Jim Lang, from Sportsnet reacts to this question briefly, yet vague in my opinion:
“The Canadian Soccer Association must be stopped at all costs. They have insulted the intelligence of loyal Canadian soccer fans long enough. We are tired of getting sub-standard, second-rate coaches shoved down our collective throats and having someone try to tell us that the Canadian men’s team is World Cup bound.

What a concept.”

I understand Jim’s argument here in hiring a coach from a more soccer-oriented nation. First, I think Stephen Hart has done a decent job as interim, with a semi-final and quarter-final appearance in recent Gold Cups. Hart has established a decent record as interim but again has failed at given opportunities such as the Gold Cups; winning friendly games should not be a factor in deciding if your job is safe. Second, I understand where Jim is going with this as our recent success in 2000 was credited to Holger Osieck, the German born coach who (along with some on-field miraculous performances) brought us the Gold Cup Title. Again, Englishman Tony Waiters was in charge in our 1985 title triumph.

However, I believe picking one coach, albeit a foreign one is only half the battle. Do we have the talent to compete? Can our best 11, whether coached by Hart or another really live up to expectations? Finding the proper coach will be useless if he is unable to enstil his own philosophy and methods into an under-average squad.

What is your take?

(Article and quote courtesy sportsnet.ca)

FIFA World Ranking Update
Canada has jumped to 53 in the FIFA Rankings after a somewhat exciting yet disappointing Gold Cup. This is our highest ranking since we were 51 in 2007, our highest being 40 in 1996.

Fan Reaction
Interesting Post from John in August:
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.
My take? You are absolutely right John, do we not have the talent to compete with the 2? Or is our nation just not entirely sold on the sport of soccer yet, simply put, is there enough interest nationally? I remember watching the Gold Cup opener against Jamaica on a Friday night and I was amazed by the lack of support. I was in an online chat where there were only 2 of us commentating the game. I was asked many times to change the channel at home, and put on something more “entertaining”. The sport needs a quick pick-me-up here in Canada. Will the expansion of the MLS north of the border help?

Finally another match!
Canada will be taking on Macedonia on November 14 in Skopje. The squad travelling to Macedonia has yet to be announced.

FIFA Rankings- August 2009
The on-field success of Canada’s national men’s soccer team during the 2009 Gold Cup has carried over into the world rankings.

The Canadian team jumped 26 spots in the FIFA world rankings, climbing to 66th place in the world and ranking fifth overall among CONCACAF nations. Canada’s overall jump was 138 points, which was the largest in the world.

Canada played five games since the July rankings, posting a 2-1-1 record and advancing the quarter-finals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Their tournament came to an end after a 1-0 loss to to Honduras in Philadelphia.

The Canadians also posted a 3-0 victory over Guatemala on June 30 in an international friendly.

Canada’s highest ranking was December 1996 when they were No. 40, while their lowest was 103rd in March, 2007.

Haiti had the second-biggest gain in points in the August ranking with 47, as it moved up to 115th place from 120th, while El Salvador picked up 32 points and climbed nine spots to 81st.

In CONCACAF, the United States is ranked first, followed by Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras then Canada.

What is next for Canada and the CSA…

Here are some suggestions:

1. Remove the interim tag off of Stephen Hart
2. Stop letting the MLS ignore international dates (I understand we did not have our strongest possible squad, but neither did alot of other teams. This would defenitely add some flare to the tournament)
3. Force Greg Sutton into retirement
4. Set up some friendlies over the next 2-3 years with prestigious teams, and play in venues like the Rogers Centre etc (Give us Canadian fans something to look forward too until the next qualifying campaign)
5. DO anything and everything to make sure we are in Brazil in 2014.

Canada has yet to schedule its next match which will most likely be a friendly sometime in October or November. Expect some new things from me in the meantime.

Due to tactical reasons ahead of the quarter final match, Hart did not specify the exact players, or extent of their injuries. But in the 2-2 draw with Costa Rica, Paul Stalteri, Julian de Guzman, Ali Gerba, Mike Klukowski, Dejan Jakovic and Josh Simpson did not start. The only player that was confirmed to be dealing with an injury was Jakovic, while de Guzman, Stalteri and Klukowski were benched due to yellow card cautions.

“I had no choice,” Hart said after the final group match. “If any of the players were carded they would have been out of the quarterfinals. And we had injuries. I had no choice.”

“Yes we do (have a lot of injuries),” Hart said. “I am going to have to wait on the medical staff. We have quite a few injuries but the good sign is that they all participated in some light training on Monday.”

Whether Hart is merely using a ploy to cover up his starting squad for Saturday’s game, or in fact many players are indeed suffering minor setbacks, the squads that Hart has fielded has been anything less than impressive.

However, at full strength, Hart understands the full potential of his team, which has been the most impressive team in the tournament, passing all expectations.

“I don’t know if we can actually say we are a favourite,” Hart said when asked of the success. “I think things fell in place a lot quicker than we anticipated and that is all a credit to the players’ work ethic and concentration throughout the training and as the games went on.

“We have played progressively better and got stronger,” Hart said of the first three matches. “And now we are starting to find a rhythm.”

Hopefully they continue this rhythm on Saturday night, and hopefully a rematch of the 2007 Semi-Final awaits.

(2-1-0) United States vs Panama (1-1-1)

Sunday, July 19 (Arlington)
(2-0-1) Guadeloupe vs Costa Rica (1-1-1)

(2-1-0) Mexico vs Haiti (1-1-1)

Patrice Bernier and Marcel De Jong scored as Canada tied Costa Rica 2-2 last night in its final game in the group stages at the CONCACAF championship tournament.

The result gave Canada the top spot in Group A with seven points after 1-0 victories over Jamaica and El Salvador in the first two group matches.

“What we had to do tonight, we did,” Canada head coach Stephen Hart said. “We got the result of a point.”

Canada will play its quarter-final match in the soccer championship for North and Central America and the Caribbean next Saturday against the runner-up of Group B.

“I thought the guys played their hearts out,” Canadian defender Andrew Hainault said. “To come out first in the group, nobody expected us to do this.”

After both teams scored the game’s four goals during a 12-minute spurt in the first half, Canada protected the tie and rarely attacked the Costa Rica goal area in the second half.

With a berth in the quarter-finals already assured heading into the game, Hart rested midfielder Julian De Guzman and didn’t play Ali Gerba until the final 16 minutes of regulation. Gerba scored both Canadian goals in the first two group matches.

Canada struck twice within a four-minute span midway through the first half for a 2-1 lead. Bernier tied the match 1-1 in the 23rd minute.

Josh Simpson’s pass from the left wing found an open Bernier outside the six-yard box, where he successfully converted on a shot past Costa Rica goalkeeper Ricardo Gonzalez.

The goal negated a brief Costa Rica lead as Andy Herron scored the game’s first goal in the 23rd minute. Armando Alonso headed Canadian ‘keeper Greg Sutton’s goal kick to the midfield area to an open Herron on the right wing.

Herron dribbled unmarked toward the Canadian penalty area. Sutton left the goal area to cut Herron’s angle but Herron flicked a shot into an open net.

De Jong gave Canada a 2-1 lead with a goal in the 27th minute when he retrieved a loose ball and sent a shot from 25 yards that landed inside the left post.

But Walter Centeno closed an offensively charged first half with a 20-yard free kick goal in the 34th minute.

We are now set to take on Group B runners up Honduras on Saturday, July 18.

Honduras earned a Gold Cup quarter-final date with Canada by thumping Grenada 4-0 in soccer action Saturday.

Honduras (2-1) finished second in Group B as a result of the victory in Foxborough, Mass. They will play Canada on July 18 at 5 p.m. ET at Lincoln Field in Philadelphia.

Canada clinched first in Group A on Friday with a 2-2 draw against Costa Rica.

Canada and Honduras have some recent history. The Hondurans rallied with two goals in a 2-1 World Cup qualifying match last September.

Honduras scored within the first two minutes and didn’t look back on Saturday, receiving goals from Walter Martinez, Roger Espinoza, Melvin Valladares and Carlos Costly.

Venue: FIU Stadium Miami, Florida
Time: 7:00 PM EST
Canada 2-0-0 (Jamaica 1-0, El Salvador 1-0)
Costa Rica 1-0-1 (Costa Rica 1-2 El Salvador, Jamaica 0-1 Costa Rica)

Canada put in yet another solid performance on Tuesday night, taking advantage of a sub-par El Salvadorian squad on way to a 1-0 victory.

Again, it was Ali Gerba who came through with the lone goal, his 4th goal in 3 games, including the 2 he scored against Guatemala in a friendly. Our defence continues to work well together, especially Klukowski and Jakovic, as in the current four game winning streak we have yet to concede a goal. Our boys will be more than willing to shut down a tricky Costa Rican side on Friday night.

Costa Rica is 1-1-0 after a close game with El Salvador, which ended in defeat, and an unimpressive victory over a disappointing Jamaican side.

Jamaica played a man down after a midfielder Rudolph Austin was shown a straight red card by referee Jair Marrufo for his tackle against Borges in the 35th minute. But the Reggae Boyz held their own with 10 men, pressing the attack at the start of the second half before surrendering the decisive goal to Borges.

A look at:

Costa Rica
Gold Cup Appearances: 14
Gold Cup Titles: 3 (1963, 1969, 1989)

Key Players:
M Walter Centeno (19G in 128A)
F Alvaro Saborio (14G in 47A)
D Harold Wallace (3G in 91A)
M Celso Borges (5G in 12A)

Some comments from players:

“For us, I thought it was a great performance from start to finish,”. “We went out and had a plan and stuck with it. “We’re a well-organized soccer team and we got the goal we were looking for. We were very good defensively.” -Atiba Hutchinson

“We know they need to come out and get a result so they can advance to the next round,”. “They are one of the leading nations in CONCACAF so it will be a good test for us.” -Paul Stalteri

“We’ve come along quicker than I thought because we didn’t have a lot of time together,”. “Tonight, was for me, pleasing, because we played more consistently than we did the game before.”

“We are just happy to get the two victories and to be playing consistently,” Canada manager Stephen Hart said. “Whether we are the surprise of the tournament or not that’s other people’s thoughts.

“We are quite aware that in the group we can still finish third. Our main priority is to get a result out of the game.” -Stephen Hart

And a warning to the Costa Ricans from El Salvador:
“Canada denied us space and did not allow us to play the football we are accustomed to,” “You have to credit them. Defensively we did well but our attack left a lot to be desired. We could not penetrate their defence.” - El Salvador manager Carlos De Los Lobos

Possible Starting XI: Gonzalez; Wallace, Fernandez, Marshall, Delgado; Sirias, Centeno, Borges, Alonso; Ledezma, Saborio

If Canada can overcome the surface concerns and continues its strong group performances, it could help soothe another disappointment in World Cup qualifiers, and possibly head into the quarters undefeated and with high confidence.

Prediction:
Canada 2-1 Costa Rica

GOAL:
ALI GERBA (2) 32′

Subs: El Salvador 45′= Alas for Torres, 65′= Corrales for Costillo, Canada 76′= Jackson for Gerba, 84′= de Jong for Simpson, 86′= Barrera for Reyes

Bookings: Yellow= Mike Klukowski, Paul Stalteri

El Salvador Starting XI: Montes(GK), Henriques, Pacheco, Salazar, Gonzalez, Sanchez, Torres, Castillo, Coreas, Romero, Reyes

Canada Starting XI: Sutton (GK), McKenna, Jakovic, Stalteri, De Guzman, Bernier, Hutchinson, Klukowski, Simpson, Johnson and Gerba

Previous Matches: Jamaica 0-1 Costa Rica

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The first half sure didnt have the spark from both teams that I expected. Sure we have the lead through who else but Ali Gerba, but our means of attack should change in the second half. de Guzman is trying to cleverly find Gerba through the air, but El Salvador are up to the task of clearing. Terrible clearance by El Salvador however, which led to Gerba getting a touch on the ball and redirecting it into the net. El Salvador cannot get anything going, their best chance coming from a free kick just outside the center of the box, and an open chance which hit the side netting. We could easily be up 3-0 here.

This second half also did not have the same action from what we saw against Jamaica. For both teams, the last touch simply wasn’t there today. El Salvador looked like a reserve squad on the pitch, though they were able to muster up a few decent chances, the finishing touch was lacking. The star in the victory over Costa Rica, Romero, was insignificant in this game. Our back line who looked iffy against Jamaica is becoming a tighter unit, and will only get better as the tournament progresses.

Gerba again played well, as did de Guzman. As mentioned, the defence was also impressive. What i’m mulling over however is Simeon Jackson not in a starting roll. Hart needs to let this kid loose from the beginning of the match alongside Gerba, and not subbing in for him. That should be Johnson’s roll, he should be a late sub. Hart is just sticking to what works I guess.

With this victory, we still aren’t through yet. A tie is all that is needed against Costa Rica to send us through, but our boys are out to prove something, and I think they’ll be gunning for the victory Friday night.

Current Standings

Team W-D-L GF GA GD PTS
1- Canada 2-0-0 2 0 2 6
2- Costa Rica 1-0-1 2 2 0 3
3- El Salvador 1-0-1 2 2 0 3
4- Jamaica 0-0-2 0 2 -2 0

Venue: Crew Stadium Columbus, Ohio
Time: 9:00 PM EST
Canada 1-0-0 (1-0 Jamaica)
El Salvador 1-0-0 (2-1 Costa Rica)

An organized Canadian side opened the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup impressively with a 1-0 win over Group A opponent Jamaica last Friday in Los Angeles, Canada’s third consecutive victory under interim coach Stephen Hart. The goal is to extend that streak against a strong El Salvador squad Tuesday night at Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

Canada played Jamaica even and Gerba scored a nice goal to win. The only real spot of concern is that De Guzman was booked. When Canada’s back four got the ball against Jamaica, Jamaica rarely contested the first pass to a midfielder. Most of what Canada does flows through De Guzman, and Canada had more space in which to operate once they figured out that De Guzman did not need to retreat quite so deeply to get the ball.

El Salvador will be a lot less patient. Manager de los Cobos was pleased his side snapped their losing streak against Costa Rica, but said that his team won’t continue to get results by sitting back and waiting for counterattacking opportunities.

Our opponents for tomorrow nights game:

El Salvador
Gold Cup Appearances: 5
Gold Cup Titles: 0
Best Finish: Quarters, 2002-2003

Key Players:
F Rudis Corrales (Aguila) (13G in 52A)
M Elisio Quantanilla (Ermis Aradippou) (12G in 37A)
D Alfredo Pacheco (NY Red Bulls) (6G in 68A)
M Osael Romero (Vista Hermosa) (6G in 28A)

An organized Canadian side opened the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup impressively with a 1-0 win over Group A opponent Jamaica last Friday in Los Angeles, Canada’s third consecutive victory under interim coach Stephen Hart. The goal is to extend that streak against a strong El Salvador squad Tuesday night at Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

“It’s obviously important in the first game of a tournament to get off to a good start and we managed to do that,” Canadian captain Paul Stalteri said Monday after the team’s practice at the Columbus Crew facility. “It was a bit of a tricky game for some of us coming off of our summer breaks. It was important that we were well organized, and found our rhythm early in the game. “Tactically, we weren’t spot on but we were close.”

Stalteri knows the El Salvador match will be a challenge. The captain emphasized the need for Canada to be as sharp as the previous outing, while maintaining possession of the ball for as long as possible rather than chase defensively. El Salvador sits alongside Canada with three points atop Group A – considered the Gold Cup’s “group of death” – following a 2-1 win over Costa Rica Friday.

“It’s important that we stay focused, stay disciplined and stay organized,” added Toronto midfielder Julian De Guzman. “If we can do those three things I think we can come away with three points.”
Canada’s difficult draw hasn’t phased De Guzman or his teammates. “This is a wake-up call,” he said. “It’s never going to be easy to be one of the best in CONCACAF. The group that we’re in, it puts us in a certain state of mind and I think we do well when we’re focused.”

Possible Starting XI: Montes; Escobar, Pacheco, Salazar, Gonzalez; Sanchez, Castillo, Coreas, Martinez; Romero, Corrales

The key in upcoming games will be sustaining the performance for a full 90 minutes. Hart admits that the tournament’s rigorous travel schedule has impacted preparation time but is confident in his players. I expect Canada to pull through this one with a victory.

Prediction:
El Salvador 1-2 Canada

GOAL: 75′ Ali Gerba

Subs: Josh Simpson in for Marcel de Jong, Jackson in for Johnson

Bookings: Davis (Jamaica), Johnson (Jamaica), Phillips (Jamaica), Thompson (Jamaica), de Guzman (Canada)

Standings:
Canada 3pts
El Salvador 0pts
Costa Rica 0pts
Jamaica 0pts

Canada is off to a perfect start at the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup, defeating Jamaica 1-0 on Friday in Los Angeles.

Toronto FC’s Ali Gerba scored the winner for the Canadians in the 75th minute.

On a three-man break, Mike Klukowski sent a cross from the left side that Gerba volleyed into the left side of the net past Jamaican keeper Donovan Ricketts.

The teams were evenly matched throughout the game. Possession was spread out evenly, though Canada held the slight edge in shots (6-5).

There was a spell in the second half when Jamaica pressed, but Canadian keeper Greg Sutton held firm. The Reggae Boyz had eight corner kicks while Canada only had three.

The victory is a big boost to Canada’s chances of advancing past the group stage of the competition.

Drawn into Group A, the tournament’s “Group of Death,” the Canadians needed a win against Jamaica to set themselves up well heading into tough games against El Salvador and Costa Rica.

The victory was a measure of revenge for Canada, too. The Jamaicans defeated the Canadians 3-0 the last time the two sides met, a World Cup qualifier in November. Both teams are eliminated from World Cup 2010.

Canada’s next match is against El Salvador on July 7 in Columbus, Ohio.

Both sides had a couple chances to open the scoring in the first half.

Canadian keeper Sutton made the first save of the match in the 16th minute when Jamaican captain Ricardo Gardner suddenly found himself with some space with the ball just outside the penalty area. But Gardner couldn’t get enough power behind his attempt and Sutton made an easy stop.

The Jamaicans came close again in the 24th minute as Jermaine Johnson sent a shot just wide of Sutton’s left post.

The Canadians came back with a quality chance of their own: Kevin McKenna flicked an early cross on goal that keeper Ricketts just tipped over the bar in the 25th minute.

Canada came close again in the 34th minute. Patrice Bernier played a great one-two with Julián De Guzman and found himself free in close on Ricketts, but the keeper dove and just got his fingers on the shot to parry the ball wide of the right post.

Two more chances went by the wayside right after the re-start for the Canadians.

A minute after entering the game in place of Marcel De Jong, Josh Simpson took a powerful first-touch shot that keeper Ricketts parried, and the ensuing corner saw Johnson boot one high over the Jamaican goal.

After that Jamaica began to press.

Sutton made a big save on the 54th minute off Luton Shelton, who fired a shot from the right side of the box that the Canadian keeper had to dive at. He was called on again in to make a crucial stop when Stoke forward Ricardo Fuller was sent through the Canada defence in the 63rd minute.

The Reggae Boyz had four corners in the first 20 minutes of the half. But after that Jamaican flurry, Canada found the breakthrough in the 75th minute with Gerba’s one-touch volley into the back of the net.

Gerba, 27, who was acquired by Toronto FC on June 23, has scored 14 goals for Canada in the last 25 games. He almost had his second of the match near stoppage time, but couldn’t get his boot on a Johnson cross with an open net in front of him.