Jackson ignited the offence and was key in the build up to that goal. I wanted to see him get the start over Johnson, because as per usual Johnson showed skill but was too weak in penetrating the defence. Every time he made a move into the penalty area, he was easily boxed out. McKenna, Jakovic and Klukowski were all solid and Gerba proved his worth again. Can’t wait to see Peters and Harmse thrown into the mix; they should provide some grit and speed. We must keep in mind that El Salvador beat Costa Rica though, and I know they won’t be easy to break down.

Sutton went to high school in the USA (Connecticut). He went to my high school in the early 90’s. He did track and field. He holds four school records. (400M, High Jump, Long Jump, and Triple Jump).

For triple jump, I am second all time for my high school. Greg Sutton is first, but he jumped way ahead of me. He also was all state basketball and all state soccer. Exceptional athlete.

Sutton went to high school in the USA (Connecticut). He went to my high school in the early 90’s. He did track and field. He holds four school records. (400M, High Jump, Long Jump, and Triple Jump).

For triple jump, I am second all time for my high school. Greg Sutton is first, but he jumped way ahead of me. He also was all state basketball and all state soccer. Exceptional athlete.

Congrats on the win!

I like El Salvador because the players aren’t as flimsy as some of the others from the region of Central America. I watched the game vs Costa Rica and I have to say that El Salvador fully deserved the win. This Romero guy is pretty good and there is no doubting Quintanilla, Corrales and Pacheco’s abilities. However, Hart has got to let Peters and Jackson see more playing time. If they don’t play around 70 mins a piece, I don’t think Canada will win. I smell a draw, 1-1.

Jackson for Gerba 76th minute, are you kidding me… I was waiting for a substitution since the 60th minute and this is what Hart does? Why not take off the useless tool Johnson? Simpson has been good but is tired and Bernier needs a change as well. Peters, Nakajima, De Jong, Hastings are all on the bench… Hutch and De Guz have been really good, but having Staltz and Johnson on the same side concerns me.

Post game– I take back what I said about El Salvador being better sports; they were dropping like flies.

Great flo pass from Klukowski to Johnson at one point, but Johnson doesn’t have the strength or size to head the ball into the box. I like how he chested it down, but the follow up shot was atrocious.

On a better note, Canada really moved the ball around well and Hutch and De Guz were like turbines in the middle. Great production and with Jackson playing up behind Gerba, this could have been a walkover. McKenna is amazing and I never doubted him. Don’t really understand why Sportsnet called him underrated. The Setanta commentators know nothing about the Canadian national team or soccer for that matter, and had some nerve calling our boys’ play “boring”.

Gerba again, showed his quality. He’s not an amazing player, but his finishing is clinical. I think he is the piece Canada has been missing all these years.

Sutton suffered one brain cramp, but had a decent game. Anybody but Onstad is fine, as far as I am concerned.

With so many options on the bench, this is shaping up to be a pretty promising competition. I hope some of the other guys play against Costa Rica, as Canada is already through to the next round. Hopefully it will make Hart open his eyes.

So I thought we were qualified for sure now. Alas it has been pointed out we aren’t just yet. Though if any game ties from here on out we are in for sure. More than likely we will be in, but you could quite possibly get 9 teams with 6 points each (With loser on Goal difference being knocked out). Chances of it happening are slim to none, but it could. So Canada start praying for a draw.

Posted from  Canada

I really dont see El Salvador blowing out Jamaica and passing us on GD, or us losing 3-0 to Costa Rica. But after watching the Confederations Cup with the USA advancing from the group stage, I guess anything is possible. A tie would be good, but it would be a boost of confidence to go through 3-0-0, after everyone was writing them off.

Posted from  Canada

I’m becoming a Canadian fan!

Posted from  Canada

Does anybody know what the tie-breaking rules are for the group stage? After goal differential, is it goals for first, or whoever won the match between the two tied teams goes through?

Also, I just looked at the knockout phase and now know for sure that the tournament is rigged. First of all we get drawn into the group of death, while USA and Mexico get minnows like Grenada and Nicaragua. Then, we have to play the 2nd place team from group B which will most likely be Honduras, while the first place teams in groups B(USA) and C(Mexico) play third place teams (Jamaica, Panama or Haiti). If we win, guess who we get to play… That’s right the United States as no third place team will knock them out. I’m sure they’re, and by they’re I mean the US, saving Archundia for that game. I hope Canada takes the liberty to be as physical as possible if that’s the case. Might as well be mean if we’re not going to get the calls anyway.

Actually, this may turn out for the best, because with the US drawing with Haiti and if Guadeloupe beats Mexico, it would be US vs Mexico in the quarters as nobody from group A would make it as the third place team, leaving 1st place from group B to square off against 3rd place group C. Of course, this could all only be possible if Panama beats Nicaragua.

For me this is the best case scenario for Canada in the quarters:

Canada v Honduras
United States v Mexico (If Canada wins its match, they will play the winner of this one).

Panama v Costa Rica
Guadeloupe v Haiti

Isnt that Costa Rica´s best case scenario?

Look, either way we’re playing the US. Might as well see Mexico do some damage on them, as Mexico’s probably the only other team that will give the US a run for their money.

Ohh and don’t worry, if things turn out like I think, Costa Rica won’t make it. It will be Guadeloupe instead.

Canada has been a happy surprise and most probably will beat Honduras.

Get ready for some feigning. (56th minute)

Johnson, Staltz, Simps and Hutch haven’t been very good. They look like a bunch of schoolboys bunching up at the top. A lot of lost balls and awkward challenges too. De Guz has done well though.

Canada is not playing the right kind of formation against this team. Honduras gave them a lot of space and invited them in during the first half, but every time Canada got the ball they got too excited.

I say Canada stops competing in this ridiculous region.
Good on De Ro for declining, it’s not worth it. These refs are so bad, and with cheap teams like Honduras and the rest of concacaf I’m afraid Canada will never succeed. I say we start faking it too, it’s the only way.

Watched the US – Mexico game with great interest today and wondered how long (if ever) it will take for Canada to establish a compelling rivalry with either the Americans or with Mexico.

Until that happens – we will be posting about Gold Cup matchups instead of compelling World Cup matchups.

Posted from  United States

Simple question of numbers if you ask me… No matter the resources of Canada, a country of 33 million in which soccer is by no means the most popular sport (is it even in the top three?) can’t be expected to produce talent to consistently compete well, even in CONCACAF.

Mexico has nearly four times the population and a million times the fanaticism. The United States, with almost ten times your population and more resources than any country in the world, can afford to lose 99% of its athletes to other sports and STILL put together a decent–if not damn fine– 23 man squad for any match.

(Forgot to finish up my point )

As long as Canada can’t really compete consistently against the CONCACAF giants, I wouldn’t hold my breath for a rivalry to develop.

Which sucks, really. The Central American countries have their fierce, local rivalries, and even the Caribbean countries can bounce around some bragging rights amongst themselves. But Canada is Canada :\ You qualify directly for the Gold Cup, put in a decent performance and then practically nothing for the next two years. Rinse, lather, repeat.

What needs to happen to all of Canada, in order for us to get anywhere, is what I decided for myself; Canada has no real summer sport. Although the official summer sport is lacrosse, it is not massively popular. If association football could become a popular summer sport in Canada, that definitely would help.

Posted from  Canada

What I mean is that, since hockey is my main sport, but I have no summer sport, I’ve adopted soccer as my summer sport. If Canada were to do the same, we might actually get somewhere. I began my adoption of soccer by watching the Gold Cup last summer. It was cool, except for the fact that there were hardly any actual Canadians on our team.

Posted from  Canada