Canada vs Costa Rica - Wednesday, February 28th - 3pm Pacific / 6pm Eastern - Houston, TX

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

W Gold Cup - Group Stage Match #3
Canada vs Costa Rica
Wednesday, February 28, 2024
6pm Eastern / 3pm Pacific
5pm Central (local)
Shell Energy Stadium, Houston, Texas

Broadcast in Canada:
ONESOCCER (live - online)

Broadcast in the USA:
Paramount+, ESPN Deportes, ESPN+

Broadcast in a region where no one has bought the broadcast rights:
CONCACAF GO's YouTube channel

Rosters:
https://mcusercontent.com/78d3589fb61466b549ff752e5/files/f56b85f4-5cf6-ab85-7b83-cc6aaa6b9942/24_WGC_Final_Rosters.pdf

Sydney Collins replaced by Bianca St-Georges
Jayde Riviere replaced by Marie-Yasmine Alidou
Prince is out injured.
No replacements that I am aware of for Costa Rica.

Canadian players that played for the whole game in the previous two matches:
Buchanan
Jade Rose

Canadian players that didn't play a single minute in the previous two matches:
St-Georges
Proulx (GK)

Weather:
Cloudy, a little windy and about 17°C

Referee:
The American ref Tori Penso.
Many will recall that she was the ref for the men's game in Jamaica back in November where the Jamaican team got a goal because the CanMNT players were waiting for her to blow the whistle to restart play.
https://www.concacaf.com/w-gold-cup/news/referees-announced-for-feb-26-28-w-gold-cup-group-stage-matches/

[Colonel Green]

Time to try to finish first in the standings and claim the dubious prize of facing the USA in the semis.

[narduch]

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

8 minutes ago, narduch said:

And Costa Rica's lineup:

 

 

[footballfreak]

One of the worst halves I’ve ever seen Lawrence play. Looks completely disinterested in being on the field. Sloppy in possession. 

[shorty]

I like Lawrence, but she’s only still there for the occasional sweet cross. She’s lost a step and it’s shown in the last year. 
 

On another note I’ve noticed this turf seems to run really fast. First touches have been getting away from lots of players in all these games and simple little touches run too far. 

Edited February 29 by shorty

[Treppy2]

How many yellow cards have been issued to Costa Rica this match? If it's just the one I remember and this score holds, Costa Rica and Puerto Rico are level on goal difference, goals and yellow/red cards. They'd draw lots to see who goes through (and who Canada would play in the quarter-final). If they've been given more than one yellow this match, they need to score or they're eliminated.

[Dynamos v Tornados]

85th minute, 1 yellow for Costa Rica

Drawing of lots has been kind to Canada in Gold Cups past...

[phil03]

So ods are Puerto Rico in the quarter final if I get the format right?

[toontownman]

Wow didn't crack two pages yet? Maybe this post. 

Are we (talking pundits here) really criticizing this performance when we have looked incredible in this tournament and this was a dead rubber. Yet we still won 3-0 and clearly the job was done at half time.

It might not have been a great second half when we tinkered with personell and formations but wanting players to go all out and run their arses off throughout the second half and play better when they can risk injury and fatigue for the next stage, when we really need it, is crazy talk to me. Simply can't understand that at all? 

It was a professional performance. 

Wait we let Costa Rica get a shot on target. I take it back. Sack Bev now.

[Treppy2]

16 minutes ago, phil03 said:

So ods are Puerto Rico in the quarter final if I get the format right?

It may depend on the Paraguay-El Salvador match. But if Paraguay wins or draws, I believe Puerto Rico and Costa Rica will draw lots to see who goes through as the eighth-place team. We'd play them.

Edited February 29 by Treppy2

[footballfreak]

14 minutes ago, phil03 said:

So ods are Puerto Rico in the quarter final if I get the format right?

I believe that’s right.

If Paraguay win or draw, we play the winner of a drawing of lots between Costa Rica and Puerto Rico.

If Paraguay lose, they’re out and we play the loser of said coinflip.

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

11 minutes ago, footballfreak said:

If Paraguay lose, they’re out and we play the loser of said coinflip.

If Paraguay lose by a small number of goals, don't we automatically get Puerto Rico as Costa Rica would be in second in the group and Puerto Rico would have a better goal difference than Paraguay?

[footballfreak]

49 minutes ago, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

If Paraguay lose by a small number of goals, don't we automatically get Puerto Rico as Costa Rica would be in second in the group and Puerto Rico would have a better goal difference than Paraguay?

Margin doesn’t matter* because Paraguay already have a worse GD than Costa Rica and Puerto Rico. They need a point. 

For Costa Rica, second in the group doesn’t guarantee a top 6 seed afaik. A draw would need to be made to settle 7th/8th between Costa Rica and Puerto Rico.

 

*Unless El Salvador win by 6, which I’m only including as a possibility because this is CONCACAF and crazy things happen every day.

Edited February 29 by footballfreak

[Kent]

Paraguay have won, so I guess that means we see who wins the draw/coin flip between Costa Rica and Puerto Rico? I hope we play Puerto Rico just to get a different team.

[JamboAl]

Nope, looks like Costa Rica again.

[Kent]

1 minute ago, JamboAl said:

Nope, looks like Costa Rica again.

Source?

[JamboAl]

4 minutes ago, Kent said:

Source?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AKcyclxcy6U

[Unnamed Trialist]

Having read this entire thread, just wanted to say how pleased I am that they have such a clear tournament format.

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

Heartbreaking for Puerto Rico:

https://www.concacaf.com/w-gold-cup/news/2024-concacaf-w-gold-cup-quarterfinal-matchups-and-schedule-confirmed/

[Unnamed Trialist]

12 hours ago, footballfreak said:

One of the worst halves I’ve ever seen Lawrence play. Looks completely disinterested in being on the field. Sloppy in possession. 

As you say, and @shorty as well, her level has dropped. It's odd because she's still on for her club it seems, but she used to be so hardass and unstoppable, and now there are all kinds of signs that she's not as strong as when she was playing in France. 

I didn't watch this last match but in the WC I thought she was disappointing as well. 

[SthMelbRed]

11 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

As you say, and @shorty as well, her level has dropped. It's odd because she's still on for her club it seems, but she used to be so hardass and unstoppable, and now there are all kinds of signs that she's not as strong as when she was playing in France. 

I didn't watch this last match but in the WC I thought she was disappointing as well. 

She's been one of my favourite CWNT players for several years, but something definitely seemed off at the last WC. I'm not sure if the TV cameras showed it, but, in the midst of the humiliating group stage loss to the Matildas, Lawrence got into a couple of shouting matches with home fans when she was going to take throw-ins. It was as strange as it was unbecoming.