How do you think it will go?
Printable View
How do you think it will go?
US will probably win as we're without Davies, but this Canada team has been special and still has David. If our GK plays like he did last night as well that will help.
Of course the fact he had to make those difficult saves against Honduras does not bode well for how many more he might need to make against the US.
Well I figure you'd have a clue how it might turn out Pablo..
Even without Davies Canada still have the talent to pull off a win at home. And as far as missing players go not having Reyna right now really puts a damper on some of our final third creativity. Is what it is though for now.
Really last night was almost entirely on point for the US barring us banging home a couple more of those close chances that came from solid buildup. The xG differential was a route, just gotta finish more sharply.
My biggest fear right now though for Sunday is Berhalter getting cute with the starting XI and we see him tinkering too much in rotation and end up with a neutered attack against a team likely looking to play a low block and quick counter game to David/Larin. Maybe a couple changes (Pepi for Ferreira) at most, but barring injury or fatigue I'd run as much of the same lineup back as we saw last night.
Also hoping to see a big bounce back game from Pulisic as he kinda stunk it up last night and was completely upstaged by his right-wing counterparts in Dest-McKennie-Weah.
In closing, shove it Canada.
Want at least a draw, would be ecstatic with a win; need to keep stacking points to keep seperation from #4.
If both Panama and Costa Rica could lose, that would be awesome.
Fuck you, America.
Appears we'll also be without Tim Weah.
Cause dangit..
FWIW, if you had told me prior to this qualification stage that after nine games we’d be on the inside track for the World Cup, I’d have said that you’re full of it. There has been a whole lot of darkness for this program, so I’m really enjoying this thus-far successful run.
I would love to see this squad not just get in but also make some noise while we’re there. For those knuckleheads who think this COVID thing is a joke, look at what it’s done to Alphonso Davies. Hopefully the boys can manage without him and he’ll be healthy this Fall, we’re obviously that much more dangerous with him in the starting eleven.
Fall? I'd like to hope he'd be back in time for the next round of qualifying matches in March where we have both Costa Rica and Panama.
I would imagine we’ll be at the mercy of the Bayern medical staff, who will ultimately be the ones to give Davies the green light. Which is fine, considering the amount of money past/present/future they have invested in the young man.
As the Manager of the Canadian National team, I’d be playing it cautious as well. If we can manage a point against the US, the next three should be favourable results. Unless the final match versus Panama decides 3rd/4th or 4th/elimination, I’m totally fine with letting Davies recuperate in Germany; if we can keep banking points, the pressure to rush him back gets kicked down the road.
Ideally, I’m playing the big picture game: I want him at 100% for Qatar, even if it means we lose a little heat off our fastball in the short-term. Right now we seem to have the depth to manage without Alphonso, Jonathan David has been a straight killer this past calendar year and Tajon is looking more and more legit.
Regarding Jonathan David, did @Pablo Diablo see the graphic about the CMNT all-time goals leaders on Thursday? David (T-3) with 19 goals in 25 caps is about to blow Larin (22 in 45) and De Rosario (22 in 81) out of the freaking water. That says a lot about the overall futility of the Men’s program but just as much about how special David has become.
Fun fact: Atiba is at 91 caps for Canada. We have five games left in this qualifying tournament, hopefully three group matches in Qatar; if by some chance we make it to the knockout round, career cap #100 could be had this calendar year. That would be an awesome way to end a career.
I think Bayern are going to want him back for the first Champions League knockout round if he's healthy enough. You are right though, hopefully we have the luxury of being able to let him stay in Germany to recuperate.
Not sure how feasible the round of 16 is for Davies’ Bayern return, given they play 16 February and 8 March; I would imagine their internal calendar has the quarterfinals circled in pencil, pending recovery progress of course.
GET THE FUCK INNNNNNNNNNNN
:canada:
Well that was a bummer. Congrats to Canada for doing a great job of making it a completely ugly arhythmic game that bet on taking advantage of having the finishing play that only needed any one given opportunistic ball bouncing their way. Also with a strong press against our fullbacks stunting our initial progression. The shithousery was pretty lame, but hey, let the concacaf flow through you I suppose.
Our tactics were as sloppy as our play as we kept forcing channels that weren't there with continuous one v ones (or threes or fours) and untimely runs. Took roughly an hour before we started to work the perimeter to spread the Canadian press to a point of creating real space to work with.
Just knew Berhalter would make some headscratching lineup choice and sure enough we had absolutely nothing to offer the top of the attack with Zardes instead of Pepi to start.
We have the youngest roster in all of world cup qualifying full of kids playing in top 5 leagues in Europe and every bit of that shows in our play. The flashes are there and the build is there but the inconsistency is panic-inducing.
Ah well, gotta finish this window strong still.
:canada:
Berhalter posing for pictures in-game while dummying a winless and last place Honduras side in hypothermic temperatures…that’s a real good look.
:dunce:
A lot of soft soccer fans complaining about the weather on my twitter feed this morning.
I'm not in your twitter feed - I'm not in any twitter feeds for that matter - but you can count me with those soft fans because going out of their way to play in arctic conditions is asinine.
If you can't beat Honduras in reasonable weather conditions you shouldn't waste time making a case for a world cup berth.
Alphonso Davies will miss the three Canada games in March, as I kind of expected. Even if he was cleared, I’d keep him at home in Germany and hope to have him at 100% for November.
Should I create a multi-purpose “Qatar 2022” thread rather than hijiacking this one with Canada talk?
A separate 'Qatar 2022' thread I think is cool once we get maybe through qualification for the majority of teams, on the way to group draws.
This I think though may as well just be the defacto CONCACAF thread.
Gold Cup, Nations League, WCQ, etc. Or just any chatter about one squad or another.
MLS started back up. My DC United picks up a win over a new Charlotte team. I will take it. :) Can't wait until next year though when St. Louis joins. I am going to try to get to some MLS Next Pro games if I can this season.
Is this the year MLS finally win a CCL?
Up 3-1 in quarterfinal series' after their first legs, looking nice so far..
St Louis signed Roman Burki today. They have been signing some international talent. They signed Joao Klauss as their designated player. I am going to see if I can get to a couple of the MLS Next Pro games
Giant ball of nerves heading into tomorrow night, ya'll..
Need a win. Not sure it is going to happen. Can't really afford to lose either.
We can move forward with 4 points between Panama and Costa Rica - in fact a lone win against Panama guarantees us the 4th place play-in spot against the Oceania winner - but getting off on the right foot at Azteca feels incredibly crucial to the rest of the window. On the brightside, and in spite of the rollercoaster this qualification process has been, this team feels like they play with a resolve when their backs seem against the wall. They've been thoroughly capable of shitting the bed in layup situations, but when it's put up or shut up time the lightbulb fortunately seems to turn on as needed.
Really wish we had McKennie, Dest, and Aaronson available. This rotational injury bug has been a minor nightmare throughout. Thank goodness for the recent development of actual depth.
But my oh my if we can snatch 3 points at Mexico. I'm hardly gonna be able to stay in my own skin come 9 o'clock tomorrow.
Ugh. The game is on CBS SN and I don't have that. Boo
Looks like maybe on paramount + which I have so maybe I can watch it afterall.
Go on :canada:, get that W and clinch your spot in Qatar…
Shoooooosh! None of that in here.
:lol:
Hope you guys get in but only if we get in as well. :lol:
Couldn't give a rip about em big picture, but I'm all about a Canada win today against Costa Rica..
A US draw or loss today can also help us clinch if we draw or lose.
I may be mistaken, but wouldn't a Mexico loss do just as much to help Canada clinch as a US loss?
Maybe even a tiny hair more given the current goal differential..
I think a US/Mexico draw helps Canada more than a decisive game. That would give the two teams trailing them just one point each. What would suck for the US in case of a draw or loss would be a Panama win which is not out of the question since that narrow the gap
I will take the draw. Both team had chances but glad to escape with a draw. I think bottom three teams are out and going to be a dog fight to see who misses out
How?
You'd still be 6 points clear of Costa Rica (4th place) with 2 matches remaining to theoretically even it up.
Am I missing something?
That said, kinda bummed with the result. The point was certainly helpful, and yes it was at azteca, but goodness that match was there for the taking and we bottled the two best chances of the match while never feeling truly threatened up until we parked the bus so thoroughly with so much time left to go.
Frustrating but back home for Panama now and let's get it effin done.
That’s fine, we wanted to earn that spot by winning at home anyways…
:canada:
It's because you guys and Costa Rica play each other in the last week. So you both couldn't get 3 points in the final week. Right now the US would be 4 behind us (had you lost) and Costa Rica still 6 behind. So with the common game between you only one of you could pass us.
Duh.
Complete oversight by me about the points from the final Costa Rica game.
LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOOOO
:canada:
Congrats Canada.
US all but in at this point. If this results stand Costa Rica has to like blow us out of the water to knock us down to the 4th spot.
Not a perfect half but I will take this 4-0 lead. This team is fired up and just got to be careful. Panama had some chances and Steffan did a great job to keep the shut out so far.
Couldn't be happier with the result. Actual sense of urgency for a full 90, whudda thunk it..?
And can't say enough again about the depth that's arrived for this squad throughout this qualifying cycle. We've continuously been down several of our top guys for any given match - Dest, McKennie, Pulisic, Reyna, Adams - and so it's been far, far from perfect it's been really nice to have some less heralded guys show up and show out - Weah, Aaronson, de la Torre, Moore.
Now just as long as we don't lose by 6 to Costa Rica, lol..
Never say never but I like our chances. :lol:
Paramount + again I see. Why can't we get these games on tv. Glad I have Paramount but honestly it is a recent addition to my other streaming services.
From what I understand the away matches are on the host country to make whatever broadcast deal to air the games. That's why all the home matches are on FS1 or something more accessible and the away matches are on more obscure subscription services or spanish broadcast stations.
Ugh. Just seems that when it comes to World Cup qualifying efforts should be made to make it easy for both countries to watch the game. Not everyone has these various options. Same would be for any games we broadcast because we are the home team. Need to make it easy for the other country to watch.
Agreed 1000%..
Canada's games were initially only going to be on this random streaming platform (Onesoccer) until we made the Octo and then thankfully one of our major national sports channels bought the rights to broadcast their streams on their channel (with onesoccer still providing the actual production).
I have a scout meeting and right after that is a meeting for the people going to the next high adventure trip next summer. So might not get to see much of the game tonight anyway.
Looking forward to the draw on Friday
The hat trick goal by Puli, beautiful..
The no look through ball from Reyna, such quality..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tyn...nel=U.S.Soccer
Let's finish it off officially tonight boys..
About to watch Seattle try to make history and win the Champions league.
And they did it. First MLS team to win the Champions League.
Now DC and LA have won prior versions of this but this the first MLS team to win the Champions League. Seattle will be the first MLS team to go to the FIFA World Club tournament.
Stoked for the boys..
https://images.seattletimes.com/wp-c....jpg?d=780x520
Not a Seattle fan but got to admit they are a good club. That was fun to watch last night. Well deserved
As much as I hate to say it (since they beat us in the finals twice). They truly are MLS's dynasty team.
Just saw that Messi will join Inter Miami in 2023. :eek:
Rooney headed back to MLS to manage DC United. That is interesting considering he didn't finish out his contract as a player for DC and went back to England due to family.
So back to back turd performances with the biggest tournament in the game less than 2 months out. Berhalter has to be taking it directly on the chin for these showings. Not much, if any at all, can be gleaned positively from what we've now seen against Japan and Saudi Arabia. That's right, Japan and Saudi Arabia.. we're not exactly talking about the creme de la creme of the game. And all we could muster against them ranged from anywhere between uninspired and awful.
We've historically been a squad that often plays to the level of our competition. We've yet to have the class to outrank the big dogs but we've had strong showings of grit, determination, and just enough talent versus England, Belgium, and Germany in past world cups while knocking off and seriously threatening Spain and Brazil in international competitions respectively. But we're also known to slum it against the dregs of concacaf and sloppily qualify for the WC.
Hoping for a healthy next two months and that with a full squad on demand the boys can once again rise to the occasion in spite of what we've seen of late. Also we've seen Gregg be pushed to the limit with some of his roster choices and tactics only to make the very last minute of adjustments and a couple of those would be welcome before we load the plane for Qatar. Fingers crossed we simply don't see more of the same at this rate.
Didn't watch either game but heard/saw they were not good. Ugh
St. Louis City2 which has a few players will be on the St. Louis City SC roster next season was number one seed in their conference in the MLS NEXT Pro league. Won first game and moving on to conference finals next. Can't wait until next year and we join the league. Only downside is that it sounds like we are going to be in the West. Nashville is saying it is moving back to the East. Sucks because because that means we won't play as many games against Chicago. We will have KC but then the rest of the conference will suck to travel to.
St. Louis City2 won their conference in the MLS NEXT Pro league and lost the final match. Not a bad start to a new team.
And just announced they will be playing a friendly against Bayern in November in our new stadium right before the cup. Probably going to see if I can snag tickets
MLS released regular season schedule. I didn't realize that teams didn't play every time at some point and time. Not enough games once they play each team in their conference twice. Be nice to see them play everyone in the other conference once. It wouldn't add that many games.
St. Louis actually plays KC three times meaning only 7 games against the East. Was hoping for a DC vs St. Louis game this season.
Now I need to figure out a game or two I would like to go to this season. Miami is coming to town and there has been on and off rumors of Messi joining them. :lol:
RIP to the absolute greatest soccer player of all time, Pele. His impact was undeniable.
What a colossal embarrassment this whole Reyna's/Berhalter drama is turning out to be..
Such a fucking mess.
Real shame to have to see Claudio Reyna of all people in this light now..
It's even worse knowing just how far back those two families go and how close they'd been over so many decades.
Gregg and Claudio grew up together in NJ playing on the same youth club team coached by Claudio's dad. Their wives were teammates and roommates in college playing for UNC. They'd (Gregg and Claudio) both go on to play for the national team, including sharing the pitch during the 2002 World Cup. Berhalter's son Sebastian was a member of Austin FC where Claudio's been the Sporting Director for years now. Obviously Berhalter has been coaching Claudio's son Gio with the USMNT.
And now it's all in the toilet. And quickly and very publicly. And very much at the expense of the thing they all shared a common bond with, the game, particularly in this country.
:facepalm:
This HBO Max nonsense can seriously suck my dick..
I missed that there would be games on there. Fuck that. Not everyone has that. I don't.
Fingers crossed that most of the bigger competitions like Nations League, Gold Cup, and Copa America will be on TNT/TBS and they're just going to try and wring money out of the hardcore fans for friendlies like later this month.
St. Louis City SC got put in a group with Club America from Liga MX for Leagues Cup. They are a historic powerhouse. Not sure if I will be able to snag tickets for that game will probably try.
US team drama continues as Brian McBride is out as GM.
It's a shitshow, and all parties involved should be rightfully embarrassed, but I'm not sounding any alarms about the 2026 world cup as of right now.
There are many several steps between now and then - deciding on a coach for that cycle, nations league, gold cup(s), olympics, etc - and fortunately we won't have to worry about the usual concerns of qualifying. Should we continue with the petty bullshit and/or stumble through any of those steps than I'll start to become concerned. For now though it's just a shameful black eye that we'll press through and try and turn the page from with strong performances starting in a couple months.
My greatest concern at the moment is the naming of the next coach. This feels paramount.
I would have been fine with him staying as coach and honestly would be still fine with him. But yeah that is not going to happen at this point. so yeah at this point wrap things up and find and name a coach.
I'm kinda done with Gregg. I don't hate his guts like a lot of people, I just think it's a fitting time to start fresh.
He served a valuable purpose in helping get the train back on the tracks after the 2018 qualifying debacle. He recruited his arse off in winning over some key dual nationals, notably Dest, Musah, Pepi, and just recently Zendejas. Had a solid if kinda unspectacular run through Nations League, the Gold Cup, and of course seeing us through the group in Qatar. And taking two continental cup finals directly from Mexico don't hurt.
But he was questionable tactically and in some roster and substitution situations too often, and ultimately while the tmz-esque drama is clearly not all his fault its a pretty hard to ignore last note to a real roller coaster of a coaching cycle. His handing the reigns over to an established manager with a fresh voice who can hit a stride with this group who will be peaking come 2026 sounds like just the right next step. Hope the ussf feels the same. Of course I also kinda just hope they're awake at this point.
Women's National Team to play a friendly here at the new stadium in St. Louis. I wonder how much tickets will be. Probably won't be able to go but curious to see how much.
Also looking forward to St. Louis City SC making their MLS debut on Saturday. Not a fan of this apple tv thing that MLS has going on. I want to be able to watch games and not sure how many games I will be able to catch.
St. Louis City SC gets its first MLS win on opening weekend against a good side in Austin on the road. Good game. Glad I was able to watch it
History made in St. Louis. First expansion team to start 4-0
Whoooole bunch of chatter atm about the possibility of us snagging Folarin Balogun from England. He's disgruntled about not being called up to their senior side for euro qualifying, and after being invited to their ongoing u21 euro championship squad pulled himself out with a supposed injury. Things really got interesting when he immediately turned around and flew out to Orlando - which just so happens to be the training site for our senior squad camp for concacaf Nations League this week. He's been schmoozing with the higher ups and the boys and the speculating is getting kinda heated.
Reminds me of Yunus Musah all over again.
US vs Grenada tonight @7 cst in a Nations League group match for anyone giving a rip..
The opponent was who they are.. I don't care, that was fun.
I saw the score. Always got to take advantage of games like this to work on things and good showing. And got a few players cap tied to us.
St. Louis City SC is now 5-0 baby
Sweet. St. Louis is hosting two group game in the Gold Cup this summer including one of the US games. Need to see what is left when tickets go on sale. Heard lots of stuff sold during presale.
That sounds fun bro. Hope you get to check it out.
Don't think I'd be up really to watch Jamaica/Nicaragua, but you should get to see a US blowout if you go to that match.
I think Curacao is the favorite of the tiny islands with very colorful flags.
The women's team just played a friendly here but wasn't able to go. Maybe next time. Hoping we will start to get some more games through here.
Balogun is switching to the US from England.
Great news.
:panic: IT'S HAPPENING!! :panic:
https://firstsportz.com/wp-content/u...1-1024x768.jpg
Seriously though, this is pretty damn cool. And as much as I genuinely enjoy checking out an MLS game live I don't do so hardly at all because the Dynamo have been a dumpster fire for so long now. But this, THIS will get me out to the stadium for certain.
Pretty damn cool. Also he told the Saudi's they could kick rocks in the face of a reported billion dollar offer. Some pretty cool factor there as well.
As soon as stuff started coming out today people selling tickets to the Miami game in St. Louis later this summer started doubling their price. Don't even know if he will be playing yet for that game.
I've read that he may join the club as soon as the Leagues Cup play begins July 7th against Cruz Azul or he could wait a bit longer and join Aug 20th at home vs Charlotte.
I think until the deal is finalized and he is actually with the club we won't know really when he will start.
Miami comes to St. Louis on 7/15. Even if plays on the 7th in the League Cup probably won't play on the 15th in St. Louis.
who knows though.
If people quit jacking up tickets I may grab a ticket just because I want to go to a game and take a gamble.
Still have an outside shot of facing inter here at home in either the leagues cup or the US open..
That said I may just end up waiting till next season when Messimania will have cooled off at least a hair.
US beats Mexico. Drama involved and looks like we are getting our coach back after all that stupid drama
Wish I could say I'm surprised Gregg is back, but how could you be? And I'm not a die-Gregg-die guy, I think he's actually done good things for the program, but it's just the weapons grade head scratchers that are seemingly always there. Three or four bananas roster selections every competition, a couple wtf lineup selections every match, clinging to his die-hard loyal favorites who just don't belong at this level, the titanium rigidity of his tactics, and over the top reactionary versus pro-active substitutions. He leveled up as a manager by the time Qatar rolled around opposite how he began so fingers very crossed that he continues to progress accordingly, and very much hope he watched what his assistants did with the boys in his absence relative to the general criticisms about him.
And fuck Mexico. Barring the off the ball bullshit this is no rivalry. That was a 90 minute shellacking. Absolute dominance and I hope their flight back was as long and agonizing as possible. Hope their 'fans' greet them with bottles of warm piss. Couldn't happen to a better bunch of douchebags.
Go on :canada:, bring home that championship.