Group F Opponent Watch (Belgium, Croatia, Morocco)

[InglewoodJack]

One thing to consider with regards to the Croatia match is that we’ve seen how Borjan stepped up when he played for his home crowd in Hamilton… his performance against Croatia might be one for the ages. Talk about extra motivation. 

[frmr]

12 hours ago, InglewoodJack said:

One thing to consider with regards to the Croatia match is that we’ve seen how Borjan stepped up when he played for his home crowd in Hamilton… his performance against Croatia might be one for the ages. Talk about extra motivation. 

I think you're thinking Serbia.

[Blondo]

On 5/1/2022 at 12:58 PM, Brozosexual said:

...In relation to Canada, I think your best chances to advance are actually at the expense of Belgium. Morocco is also a potential choke game for the Belgians for cultural reasons.

I see what you did there: "don't come at us, have a go at Belgium instead"  A tough opponent does raise the level of our play so wouldn't mind if Canada gave Belgium a hard game.

I could sorta get that Morocco might be a choke game for France or Spain because of shared history or proximity. Morocco definitely gave Spain a scare in the last World Cup. Belgium played Tunisia and that wasn't a choke game at all. Belgium played brilliantly. Just like the prospect of playing Morocco, there's no reason to assume these would be choke games. Granted, Fellaini and Chadli used to be part of the team but we also have had players with a Croatian background playing for Belgium (nothing to it either; for the individual players it would likely be special though). Holland and France are the main rivalries; England stands out too because a lot of our players are (were) teammates/play(ed) in the same league.

Very much doubt it will be an issue. These are seasoned professionals after all.

[InglewoodJack]

8 hours ago, frmr said:

I think you're thinking Serbia.

Borjan’s a serbian guy who was born in what was then a Serbian region of what is now Croatia. He’s made certain comments about that fact that are, let’s just say not exactly warmly received by Croatians.

[NotCanadian]

50 minutes ago, InglewoodJack said:

Borjan’s a serbian guy who was born in what was then a Serbian region of what is now Croatia. He’s made certain comments about that fact that are, let’s just say not exactly warmly received by Croatians.

The public here doesn't care or know about him at all. He did an interview a couple of weeks ago with the biggest sports website and was really open and respectful. The football fans  here want him to play in Croatia for one of our top clubs if he wants. Not sure what your media fed you though.

https://www.index.hr/sport/clanak/borjan-za-index-o-rodnom-kninu-i-hrvatima-provokacijama-modricu-i-ponudi-iz-hnla/2354599.aspx

Edited May 4, 2022 by NotCanadian

[Ivan]

World Soccer Magazine (yes, i'm old, I still like to hold magazines and newspapers in my hand and read) did an interview with Borjan a few months back.  He says he gets stick from Serbian fans for not playing for them.  His response was something like "Canada wanted me when I was a nobody.  No one else showed interest at that time." As well as the usual "what Canada did for my family"stuff.  Never said anything about playing for Croatia, and I would remember that as my heritage is Croatian. 

[Obinna]

1 hour ago, NotCanadian said:

The public here doesn't care or know about him at all. He did an interview a couple of weeks ago with the biggest sports website and was really open and respectful. The football fans  here want him to play in Croatia for one of our top clubs if he wants. Not sure what your media fed you though.

https://www.index.hr/sport/clanak/borjan-za-index-o-rodnom-kninu-i-hrvatima-provokacijama-modricu-i-ponudi-iz-hnla/2354599.aspx

So he's unknown to the average member of the Croatian public, but Croatian soccer fans are well aware of him? I guess that makes sense. 

At the end of the calendar year, there were some problems between Borjan and the Red Star Belgrade manager, with Borjan reportedly insisting he was going to leave the club. Things have apparently settled down and Red Star looks to be keeping their captain, Borjan.

But I always wondered if Croatia made sense if he were to leave. I imagine the football and culture is similar and without actually looking into it I assume a move to Dynamo Zagreb or Hadjuk Split (if they are still considered a big club) would have been a lateral move that was perfectly acceptable headed into the World Cup.

[InglewoodJack]

1 hour ago, NotCanadian said:

The public here doesn't care or know about him at all. He did an interview a couple of weeks ago with the biggest sports website and was really open and respectful. The football fans  here want him to play in Croatia for one of our top clubs if he wants. Not sure what your media fed you though.

https://www.index.hr/sport/clanak/borjan-za-index-o-rodnom-kninu-i-hrvatima-provokacijama-modricu-i-ponudi-iz-hnla/2354599.aspx

My bad then. I was under the impression he had mentioned some greater Serbia comments in interviews across the years which I would imagine would really rub some Croatian fans the wrong way. And since supporter groups are closely tied to different political movements, I figured he’d have a little extra motivation to play a great game against Croatia, and that their fans would have a little extra motivation to give him crap during the game.

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

2 hours ago, NotCanadian said:

The public here doesn't care or know about him at all...

Even though he's the goalkeeper of Red Star? Think it's a little farfetched he would wind up playing for a top Croatian club given where he is from originally:

The talk a few months back seemed to be that he had an offer from MLS if things didn't sort themselves out on salary payments with Red Star so suspect his next move will be back to Canada after he has finished living the dream with the club he supported as a boy.

[InglewoodJack]

I hope if/when he leaves Red Star he gets a nice payday in the Middle East. I’m not sure if Qatar or the emirates pay more than MLS would, but if it’s the case, I’d rather he make a big check vs go to MLS for a more competitive environment considering he likely won’t be playing many more important Canada games after this World Cup. Hell, let’s see Atiba and Borjan lead a team to a domestic cup over there, that would be a wonderful cap to their careers.

Edited May 4, 2022 by InglewoodJack

[PiedPilko]

3 hours ago, NotCanadian said:

The public here doesn't care or know about him at all. He did an interview a couple of weeks ago with the biggest sports website and was really open and respectful. The football fans  here want him to play in Croatia for one of our top clubs if he wants. Not sure what your media fed you though.

https://www.index.hr/sport/clanak/borjan-za-index-o-rodnom-kninu-i-hrvatima-provokacijama-modricu-i-ponudi-iz-hnla/2354599.aspx

From the article:

"In the last few years, Borjan has given statements to the Serbian media in which he has repeatedly emphasized that he was not born in Croatia, but in the Republic of Serbian Krajina. Because of these statements, he became a controversial figure in Croatia"

Also of note:

He walks back the Greater Serbia stuff a little, and says his relationship with Stankovic has settled. Has offers from MLS but also an extension offer with Red Star.  Says he would never play in Croatia due to past drama.

 

 

Edited May 4, 2022 by PiedPilko

[NotCanadian]

17 minutes ago, PiedPilko said:

From the article:

"In the last few years, Borjan has given statements to the Serbian media in which he has repeatedly emphasized that he was not born in Croatia, but in the Republic of Serbian Krajina. Because of these statements, he became a controversial figure in Croatia"

Also of note:

He walks back the Greater Serbia stuff a little, and says his relationship with Stankovic has settled. Has offers from MLS but also an extension offer with Red Star.  Says he would never play in Croatia due to past drama.

 

 

Those are controversial statements by nature, but I doubt many people have heard of the guy before. I'm a pretty big football fan and I only heard of him last year when he had those arguments with the Red Star coach.

Also, I'm not sure what you mean to accomplish by cherrypicking that introductory segment. It's written in a dramatic manner to spark interest from the readers. Index.hr is not exactly New York Times. More like The Sun.

[Obinna]

1 hour ago, InglewoodJack said:

I hope if/when he leaves Red Star he gets a nice payday in the Middle East. I’m not sure if Qatar or the emirates pay more than MLS would, but if it’s the case, I’d rather he make a big check vs go to MLS for a more competitive environment considering he likely won’t be playing many more important Canada games after this World Cup. Hell, let’s see Atiba and Borjan lead a team to a domestic cup over there, that would be a wonderful cap to their careers.

I don't see this as likely, actually. I think it's far more likely Borjan plays a few more years after the world cup. At minimum he'll probably want a last kick at the Gold Cup, something we haven't won since 2000. We also have a potential nations league final to compete for before that, not to be too presumptive (our group is tricky). And I doubt Herdman casts his number 1 keeper aside less than 12 months from now. He's in incredible form at the moment for club and country. 

It may come down to what kind of World Cup he has. If he stands on his head he will certainly continue as the number one heading into 2023 (unless he decides to retire, which there's been no indication of that, as far as I know at least). 

However, if he has a real stinker than I think it's more likely Crepeau (or possibly even St. Clair) take the reigns. I think he'd have to be pretty bad, however. 

Borjan will be 35 come NL and GC 2023, which is long in the tooth but far from being washed up as far as keepers go. I wouldn't be surprised to see him with the national team in 2024.

All of this depends on what happens with Crepeau and St. Clair as well. The moment that either moves abroad, and kills it at a bigger club than Red Star, all bets are off.

[InglewoodJack]

1 hour ago, Obinna said:

I don't see this as likely, actually. I think it's far more likely Borjan plays a few more years after the world cup. At minimum he'll probably want a last kick at the Gold Cup, something we haven't won since 2000. We also have a potential nations league final to compete for before that, not to be too presumptive (our group is tricky). And I doubt Herdman casts his number 1 keeper aside less than 12 months from now. He's in incredible form at the moment for club and country. 

It may come down to what kind of World Cup he has. If he stands on his head he will certainly continue as the number one heading into 2023 (unless he decides to retire, which there's been no indication of that, as far as I know at least). 

However, if he has a real stinker than I think it's more likely Crepeau (or possibly even St. Clair) take the reigns. I think he'd have to be pretty bad, however. 

Borjan will be 35 come NL and GC 2023, which is long in the tooth but far from being washed up as far as keepers go. I wouldn't be surprised to see him with the national team in 2024.

All of this depends on what happens with Crepeau and St. Clair as well. The moment that either moves abroad, and kills it at a bigger club than Red Star, all bets are off.

Absolutely- I don’t think Borjan is ready to be sent out to pasture, and I hope he sticks around a while longer after the WC, for me, it’s more so that he won’t be the guy in 2026, so if he chases a bigger paycheck in a lesser league, and somehow falls out of form as he’s facing weaker competition than Crepeau or St. Clair, it won’t be the end of the world, considering we have some solid keepers waiting in the wings. Even then, I’m not even sure if he would fall out of form if he went to say, Qatar or UAE, but we hear so much about how our players need to go to the best leagues possible, however with Borjan, I’m fine if he chases the biggest bag possible regardless of the competition he’ll face. 
 

Regardless of where Borjan ends up, I think there’s a strong chance the gap between him and Crepeau closes within the next few years, or St. Clair gets a big transfer and kills it abroad, or even someone like Breza or Owen Goodman suddenly becoming a factor, so on. Just a long winded way of saying that I’m okay if Borjan chases a payday in a lesser league instead of playing MLS because it would be the best competition for him at that stage of his career. 

[Obinna]

12 minutes ago, InglewoodJack said:

Absolutely- I don’t think Borjan is ready to be sent out to pasture, and I hope he sticks around a while longer after the WC, for me, it’s more so that he won’t be the guy in 2026, so if he chases a bigger paycheck in a lesser league, and somehow falls out of form as he’s facing weaker competition than Crepeau or St. Clair, it won’t be the end of the world, considering we have some solid keepers waiting in the wings. Even then, I’m not even sure if he would fall out of form if he went to say, Qatar or UAE, but we hear so much about how our players need to go to the best leagues possible, however with Borjan, I’m fine if he chases the biggest bag possible regardless of the competition he’ll face. 
 

Regardless of where Borjan ends up, I think there’s a strong chance the gap between him and Crepeau closes within the next few years, or St. Clair gets a big transfer and kills it abroad, or even someone like Breza or Owen Goodman suddenly becoming a factor, so on. Just a long winded way of saying that I’m okay if Borjan chases a payday in a lesser league instead of playing MLS because it would be the best competition for him at that stage of his career. 

Yeah I see what you're getting at and I fully agree. I wouldn't mind at all to see him get financially rewarded instead of going to MLS to keep fighting for a 2026 spot that's probably not realistic anyways. To that end, maybe Qatar is the perfect stage to earn a middle east move for that final payday.

[GasPed]

Slightly OT, but it looks like Mazraoui will be joining Phonzie at Bayern. (https://www.bavarianfootballworks.com/2022/5/5/23058188/noussair-mazraoui-medical-check-bayern-munich-gravenberch-ajax-bundesliga-transfer-nagelsmann-brazzo)

I really hope that nothing "bad" happens - e.g. his team camaraderie with the other players (like Phonzie) who are going to the World Cup leads to "See you in Qatar", followed by him reconciling with the Morocco manager.  Nothing against him at all, but I'd really rather not see him Qatar.

[TGAA_Star]

On 5/4/2022 at 2:02 PM, Obinna said:

I don't see this as likely, actually. I think it's far more likely Borjan plays a few more years after the world cup. At minimum he'll probably want a last kick at the Gold Cup, something we haven't won since 2000. We also have a potential nations league final to compete for before that, not to be too presumptive (our group is tricky). And I doubt Herdman casts his number 1 keeper aside less than 12 months from now. He's in incredible form at the moment for club and country. 

It may come down to what kind of World Cup he has. If he stands on his head he will certainly continue as the number one heading into 2023 (unless he decides to retire, which there's been no indication of that, as far as I know at least). 

However, if he has a real stinker than I think it's more likely Crepeau (or possibly even St. Clair) take the reigns. I think he'd have to be pretty bad, however. 

Borjan will be 35 come NL and GC 2023, which is long in the tooth but far from being washed up as far as keepers go. I wouldn't be surprised to see him with the national team in 2024.

All of this depends on what happens with Crepeau and St. Clair as well. The moment that either moves abroad, and kills it at a bigger club than Red Star, all bets are off.

Borjan I can see him even playing into his late 30s possibly even until he's 40 and then calling it a career 

[ensco]

18 hours ago, GasPed said:

Slightly OT, but it looks like Mazraoui will be joining Phonzie at Bayern. (https://www.bavarianfootballworks.com/2022/5/5/23058188/noussair-mazraoui-medical-check-bayern-munich-gravenberch-ajax-bundesliga-transfer-nagelsmann-brazzo)

I really hope that nothing "bad" happens - e.g. his team camaraderie with the other players (like Phonzie) who are going to the World Cup leads to "See you in Qatar", followed by him reconciling with the Morocco manager.  Nothing against him at all, but I'd really rather not see him Qatar.

Isn’t it kind of the base case that Morocco will fire the manager and bring him and Ziyech back? I know literally nothing, other than what a Moroccan friend tells me. (This topic is apparently, unsurprisingly, a national daily drama/obsession in Morocco.)

Edited May 6, 2022 by ensco

[GasPed]

5 hours ago, ensco said:

Isn’t it kind of the base case that Morocco will fire the manager and bring him and Ziyech back? I know literally nothing, other than what a Moroccan friend tells me. (This topic is apparently, unsurprisingly, a national daily drama/obsession in Morocco.)

I actually don't know the base case... ...right now, it's certainly one (Halilhodžić) or the other (Ziyech + Mazraoui).  I had sort of thought that given Morocco's pretty good run to get through WCQ that Halilhodžic's place was semi-secure, but I could be very wrong.  I will say that with Ziyech and Mazraoui in the lineup, that team is concerningly good on paper.

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

Lukaku scores his first goal since December.  Penalty after earning it.

Let's hope that doesn't bring back some confidence. 

 

Edit: And again. 

Edited May 7, 2022 by WestHamCanadianinOxford

[Buchta]

Morocco has contacted the Macedonian FA about a possible friendly in September.

[TGAA_Star]

Canada XI I would go with for our opening game against the Belgians

GK- Milan Borjan

LB- Samuel Adekugbe 

CB- Kamal Miller 

CB- Steven Vitoria

RB- Alistair Johnston 

CDM- Stephen Eustaquio 

CDM- Atiba Hutchinson 

LW- Alphonso Davies 

CAM- Jonathan David 

RW- Tajon Buchanan 

CF- Cyle Larin 

[prairiecanuck]

2 minutes ago, TGAA_Star said:

Canada XI I would go with for our opening game against the Belgians

GK- Milan Borjan

LB- Samuel Adekugbe 

CB- Kamal Miller 

CB- Steven Vitoria

RB- Alistair Johnston 

CDM- Stephen Eustaquio 

CDM- Atiba Hutchinson 

LW- Alphonso Davies 

CAM- Jonathan David 

RW- Tajon Buchanan 

CF- Cyle Larin 

bit early for this prediction..lol  I tend to agree that a back 4 probably makes the most sense.  Kennedy or Miller is a coinflip for me.  

[TGAA_Star]

2 minutes ago, prairiecanuck said:

bit early for this prediction..lol  I tend to agree that a back 4 probably makes the most sense.  Kennedy or Miller is a coinflip for me.  

Yeah well wanna be tight at the back especially against a team the quality of a Belgium you know

[TGAA_Star]

Then however for the 2nd group game against Croatia, my lineup changes:

GK- Borjan

LB- Adekugbe 

CB- Kennedy

CB- Vitoria 

RB- Laryea 

CDM- Kaye

CDM- Eustaquio 

LW- Davies

CAM- David

RW- Buchanan 

CF- Larin