WCQ: Third Round - Window 3 (November 12-16, 2021)

[pod818]

On 10/17/2021 at 8:16 PM, CanadaFan123 said:

After what we did to Costa Rica in July, if we can’t dominate them at home it’s going to be disappointing.

Costa Rica are old and slow..the Bryan Ruiz run against the USMNT exemplifies this. Its the polar opposite of the Alphonso Davies goal. He had like a 20 yard lead on the US defenders who easily caught up to him. They look older and slower than when we matched up in the Gold Cup in the summer time. I do feel our pace will be too much for them to handle. 

 

[mrstepp817]

Two game window will help an older team like Costa Rica a little bit...but still Canada should take 3 off them at home...full stop....

The Mexico game is tricky....the US/Mexico game often gets chippy so the Mexico players on yellows could be at real risk for the Canada game...but Mexico obviously has the depth to withstand a few guys on yellow suspension.....this window is really tricky for them because there's a chance they lose to the US and in Canada...if that happens I'll be interested to see what happens in Mexico because the shouting of "Fuera Tata" had calmed down since WCQ started....but man after the Gold Cup the shouts were pretty loud

[Floortom]

Just now, mrstepp817 said:

Two game window will help an older team like Costa Rica a little bit...but still Canada should take 3 off them at home...full stop....

The Mexico game is tricky....the US/Mexico game often gets chippy so the Mexico players on yellows could be at real risk for the Canada game...but Mexico obviously has the depth to withstand a few guys on yellow suspension.....this window is really tricky for them because there's a chance they lose to the US and in Canada...if that happens I'll be interested to see what happens in Mexico because the shouting of "Fuera Tata" had calmed down since WCQ started....but man after the Gold Cup the shouts were pretty loud

As I've said earlier, I am really rooting for a Mexico win vs USA in that first match.  A win gets Mexico what they need and leaves them satisfied and possibly even complacent. A loss will make them desperate for a result against us in Edmonton.

[mrstepp817]

22 minutes ago, Floortom said:

As I've said earlier, I am really rooting for a Mexico win vs USA in that first match.  A win gets Mexico what they need and leaves them satisfied and possibly even complacent. A loss will make them desperate for a result against us in Edmonton.

US has beaten Mexico last two times out...odds are getting 3 straight over them are long IMO...

[Floortom]

Just now, mrstepp817 said:

US has beaten Mexico last two times out...odds are getting 3 straight over them are long IMO...

It's hard to beat a good team three times in a row in a relatively short time period. The Mexican media is already hyping TF out of the November match. There's a lot of pressure on Mexico and Tata to win the match.

[mrstepp817]

4 minutes ago, Floortom said:

It's hard to beat a good team three times in a row in a relatively short time period. The Mexican media is already hyping TF out of the November match. There's a lot of pressure on Mexico and Tata to win the match.

Which means it'll go one of two ways in Cincy...they could come out on fire and roll..... but if its tie game or the US is up after an hour...that lemon booty factor may hit Mexico and then things go from bad to worse

[Sal333]

37 minutes ago, mrstepp817 said:

Two game window will help an older team like Costa Rica a little bit...but still Canada should take 3 off them at home...full stop....

The Mexico game is tricky....the US/Mexico game often gets chippy so the Mexico players on yellows could be at real risk for the Canada game...but Mexico obviously has the depth to withstand a few guys on yellow suspension.....this window is really tricky for them because there's a chance they lose to the US and in Canada...if that happens I'll be interested to see what happens in Mexico because the shouting of "Fuera Tata" had calmed down since WCQ started....but man after the Gold Cup the shouts were pretty loud

The Mex-USA game can easily end in a draw and I hope it does. It keeps both teams within reach. We should be aiming for 1st or 2nd overall not 3rd. I know to finish top 2 really gives us nothing but boasting rights. But I want those boasting rights. Swagger is what we need to compete in the WC.

[pod818]

1 minute ago, mrstepp817 said:

Which means it'll go one of two ways in Cincy...they could come out on fire and roll..... but if its tie game or the US is up after an hour...that lemon booty factor may hit Mexico and then things go from bad to worse

Either way it will be a chippy game and hopefully lots of yellow cards and suspensions accumulated on the Mexico side. I'm happy we are playing them in the 2nd match of the window. At least a 3-4 hour flight from Cincy with tired legs, we'll be waiting for them fresh in the Edmonton chill ready to pounce. 

[Sal333]

38 minutes ago, pod818 said:

Either way it will be a chippy game and hopefully lots of yellow cards and suspensions accumulated on the Mexico side. I'm happy we are playing them in the 2nd match of the window. At least a 3-4 hour flight from Cincy with tired legs, we'll be waiting for them fresh in the Edmonton chill ready to pounce. 

Only a Canuck would refer to the  November weather in Edmonton as a chill. Now watch the soccer Gods (who are Latinos) blow in a Chinook for both games.

[Unnamed Trialist]

9 hours ago, Sal333 said:

Only a Canuck would refer to the  November weather in Edmonton as a chill. Now watch the soccer Gods (who are Latinos) blow in a Chinook for both games.

I read La Niña was going to give us a harsh Canadian winter, so they'll only have one of their own to blame.

[Sal333]

18 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

I read La Niña was going to give us a harsh Canadian winter, so they'll only have one of their own to blame.

I never thought I'd say this about a harsh Canadian winter, but I hope you're right. For November anyway.

[Unnamed Trialist]

9 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

I read La Niña was going to give us a harsh Canadian winter, so they'll only have one of their own to blame.

¡Ay caramba, La Niña va de rojo!

[Kadenge]

With the amount of coverage and attention the Davies' goal is receiving it's critical that players like Tajon, David, Larin & Laryea continue their strong play and even step it up a bit.  Phonzie was already getting 2/3/4 players converging on him pre Panama.

[dyslexic nam]

3 minutes ago, Kadenge said:

With the amount of coverage and attention the Davies' goal is receiving it's critical that players like Tajon, David, Larin & Laryea continue their strong play and even step it up a bit.  Phonzie was already getting 2/3/4 players converging on him pre Panama.

That is the part I love about having other offensive threats.   The more they double or triple team AD, the more space opens up for everyone else.  I just hope Phonzie keeps the mindset that he doesn’t always have to beat everyone - a decisive pass when the opposing team is converging on him can be deadly.  

[Ruud]

Not sure if mentioned elsewhere but I really wish we were in Toronto on a good field against an inferior team like the ticos.  If it snows or is inclement doesn’t a shitty surface help neutralize  the skill and passing and make it a long ball game?  Against Mexico I’m all for Edmonton by the way but not Cora rica.  I’d like to max our quality and skill.  

[archer21]

41 minutes ago, Ruud said:

Not sure if mentioned elsewhere but I really wish we were in Toronto on a good field against an inferior team like the ticos.  If it snows or is inclement doesn’t a shitty surface help neutralize  the skill and passing and make it a long ball game?  Against Mexico I’m all for Edmonton by the way but not Cora rica.  I’d like to max our quality and skill.  

Against most teams that we’re better than,  I definitely agree that we’d want to play on a better field in better conditions. However, Costa Rica doesn’t have the speed or physicality that we do, so a long ball game probably favours us anyways. I could be wrong though, maybe it’ll just slow the game down and make it sloppy, which may not favour us. We’ll just have to wait and find out in November. 

[frmr]

1 hour ago, Ruud said:

Not sure if mentioned elsewhere but I really wish we were in Toronto on a good field against an inferior team like the ticos.  If it snows or is inclement doesn’t a shitty surface help neutralize  the skill and passing and make it a long ball game?  Against Mexico I’m all for Edmonton by the way but not Cora rica.  I’d like to max our quality and skill.  

I think this would be true if we were talking about a physical team like Jamaica or Haiti, but Costa Rica is old and slow and I would say if anything they would rely on skill. They're certainly not going to be stretching the field so I think the conditions should favour us.

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

23 hours ago, Sal333 said:

Only a Canuck would refer to the  November weather in Edmonton as a chill. Now watch the soccer Gods (who are Latinos) blow in a Chinook for both games.

Walking to and from university I used to pray chinooks would make it up to Edmonton.  Never answered in my memory.

Right now, the forecasts/guesswork have the high at 1 and the low at -4.  The sun will be down for about an hour and a half at game time.  So it will be down from the high but maybe less wind?

Edit: Forgot the end of day light savings, sun down for almost 2 and a half hours. 

Edited October 20, 2021 by WestHamCanadianinOxford

[red card]

20 hours ago, Ruud said:

Not sure if mentioned elsewhere but I really wish we were in Toronto on a good field against an inferior team like the ticos.  If it snows or is inclement doesn’t a shitty surface help neutralize  the skill and passing and make it a long ball game?  Against Mexico I’m all for Edmonton by the way but not Cora rica.  I’d like to max our quality and skill.  

Against Mexico, if the turf is icy/snowy, it will negate some of Canada's pace advantage on the wings. 

[footballfreak]

On 10/18/2021 at 7:50 PM, Cheeta said:

El Salvador got off lucky, closing the stands behind the goals only?  Lovely.  What, no sactioning for when El Salvador played Mexico on the 13th?  Slurs are a no-no but missles from the grandstand are OK?  Speaking of Mexico, their suspended sentance wasn't rescinded for the slurs tossed out when they hosted Canada?  That's just as lovely.

Well, we could go with a glass half full approach.  It's progress.  I guess. 

Look at it this way, if they get a full stadium ban for the Jamaica game, they can’t do anything bad to get a ban for the Canada game.

Not to mention we’d be better off with them winning/drawing the Jamaica game anyways. Jamaica, as bad as they were to start, have way more talent to put together a run than El Salvador. I don’t think either present a substantial threat, but El  Salvador have played 4 home games, and are probably the weakest side on paper in the ocho. Any points they can take off other teams is a big plus.

Edited October 20, 2021 by footballfreak

[narduch]

Cavallini starting tonight. Good sign heading into this window 

[lamptern]

17 minutes ago, narduch said:

Cavallini starting tonight. Good sign heading into this window 

I will watch the game tonight.

[Unnamed Trialist]

Think our best scenario is for Mexico to win with cards against Lozano and Jiménez, so they miss our match. 

If we've taken care of CR then we'd be ahead of the US and Panama. A draw vs Mexico would ensure we'd at least be tied on points with the US after the window. Indeed we could be in a 3-way draw for second on 14 points. 

This is a dangerous set of games. If we come out of this 4th that forces us into catch-up with only 6 matches left, 4 away in Central America. And final match in Panama. 

What's the tiebreaker criteria again? 

Edited October 21, 2021 by Unnamed Trialist

[Miche]

1 hour ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Think our best scenario is for Mexico to win with cards against Lozano and Jiménez, so they miss our match. 

If we've taken care of CR then we'd be ahead of the US and Panama. A draw vs Mexico would ensure we'd at least be tied on points with the US after the window. Indeed we could be in a 3-way draw for second on 14 points. 

This is a dangerous set of games. If we come out of this 4th that forces us into catch-up with only 6 matches left, 4 away in Central America. And final match in Panama. 

What's the tiebreaker criteria again? 

From wiki so grain of salt. Goal difference, then goals scored.

[B_Leaf]

https://www.tsn.ca/if-canada-cracks-fifa-s-top-50-english-interest-in-tfc-s-laryea-could-spike-1.1709182