World cup

[kokanee king]

FIFA World Cup is upon us let's talk about Canada's chance of qualifying in the group stage. We are in Group F along with Belgium, Croatia, and Morroco. Any soccer lover in the house?

[barbless]

Should win at least one game. On the world stage now.

[kokanee king]

At least a Win against Belgium and Croatia

[RichV]

I will be watching and cheering for a win. Went to the qualifier games in Edmonton, they were great!

I'm very unhappy that Edmonton got locked out of 2026, but will put that aside until after this WC.

[RandyBoBandy]

Davies got injured yesterday (hamstring). I hope he gets over it in due time

[JB_AOL]

I suspect it will be a short-lived tourney, but I will be watching for sure.

Also went to the qualifiers last year, so much fun.

[Peace Meal Farm]

I have followed this team through thick (rare) and thin (the traditional norm) since 1998, and I have been there through countless home matches plus away games in Estonia, Egypt and England. Our national team has broken my heart more times than I care to remember.

Simply qualifying was glorious. The tournament is incredibly difficult to reach, and whatever happens in Qatar the accomplishment of qualification will not diminish. Moreover, the fashion in which we qualified should never be overlooked. We didn't just squeak in through the intercontinental playoffs like Costa Rica. We won the group. Bossed it. Full of swagger.

That said, both Belgium and Croatia are aging teams, but their class is still present. My hope is that our young, pacey attackers like Jonathan David, Tajon Buchanan and Alphonso Davies (who will be back in time for the tournament) can hit them on the counter and keep them honest when they're in possession.

The game against Morocco is a wild card. They have changed managers and in the process have courted some top players back to their team. They are incredibly quick and skillful, and they went toe to toe in a friendly with Chile a couple weeks back. It was end to end stuff. Very entertaining.

Advancing out of the group would be a massive accomplishment The quality of Canada and Morocco as the 'filler' teams in our group have many calling this a group of death. We are in tough.

[barbless]

Originally Posted by RandyBoBandy

Davies got injured yesterday (hamstring). I hope he gets over it in due time

He will have the best of care and physio to get him ready.

[kokanee king]

Originally Posted by Peace Meal Farm

I have followed this team through thick (rare) and thin (the traditional norm) since 1998, and I have been there through countless home matches plus away games in Estonia, Egypt and England. Our national team has broken my heart more times than I care to remember.

Simply qualifying was glorious. The tournament is incredibly difficult to reach, and whatever happens in Qatar the accomplishment of qualification will not diminish. Moreover, the fashion in which we qualified should never be overlooked. We didn't just squeak in through the intercontinental playoffs like Costa Rica. We won the group. Bossed it. Full of swagger.

That said, both Belgium and Croatia are aging teams, but their class is still present. My hope is that our young, pacey attackers like Jonathan David, Tajon Buchanan and Alphonso Davies (who will be back in time for the tournament) can hit them on the counter and keep them honest when they're in possession.

The game against Morocco is a wild card. They have changed managers and in the process have courted some top players back to their team. They are incredibly quick and skillful, and they went toe to toe in a friendly with Chile a couple weeks back. It was end to end stuff. Very entertaining.

Advancing out of the group would be a massive accomplishment The quality of Canada and Morocco as the 'filler' teams in our group have many calling this a group of death. We are in tough.

Well said! on paper, Belgium and Croatia look like favorites to qualify but then again, This is football anything can happen.

I wish David is back on time and fit. I wish our team good luck

[JB_AOL]

Looks like Maxime is out now as well..☹️

[barbless]

Originally Posted by JB_AOL

Looks like Maxime is out now as well..☹️

Go figure. Just in time for the world stage. Hope they both recover in time.

[EZM]

Belgium and Croatia are solid teams and it's likely Canada will not be able to get a result in those matches.

Having said that, if they had a chance against wither of those 2, Croatia's squad has a few old men that are being replaced with untested players at the world stage - so you never know. For a country of 5 million people, they produce some of the worlds strongest players and best results - so the program there is certainly far superior to what they our teaching our kids here.

Either way, it will be interesting to watch anyways.

[JB_AOL]

Originally Posted by barbless

Go figure. Just in time for the world stage. Hope they both recover in time.

Sounds like Davies will be back for the start, but Maxime is out for months.. I don't even know who their backup keep is.

[Mr Flyguy]

Originally Posted by kokanee king

At least a Win against Belgium and Croatia

Against Belgium??? Forget it, Canada will be lucky to score a goal in the three games.

[snipz]

Originally Posted by Mr Flyguy

Against Belgium??? Forget it, Canada will be lucky to score a goal in the three games.

Flyguy you'll be surprise

[Peace Meal Farm]

Originally Posted by JB_AOL

Sounds like Davies will be back for the start, but Maxime is out for months.. I don't even know who their backup keep is.

Maxime is our second choice 'keeper. Our starter is Milan Borjan - first choice and captain for Red Star Belgrade. He's prone to the odd howler (he thinks his footwork and distribution are better than they actually are), but his shot stopping is elite.

Red Star almost always win the Serbian league and then wind up in some Champions League group with teams like Liverpool, Bayern Munich or Paris St Germain. More often then not Milan will stand on his head during those high profile matches and prevent his side from getting blown out.

What's really cool about Borjan is that he came to Canada as an immigrant - in his adolescent or teenage years - and became a citizen afterward. He had calls to play internationally for his birth country (Croatia/Yugoslavia), but he opted to play for us as a way to give back to the country which gave his family a fresh start after they fled the Yugoslav wars. Considering the fact that Canadian soccer was in absolute shambles at this time it gives his actions even more weight. He's class.

[Peace Meal Farm]

So Max Bell at the Canadian Soccer Association has started putting out ~20 minute documentaries detailing all of the qualifying stages. They start out with Canada going through the formalities of smoking Aruba, the Cayman Islands, et al, before winning the home and away tie against Haiti to reach the final round.

They are very well done and the production value is high.

Starting from the beginning it's fun to see the stadia, crowds and opposition quality build as the qualification process progresses. The episodes are being released at a rate of one per week. I think there will be 7 or 8 in total. We are currently at #5.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VoV7hL5kfU #1 - Beating up on the minnows, round 1 of qualifying

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uglroaQmhjE #2 - Round 2 vs Aruba and Suriname, Round 3 Home and Away vs Haiti

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXHfvalbhGQ #3 - Beginning of the final round, Home vs Honduras, Away vs USA, Home vs El Salvador

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybLqyyz4Avs #4 - Away vs Mexico, Away vs Jamaica, Home vs Panama

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4hNKU-lK_I&t=1464s #5 - Edmonton/Iceteca home matches vs Costa Rica and Mexico

[JB_AOL]

Originally Posted by Peace Meal Farm

Maxime is our second choice 'keeper. Our starter is Milan Borjan - first choice and captain for Red Star Belgrade. He's prone to the odd howler (he thinks his footwork and distribution are better than they actually are), but his shot stopping is elite.

Red Star almost always win the Serbian league and then wind up in some Champions League group with teams like Liverpool, Bayern Munich or Paris St Germain. More often then not Milan will stand on his head during those high profile matches and prevent his side from getting blown out.

What's really cool about Borjan is that he came to Canada as an immigrant - in his adolescent or teenage years - and became a citizen afterward. He had calls to play internationally for his birth country (Croatia/Yugoslavia), but he opted to play for us as a way to give back to the country which gave his family a fresh start after they fled the Yugoslav wars. Considering the fact that Canadian soccer was in absolute shambles at this time it gives his actions even more weight. He's class.

Didn't actually know he was 2nd. I'll be the first to admit (even though I've been to the qualifiers), I don't follow it much on the world stage. But will definitely be tuned in later this month.

[kokanee king]

Canada all the way...............

[EZM]

Canada, despite the loss, played solid football, far beyond what many expected. It's clear the "Herdman" program and strategy are working very well for them. Although they do not have the quality players and depth compared to Belgium or Croatia, I thought they outplayed Belgium (ranked #2) today. They truly played well together as a unit and were fearless on the front foot and did not sit back and "participate" - they were playing to win.

I would have never imagined .... well done !!!!!

[JB_AOL]

That was great football. Canada had lots of chances to put one in the mesh, but I think the nerves/inexperience did them in. Definitely played well either way

[altex]

Well done Canada , if they play like that the next 2 games they might have a chance to go to the second round.

[britman101]

Would have liked to see Alphonso Davies score on the penalty kick, but dem's the breaks. A 1-1 tie against Belgium would have been the fantastic start Canada needed. But if they play like this in the next two games, they may have a chance to advance.

[PMJ]

Not a fair result for us. We deserve to take something out of that match. Kudos guys

[Mr Flyguy]

Impressed with Canada in the first half and then maintaining the score in the second. If they can play like that against Croatia and Morocco they just might score some goals and advance to the next round.

But please, let somebody else take penalty kicks if ever awarded again!

[Peace Meal Farm]

I'm not all that big on moral victories, but I can't remember the last time I felt so content with a loss. We had them on the ropes for huge segments of that match, and on any other day if we were more clinical with our chances then we'd have gone home with at least a point.

We played with a touch of swagger and arrogance. It was lovely to see that we're not in the tournament just to make up numbers and we gave #2 Belgium a real shot across the bow! Can't wait for the matches with Croatia and Morocco.

[fishtank]

Well damn that’s a friendly match between England and the USA …

[PMJ]

Originally Posted by fishtank

Well damn that’s a friendly match between England and the USA …

[Mr Flyguy]

Finally a day of "normalcy" at the games today. even Messi sank one!

Wonder if Canada will get that elusive first goal tomorrow?

[Twisted Canuck]

And Canada's Alphonso Davies scores against Croatia the second minute into the game. Canada's first ever World Cup goal?