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

[johnyb]

11 hours ago, dhawk11 said:

Consistent play and winning can change that, but that will take awhile. Canada needs to start winning Gold Cups and the Nations League or at least make the finals in these tournament. Otherwise Canada will be a one hit wonder with make Qatar 2022. At this point Canada was every bit that pot 4 team that qualified. Making the Copa America Tournament change create fans, but also showing up and getting results is what Canada needs. Now keeping in mind these are things Canada could do ON THE FEILD to create buzz and excitement for new and diehards alike. Off the field is a different story, we all know what that crap show looks like.  

Agree with most of this, but Nations League and Gold Cup will not change a thing. Most non die hards don't even know what those tournaments are. It will take a few wins at a WC or possibly a win against one of the giants in South America at the Copa to make any sort of immediate impact. Otherwise it'll be slow and steady growth.

Edited March 12, 2023 by johnyb

[Metro]

23 hours ago, johnyb said:

Agree with most of this, but Nations League and Gold Cup will not change a thing. Most non die hards don't even know what those tournaments are. It will take a few wins at a WC or possibly a win against one of the giants in South America at the Copa to make any sort of immediate impact. Otherwise it'll be slow and steady growth.

I generally agree but I believe a Gold Cup win or two can really help.

[narduch]

Looks like rosters are starting to trickle out.

Hopefully we get Canada's by Friday 

[CanadaFan123]

16 hours ago, narduch said:

Looks like rosters are starting to trickle out.

Hopefully we get Canada's by Friday 

I see a lot of speculation that Canada is going call up new guys but looking at our roster I can only conceivably see us calling 1-2 uncapped guys.

In example: 

Dropped from 26 man WC roster: Fraser, Wotherspoon, Hoilett (injured), Millar, Pantemis (injured), Waterman (injured)

Called up: Sirois, Hiebert, Shaffelburg 

I’d like to see Kaye dropped for Loturi but I just don’t see it happening. Maybe we should drop Ugbo for Loturi since we’re overloaded up top. 

Edited March 14, 2023 by CanadaFan123

[Vasi]

When is the roster deadline drop day? Friday? 

[Obinna]

On 3/10/2023 at 3:47 PM, Atlantic said:

Suriname will also have some new dual-nationals: Anfernee Dijksteel of Middlesbrough the big notable 

 

 

Decent little roster they have there.

Nice to see Chery back in the fold. Has been killing it at Maccabi Haifa for multiple seasons now, including in the Champions League. Biseswar still getting reps at a good PAOK side also. Both of these guys are long in the tooth, but they are still at decent club levels. 

Getting Becker back in there is obviously huge. Having a marvelous season at Union Berlin. Could give the Mexicans some real problem with his speed. 

Don't know much about Dijksteel, but he's been a regular in the Championship with Middlesborough since 2019, so he's obviously going to help the backline. I rate Dankerlui who is still doing his thing at Groningen and is in his prime at 26 years old. Pinas left Lugodorets some time ago and suits up for Hammarby in Sweden, he's a good player and 24 years old. Abena left Slovan Bratislava and now plays for Hungarian champs Ferencváros. Haps has joined forces with Domenico Criscito to lend a hand with mission "Get Genoa back to Serie A", and he's still on the right side of 30. The only name missing from the backline is Ryan Donk, but there is plenty to like even without him.

Suriname's midfield and defence has been good, but they have trouble scoring. However, with Becker having a career year maybe they nick one and send the Mexicans home in tears. If they stumble there will be real pressure back at the Azteca against Jamaica, which obviously not what they want, since facing Jamaica will be far from a straightforward task for the Mexicans. 

[RJB]

22 hours ago, Metro said:

I generally agree but I believe a Gold Cup win or two can really help.

Slow down, let's not get ahead of ourselves.  How about we start with one and revisit the discussion afterwards...

[trc2014]

I’d be concerned that their starting goal keeper has at most 1 cap and is coming in to play a top 3 CONCACAF team.

Edited March 14, 2023 by trc2014

[Obinna]

8 minutes ago, trc2014 said:

I’d be concerned that their starting goal keeper has at most 1 cap and is coming in to play a top 3 CONCACAF team.

Yikes, I missed that completely. Their usual number 1 Warner Hahn is no longer in Sweden with IFK Goteborg. Instead, he's playing in the J-League (or not playing, apparently) for Kyoto. I wonder if travel or injury is keeping him out. Either way, that's troubling for Suriname, but it's a chance for one of their young keepers to step up. 

[dyslexic nam]

3 hours ago, CanadaFan123 said:

I see a lot of speculation that Canada is going call up new guys but looking at our roster I can only conceivably see us calling 1-2 uncapped guys.

In example: 

Dropped from 26 man WC roster: Fraser, Wotherspoon, Hoilett (injured), Millar, Pantemis (injured), Waterman (injured)

Called up: Sirois, Hiebert, Shaffelburg 

I’d like to see Kaye dropped for Loturi but I just don’t see it happening. Maybe we should drop Ugbo for Loturi since we’re overloaded up top. 

For me the big x-factor is whether or now all the recent bullshit with the CSA will cause anyone to decline (or if a few of them discover “minor injuries”).  If everyone on the WC squad is available and wants to come, I doubt we see much turnover other than what is necessitated by injuries or retirements (is Atiba still in the picture?).

I don’t think Herdman leaves people off the roster just to give others a look.  You never know I guess - I just don’t see him telling a guy like Kaye or Piette that they should stay home because he would rather give Loturi (or player X) a look.   Maybe a couple of fringe guys could get replaced by in-form players (Shaff could potentially push someone out) but I doubt we see much experimentation.   

[sebdeserio]

Based on his stint in Toronto so far Kaye doesn't belong anywhere near the national team but sadly don't think Herdman would want to upset the brotherhood. Would be nice if Zator could find his way in as well but we'' have to see.

[Shway]

Atiba will 100% be in the squad. And will be presented with his 100 caps plaques or whatever.

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

7 hours ago, Vasi said:

When is the roster deadline drop day? 

There is no deadline.

The roster will drop 3 days after the day you expect it to drop.

Edited March 14, 2023 by Olympique_de_Marseille

[Obinna]

14 minutes ago, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

There is no deadline.

The roster will drop 3 days after the day you expect it drop.

Hmmm ...let me test out your theory:

I EXPECT THE ROSTER ON SATURDAY, MAY 11

*rapidly refreshes the page for roster drop*

[jdcyantsis]

1 minute ago, Obinna said:

Hmmm ...let me test out your theory:

I EXPECT THE ROSTER ON SATURDAY, MAY 11

*rapidly refreshes the page for roster drop*

you might be waiting for a couple months

[Obinna]

3 minutes ago, jdcyantsis said:

you might be waiting for a couple months

Careful what you wish for definitely applies here!

[JamboAl]

2 hours ago, Obinna said:

 

Decent little roster they have there.

Nice to see Chery back in the fold. Has been killing it at Maccabi Haifa for multiple seasons now, including in the Champions League. Biseswar still getting reps at a good PAOK side also. Both of these guys are long in the tooth, but they are still at decent club levels. 

Getting Becker back in there is obviously huge. Having a marvelous season at Union Berlin. Could give the Mexicans some real problem with his speed. 

Don't know much about Dijksteel, but he's been a regular in the Championship with Middlesborough since 2019, so he's obviously going to help the backline. I rate Dankerlui who is still doing his thing at Groningen and is in his prime at 26 years old. Pinas left Lugodorets some time ago and suits up for Hammarby in Sweden, he's a good player and 24 years old. Abena left Slovan Bratislava and now plays for Hungarian champs Ferencváros. Haps has joined forces with Domenico Criscito to lend a hand with mission "Get Genoa back to Serie A", and he's still on the right side of 30. The only name missing from the backline is Ryan Donk, but there is plenty to like even without him.

Suriname's midfield and defence has been good, but they have trouble scoring. However, with Becker having a career year maybe they nick one and send the Mexicans home in tears. If they stumble there will be real pressure back at the Azteca against Jamaica, which obviously not what they want, since facing Jamaica will be far from a straightforward task for the Mexicans. 

If you thought we were panicky when we had to play them in a one off two years ago, imagine if we had to face them now?  That’s a pretty strong side for CONCACAF.

And I remember Dijksteel at Charlton Athletic.  He was excellent and could see he was high end Championship level.

[Kadenge]

13 minutes ago, JamboAl said:

If you thought we were panicky when we had to play them in a one off two years ago, imagine if we had to face them now?  That’s a pretty strong side for CONCACAF.

And I remember Dijksteel at Charlton Athletic.  He was excellent and could see he was high end Championship level.

Or Surninam  could be saying we face a Canada squad with 2 yrs of more experience for their young players, went on to finish 1st in WCQ, played 3 games in the WC and gave Belgium fits, David leading Ligue 1, Larin scoring in La Liga, Davies killing in at Bayern, Staq a star at Porto, Kone at Watford, AJ a stud at Celtic, Adekugbe with the top Turkish team, Tajon doing his stuff at Brugge....😳. 

[RS]

10 minutes ago, Kadenge said:

Or Surninam  could be saying we face a Canada squad with 2 yrs of more experience for their young players, went on to finish 1st in WCQ, played 3 games in the WC and gave Belgium fits, David leading Ligue 1, Larin scoring in La Liga, Davies killing in at Bayern, Staq a star at Porto, Kone at Watford, AJ a stud at Celtic, Adekugbe with the top Turkish team, Tajon doing his stuff at Brugge....😳. 

That wouldn't stop people on here from pre-emptively freaking out.

[Obinna]

53 minutes ago, JamboAl said:

If you thought we were panicky when we had to play them in a one off two years ago, imagine if we had to face them now?  That’s a pretty strong side for CONCACAF.

And I remember Dijksteel at Charlton Athletic.  He was excellent and could see he was high end Championship level.

For sure. And we are stronger as well. Slowly the floor is rising in CONCACAF. 

 

20 minutes ago, RS said:

That wouldn't stop people on here from pre-emptively freaking out.

I agree but would add that people freaking out was in large part due to the circumstances. Everything was riding on that one game, and we had to deliver. Everything we had worked for up to that point was riding on that single game and there was absolutely no margin for error. We could not afford to lose.

It was unique and I don't think we have seen quite a situation since then:

Game against Croatia at World Cup? Yes, that was bigger, with zero margin for error, but we were always the underdog, so not quite the same complexion. 

Semi-final against Mexico at the Gold Cup? Stakes weren't as high, and we were also underdogs who were playing with house money.

2nd Leg against Haiti in 2nd round qualifying? We started the game with an advantage from the first leg, which made things feel more comfortable, even if the opponent was more difficult in reality. 

The Ocho? Those games were huge, but we wrapped up qualification with games to spare. We were never under the gun.

For me I think that was the most intense game as a fan in terms of expectations and what messing things up would mean. Then, Suriname was a complete unknown. All we knew was the results we saw (they were pounding teams just like us) and the clubs those guys played for, which were inferior but strong enough to upset us. It was definitely the most nervous I had ever felt watching the Canadian men's National Team.

[Atlantic]

 

[Obinna]

25 minutes ago, Atlantic said:

 

No Andy Najar (DC United) on the backline, or Bryan Acosta (Colorado Rapids).

Rivas is arguably another omission Wide forward, winger type who plays regularly with Reggina in Serie B. He's looked pretty good against us in the past, so I am happy to see him left out. 

Otherwise, it's pretty much a top squad for the Hondurans. Big guns like Lozano, Elis and "Captian Quioto" are there. 

We know what to expect from Quioto, but status update on Lozano and Elis:

Elis appears to be on loan at Brest in Ligue 1, where he's played 6 games (joined in 2023) and 224 minutes. No goals or assists yet in his 2 starts and 6 appearances off the bench. A bit disappointing for a player who scored 9 Ligue 1 goals in just 20 games last season. He did have a few injury setbacks, one of which I believe was knee related, but I cannot find details on it, but I do recall people online saying he hasn't been the same player since. That may explain the lack of goals compared to last season. I won't say that's good news, because injuries suck, but if he's out of sorts that will be good for Canada.

Lozano meanwhile has been playing his part in helping Cadiz avoid La Liga relegation, mostly from the bench. He's started 7 of his 21 games played but has only played 1190 minutes and has scored no goals or assists. He's never produced much at this level (more of a La Liga 2 scorer), but this seems like a down year even for him. I haven't watched a single minute of his play though, just looking at the stats and trying to read between the lines. As always, you cannot sleep on a La Liga player in concacaf, but good for Canada that he's not in goal scoring form for club. 

For the national team it's not much better. He hasn't scored since 2019. Elis hasn't scored for the national team since 2021. Quioto may actually be the biggest threat offensively. 

It's one game and anything can happen, but our forwards have a much rosier outlook. David is on an absolute tear in Ligue 1, joint top-scorer with Mbappe. Larin is having a splendid time on loan in La Liga, scoring 4 in 7, and both just came off playing in the World Cup back in November. Ugbo and Cavallini, the guys backing them up, have even found the back of the net in recent weeks. 

Again, never sleep on Honduras, and never underestimate our propensity for shooting ourselves in the foot, but I feel optimistic going into this one. 

 

[Stoppage Time]

4 hours ago, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

There is no deadline.

The roster will drop 3 days after the day you expect it drop.

No! It will the day after that. C'mon, man.

[JamboAl]

The Curacao lineup was just dropped (there’s a player nicknamed “Cheese”).  Ha ha!

https://mobile.twitter.com/Curacaofootbal1/status/1635734992243359750/photo/1

 

[trc2014]

1 minute ago, JamboAl said:

The Curacao lineup was just dropped (there’s a player nicknamed “Cheese”).  Ha ha!

https://mobile.twitter.com/Curacaofootbal1/status/1635734992243359750/photo/1

 

Anyone with thoughts on Richairo Živković?