss did not matter.

Which shows the lack of mentality amongst the fan base which coincides with the team's psychological fragility.

Irks me that Guatemalans and Dominicans believe in themselves and Canadians are so weak-minded that we need a golden generation and a mental wizard at the helm to get into the right mindset.

very true, but this U20 team performed poorly in each of the 3 pool games and then did it again in the knockout. The Men's team turned it on after the firs game v Honduras and never looked back until after they qualified in Qatar..and that was after solid performances vs Suriname & Haiti in WCQ and the 2021 GC

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

1 hour ago, xabuep2 said:

The only thing that doesn't fit me is doing two qualifiers in a single tournament....Olympic Games.

Exactly. I disagree with @narduch; I like the format, I just hate that there is no Olympic Qualifying anymore; it is so sad.

[Unnamed Trialist]

10 minutes ago, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

Exactly. I disagree with @narduch; I like the format, I just hate that there is no Olympic Qualifying anymore; it is so sad.

I just assume they consolidated for reasons of the pandemic. 

A separate Olympic qualifying tournament makes sense as the rosters are different. You could be playing u21s i think who'd still be eligible. Then you could let the younger guys on our senior team go to an Olympics with those who'd qualified. 

[Soro17]

On 6/27/2022 at 6:31 AM, VinceA said:

I agree with the wide players. For all their hype Assi and Habibullah looked very underwhelming.

Habibullah was miscast as a wide player. He is best centrally in tight places where he can use his skill and creativity. He is never going to burn anyone wide, which is why he kept trying to cut inside. 

[Colonel Green]

9 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

The majority opinion here seemed to be "we were going to lose to Mexico anyways", so the Guatemala loss did not matter.

Which shows the lack of mentality amongst the fan base which coincides with the team's psychological fragility.

Is it really a "lack of mentality" to be able to accurately assess the team's prospects? Nothing we saw from this team suggested they were fit to go all the way.

[SpursFlu]

Who would have ever guessed Dominican Republic would get good at soccer? 

[Unnamed Trialist]

10 hours ago, Colonel Green said:

Is it really a "lack of mentality" to be able to accurately assess the team's prospects? Nothing we saw from this team suggested they were fit to go all the way.

If a bunch of kids playing semi pro in Dominican Republic can qualify, the whole perceptions/objective quality argument is bs. Train to win and play over your head. 

 

[CanadaFan123]

On 6/30/2022 at 9:51 AM, JamboAl said:

Disagree.  Why was it a joke format?  I like seeing other teams making the big boys look bad (sometimes that is us that is the “other teams” and sometimes it’s us that is the “big boys”).

If sports were predictable, it would be boring.

I completely agree and I’m glad they made the u20 World Cup. But these teams shouldn’t be auto qualifying to the most exclusive tournament, which features players born in 2001 or later who don’t even get a shot to qualify. 
 

Why is u23 qualifying cancelled this go around? It makes no sense other than they thought that the USA and Mexico would waltz in this way. They didn’t and hence why I’m glad this joke format blew up. 

[solsous]

1 hour ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

If a bunch of kids playing semi pro in Dominican Republic can qualify, the whole perceptions/objective quality argument is bs. Train to win and play over your head. 

 

I wonder if some of the DR kids are based in the US?

[narduch]

5 minutes ago, solsous said:

I wonder if some of the DR kids are based in the US?

Mostly domestic based.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominican_Republic_national_under-20_football_team