CONCACAF Nations League 2022/2023 - General Thread - Group Stage

[trc2014]

I’m pretty surprised the consensus appears that these are guaranteed wins.  We haven’t been good in Curaçao type games away in the recent past (El Salvador and Honduras away in WCQ the exceptions) and last time we played Honduras at home it was a draw (in a game we deserved to lose, with Borjan bailing us out with one of his point earning saves) and they beat us in the last window (granted based on pitch conditions, barely anything can be taken from that game).

Edited December 22, 2022 by trc2014

[Obinna]

12 minutes ago, trc2014 said:

I’m pretty surprised the consensus appears that these are guaranteed wins.  We haven’t been good in Curaçao type games away in the recent past (El Salvador and Honduras away in WCQ the exceptions) and last time we played Honduras at home it was a draw (in a game we deserved to lose, with Borjan bailing us out with one of his point earning saves) and they beat us in the last window (granted based on pitch conditions, barely anything can be taken from that game).

On top of that, we haven't been good for most of 2022 in general (since the January window, really). Hopefully a new start in the new year. 

[Vasi]

1 hour ago, trc2014 said:

I’m pretty surprised the consensus appears that these are guaranteed wins.  We haven’t been good in Curaçao type games away in the recent past (El Salvador and Honduras away in WCQ the exceptions) and last time we played Honduras at home it was a draw (in a game we deserved to lose, with Borjan bailing us out with one of his point earning saves) and they beat us in the last window (granted based on pitch conditions, barely anything can be taken from that game).

This is very true. But we might come in pissed from getting no results at the WC. We also might get new blood that will have to show they belong in the team. So you can look at it that way. 

But you are right, these will not be easy games. 

[devioustrevor]

On 12/21/2022 at 2:00 PM, Shway said:

The game will be played in Toronto, and the West coast fans will go crazy.
We have to hope for a friendly to be booked, only till then will we might see a game played at BC Place.
 

Isn't the CSA contractually obligated to play one game a year at BMO?  It would make sense then that the Honduras game, the only game 100% dead-cert being played in Canada this year by the Men's team, be in Toronto. 

 

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

1 hour ago, devioustrevor said:

Isn't the CSA contractually obligated to play one game a year at BMO?  It would make sense then that the Honduras game, the only game 100% dead-cert being played in Canada this year by the Men's team, be in Toronto. 

 

That used to be the case but the wording of the contract has since changed.

They definitely get a better deal than paying to rent out BC Place.

Also, the #CanWNT Olympic Qualifying playoff match will almost certainly be at BMO Field in September.

[BS1327]

On 12/21/2022 at 12:20 PM, JamboAl said:

Anyone who is thinking of going to Curacao away, we will be reaching out to Canada Soccer in the new year about tickets.  One thing to consider, there are not very many flights to the island (I think it’s 4 a week: 3 Air Canada and 1 WestJet).  I would think about booking early or it could be Qatar pricing to get down there.

Booked my flights last week, fly in Thursday (Toronto-Montreal-Willemstad), fly home Monday (direct to Toronto). 
 

Missed out on Qatar, so looking forward to this! I’ll be keeping my eyes out for tickets/get togethers!

[footballfreak]

16 hours ago, trc2014 said:

We don’t need guaranteed wins. We need 4 points total or a win at home to take the group. A win in Willemstad would certainly make things easier by forcing Honduras to go for 3 points, but even a shock loss doesn’t rule out progression.

Math aside, we should go into games like this expecting 6 points. That’s the level now. Curaçao has an artificial turf so we should be able to play with the ball and no matter the weather. Game one of the Ocho was a long time ago for both Honduras and Canada. A win is never a given, but I would much rather be a Canada fan than a Honduran fan in that game.

Edited December 23, 2022 by footballfreak

[Kent]

On 12/21/2022 at 4:07 PM, Obinna said:

Didn't they recently play against the US in St. Paul in temperatures of 1 billion below Celsius? 

Hard for them to fear any other cold weather game after that, I am thinking.

...or maybe an entire generation of Honduran players will have ptsd. Hard to say which way it would go....

Honduras lost that game 3-0. It seems to have worked for USA, so it could very well work for us too. It's not like teams lose one game at altitude in Mexico and then figure it out and start getting results there right away.

I agree that these are hard games. We can't just assume we will waltz to the Nations League semi finals. We could even find ourselves in the Gold Cup qualifying playoffs in a worst case scenario. I like our chances though.

[patstew19]

On 12/22/2022 at 6:35 PM, BS1327 said:

Booked my flights last week, fly in Thursday (Toronto-Montreal-Willemstad), fly home Monday (direct to Toronto). 
 

Missed out on Qatar, so looking forward to this! I’ll be keeping my eyes out for tickets/get togethers!

I’ll see you down there. Probably gunna be in curaçao for a week. Should be a decent number of Canadians coming down 

[Obinna]

On 12/23/2022 at 2:31 AM, footballfreak said:

We don’t need guaranteed wins. We need 4 points total or a win at home to take the group. A win in Willemstad would certainly make things easier by forcing Honduras to go for 3 points, but even a shock loss doesn’t rule out progression.

Math aside, we should go into games like this expecting 6 points. That’s the level now. Curaçao has an artificial turf so we should be able to play with the ball and no matter the weather. Game one of the Ocho was a long time ago for both Honduras and Canada. A win is never a given, but I would much rather be a Canada fan than a Honduran fan in that game.

These are good points and they do make me feel good about our chances. However, one thing to consider is that Honduras and Curacao only have 1 game to play - we have 2. 

This means that Curacao have nothing else to prepare for, so all their energy will go into this final match.

I still think we win, but just something to consider. It's actually the home match against Honduras that worries me...

• Firstly, like Curacao they will put all their prep into this final match.
• Secondly, they will be rested, both in the sense they haven't played (unless they have a friendly) and have less travel.
• Thirdly, they beat us last match. One can argue they'll have belief they can do it again.

IF Honduras don't play a friendly prior to playing us, one could argue we'd be less rested, but game sharp. That may be to our advantage. Of course, being at home is going to give us an advantage, and depending on how we do against Curacao, we could be firing on all cylinders. This is what I am hoping for.

 

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

6 hours ago, Obinna said:

IF Honduras don't play a friendly prior to playing us, one could argue we'd be less rested, but game sharp.

Honduras want to play a game in the USA before playing us.

https://www.diez.hn/laseleccion/seleccion-naciona-honduras-fenafuth-descarto-tres-ofertas-para-amistosos-amistoso-marzo-canada-PP10863804

South American teams will be free.

UEFA Teams will be playing Euro Qualifiers.

[Shway]

17 hours ago, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

Honduras want to play a game in the USA before playing us.

https://www.diez.hn/laseleccion/seleccion-naciona-honduras-fenafuth-descarto-tres-ofertas-para-amistosos-amistoso-marzo-canada-PP10863804

South American teams will be free.

UEFA Teams will be playing Euro Qualifiers.

My moneys on it being El Salvador or Panama. El Salvador is in the same position as them, where they play the USA. USA is playing Grenada, and has several friendlies next month. 

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

9 hours ago, Shway said:

My moneys on it being El Salvador or Panama.

Panama say they want to play a game:

https://www.rpctv.com/marea-roja/seleccion-panama-busca-amistoso-previo-liga-naciones-n5824222

You may be right.

However it is easier for Panama to invite South America teams to play in Panama City for friendlies due to the very good commercial flight connections they have.

Also the Panama doesn't have a big diaspora in the U.S. like Honduras and El Salvador do.

[Shway]

14 hours ago, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

Panama say they want to play a game:

https://www.rpctv.com/marea-roja/seleccion-panama-busca-amistoso-previo-liga-naciones-n5824222

You may be right.

However it is easier for Panama to invite South America teams to play in Panama City for friendlies due to the very good commercial flight connections they have.

Also the Panama doesn't have a big diaspora in the U.S. like Honduras and El Salvador do.

I agree...but we were talking about our opponent in Honduras lol.

The fact that the coach says big rival, and the fact that both Honduras and El Salvador are playing games in Canada, and USA respectively. I probably should've added percentages to it....75% chance its El Salvador, 20% chance its Panama, 5% chance its a team from Conembol.
 

Let' see how this plays out.

[Unnamed Trialist]

15 hours ago, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

Panama say they want to play a game:

https://www.rpctv.com/marea-roja/seleccion-panama-busca-amistoso-previo-liga-naciones-n5824222

You may be right.

However it is easier for Panama to invite South America teams to play in Panama City for friendlies due to the very good commercial flight connections they have.

Also the Panama doesn't have a big diaspora in the U.S. like Honduras and El Salvador do.

If I were Panama I'd avoid Canada always, as a matter of principle. 

People really forget we asked them to come at short notice to Vancouver then screwed them over by not giving them the game?

If a team did that to Canada, I would just rule them out for a few years as a matter of principle.

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

4 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

If I were Panama I'd avoid Canada always, as a matter of principle. 

People really forget we asked them to come at short notice to Vancouver then screwed them over by not giving them the game?

If a team did that to Canada, I would just rule them out for a few years as a matter of principle.

Agreed.

We can't play them in March anyways. We have two games.

Another article I read said that they want to play at home.

[Kent]

On 12/28/2022 at 8:03 AM, Obinna said:

These are good points and they do make me feel good about our chances. However, one thing to consider is that Honduras and Curacao only have 1 game to play - we have 2. 

This means that Curacao have nothing else to prepare for, so all their energy will go into this final match.

I still think we win, but just something to consider. It's actually the home match against Honduras that worries me...

• Firstly, like Curacao they will put all their prep into this final match.
• Secondly, they will be rested, both in the sense they haven't played (unless they have a friendly) and have less travel.
• Thirdly, they beat us last match. One can argue they'll have belief they can do it again.

And fourthly, last time we played Honduras at home we only managed a draw. Depending on how the Curacao game goes that might not be enough to advance.

[CanadianSoccerFan]

It's written in the stars 

 

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

The Big O now has better turf:

https://www.quebec.ca/nouvelles/actualites/details/une-nouvelle-surface-de-jeu-au-stade-olympique-45021

I still think the game in March will likely be in Toronto but this does change things a bit.

[Shway]

22 minutes ago, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

The Big O now has better turf:

https://www.quebec.ca/nouvelles/actualites/details/une-nouvelle-surface-de-jeu-au-stade-olympique-45021

I still think the game in March will likely be in Toronto but this does change things a bit.

Where’s the translate to English option. 

[InglewoodJack]

Would love to concacaf a team at the Big O. It’s big, ugly, cavernous, it’s damn near a piece of communist architecture, and the away side won’t be able to hear their supporters since sound doesn’t bounce in a bunker. 

[Vasi]

40 minutes ago, Shway said:

Where’s the translate to English option. 

Translate using google chrome. If using a phone click on the 3 dots and click translate. 

Edited January 11, 2023 by Vasi

[Ottawafan]

Would love to see the game in Montreal!

[A_Gagne]

2 hours ago, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

The Big O now has better turf:

https://www.quebec.ca/nouvelles/actualites/details/une-nouvelle-surface-de-jeu-au-stade-olympique-45021

I still think the game in March will likely be in Toronto but this does change things a bit.

Nice to see some new turf... but yes, until the Montreal footie community proves it can put CMNT supporting butts in seats, this will probably matter more for the women's teams +/- CF Montreal.

[SpursFlu]

Just renovate the damn thing already or blow it up