The Canadian Men's Soccer Team Thread

[MillerTime GFG]

My voice is gone. That was an absolute riot. My kids were standing in their seats by the end, chanting with the crowd and getting right into every scoring chance. So good.

[You Need a Thneed]

At this point in qualifying, we have less losses than Spain and Germany.

Germany is in a group with north Macedonia, Romania, Armenia, Iceland and Lichtenstein

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by troutman

Did we take out our best player just so he could get an ovation?

I thought he actually had a pretty poor game. He was trying to do way too much on his own instead of quickly moving the ball and finding space. This was going to potentially end in disaster when he was doing it well back toward his own half. Sub him off, take away the risk, and have him come back in fresh and a bit less over excited to play at home on Tuesday.

[CroFlames]

This may have been the best night of my life. Voyageurs section was unreal. Mega shoutout the the absolute legends who brought the smoke.

Tons of out of towners and tons of cavalry fans. Even some Toronto and Vancouver fans where we were.

This will be a night to remember.

I love Canada and I love all of you.

[PeteMoss]

Tidy win. The field looked terrible on tv. Can they not at least paint over the football lines better than that?

[shermanator]

Got back home around 1 and managed to fall asleep around 4 am. So worth it!

Thought it was a pretty sloppy game overall by Canada, largely hurt by that terrible playing surface. Adekugbe was unreal last night, I cannot believe how much he has improved over the years. Buchanan's bike off the crossbar was completely unreal and would have had the crowd doing limbs for days. Davies tried to do too much all game, frequently trying to take on 3 defenders leaving others in the midfield out to dry. The goal was just a goalmouth scramble, and I wasn't sure why the second goal was called off but the win is all the matters, so job done.

Huge crowd in Edmonton but the atmosphere was kind of weird, especially in the supporters section. I was 17 rows up so I couldn't hear the capo or songs too much. Tried to get things going a bit but often it was less awkward just to hang out and watch the game. Not sure how it came across on TV. Was good to catch up with people from Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, etc. Lots of Cavalry swag in the crowd too.

Things got sloppy closer to the end of the game given that it was a Friday night in Edmonton and there were a couple small dust ups, but overall I think it was a good crowd. The pitch invasions were really on security, can't believe after the first one security didn't clue in to what was going on and try to stop copycats.

Nice to run into a couple CPers as well. Always weird to hear "are you shermanator" in person, but I love it!

[TherapyforGlencross]

Originally Posted by You Need a Thneed

At this point in qualifying, we have less losses than Spain and Germany.

Germany is in a group with north Macedonia, Romania, Armenia, Iceland and Lichtenstein

There’s such a variation between regions that it’s not really worth looking at it for a basis of comparison. Iceland is a good team. I mean, they’re ahead of Canada in FIFA Rankings, on top of qualifying for 2018. Mins you, the rest aren’t nothing to write home about..

Great win for the boys! That chance by Buchanan… oh my the place would have exploded if that went in! Excited to see Buchanan play for Brogge FC when January arrives

[M*A*S*H 4077]

What a great evening! Have almost no voice this morning but that’s to be expected. I agree with Sherm, Adekugbe was man of the match. He controlled that left side and showed some real fancy footwork all night long

Shame Buchanan’s bike didn’t get in but the only thing that matters is the 3 points. Time to get ready for Mexico. Phonzie needs to do less with the ball, the Mexicans will destroy us if we keep getting caught out in transition moments with sloppy giveaways

[shermanator]

Halfway through, we're starting to see a clear top 4 emerging from this group. Mexico, US, Canada and Panama all 5 or more points clear of 5th place.

[You Need a Thneed]

Originally Posted by shermanator

, and I wasn't sure why the second goal was called off but the win is all the matters, so job done.

The second goal was very clearly off of our players arm. It was the correct call by the ref.

[browna]

Originally Posted by You Need a Thneed

The second goal was very clearly off of our players arm. It was the correct call by the ref.

It was, but again, no replays, which is the entire point of having a video board.
The pitch looked worse on TV with the light reflecting off the paint they couldn't cover over, but regardless the pitch looked spotty in-person too and that place overall is barely a half step above McMahon if that.

Terrible ingress, illprepared for that many people. Bad signage, and don't bother going for anything other then beer at the concession. Add to that the acres of space behind the nets and the sidelines becuase of the whole track, and it's like playing in 1978. Maybe they put up stands at one end for the WC but that causes its own problems.

Shame BC cheaped out and IIRC didn't apply to host 2026 games, as I'd rather take the flight out to Vancouver because BC Place would be rocking and a much more intimate experience.

[McG]

Originally Posted by browna

It was, but again, no replays, which is the entire point of having a video board.
The pitch looked worse on TV with the light reflecting off the paint they couldn't cover over, but regardless the pitch looked spotty in-person too and that place overall is barely a half step above McMahon if that.

Terrible ingress, illprepared for that many people. Bad signage, and don't bother going for anything other then beer at the concession. Add to that the acres of space behind the nets and the sidelines becuase of the whole track, and it's like playing in 1978. Maybe they put up stands at one end for the WC but that causes its own problems.

Shame BC cheaped out and IIRC didn't apply to host 2026 games, as I'd rather take the flight out to Vancouver because BC Place would be rocking and a much more intimate experience.

I’m going to the match v Mexico on Tuesday. I was at the last WC qualifier versus Mexico at BC Place and the facility management was excellent.

The facility management at the womens’ World Cup was terrible, appalling and frankly it’s amazing that no one was hurt. Entire concourse paralysis, poor vendor management, it was as if there had never been a crowd at commonwealth. I’m hoping for better on Tuesday but fearing the worst especially hearing that there wasn’t enough security last night.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by shermanator

Got back home around 1 and managed to fall asleep around 4 am. So worth it!

Thought it was a pretty sloppy game overall by Canada, largely hurt by that terrible playing surface. Adekugbe was unreal last night, I cannot believe how much he has improved over the years. Buchanan's bike off the crossbar was completely unreal and would have had the crowd doing limbs for days. Davies tried to do too much all game, frequently trying to take on 3 defenders leaving others in the midfield out to dry. The goal was just a goalmouth scramble, and I wasn't sure why the second goal was called off but the win is all the matters, so job done.

Huge crowd in Edmonton but the atmosphere was kind of weird, especially in the supporters section. I was 17 rows up so I couldn't hear the capo or songs too much. Tried to get things going a bit but often it was less awkward just to hang out and watch the game. Not sure how it came across on TV. Was good to catch up with people from Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, etc. Lots of Cavalry swag in the crowd too.

Things got sloppy closer to the end of the game given that it was a Friday night in Edmonton and there were a couple small dust ups, but overall I think it was a good crowd. The pitch invasions were really on security, can't believe after the first one security didn't clue in to what was going on and try to stop copycats.

Nice to run into a couple CPers as well. Always weird to hear "are you shermanator" in person, but I love it!

Kinda sad to hear that the crowd higher up was not into it. We were in the first couple rows of the supporters section and it was absolutely rocking. The smoke was coming from the guy directly behind me.


The guy with the mega phone was kinda weak but everyone down low was into it.

[Arsenal14]

Good result for Canada, but some disappointments on the out-of-town scoreboard. Would have been looking much better if Honduras had held on or Mexico had gotten the win. The good news is that Panama has already played their home matches against Mexico and the US so they have the away legs left which are going to be tough to get points from. But they do have most of their other games at home so they'll be finishing strong. Canada on the other hand has home matches against Mexico and the US to play but are away for most of the other matches.

[nfotiu]

Originally Posted by Arsenal14

Good result for Canada, but some disappointments on the out-of-town scoreboard. Would have been looking much better if Honduras had held on or Mexico had gotten the win. The good news is that Panama has already played their home matches against Mexico and the US so they have the away legs left which are going to be tough to get points from. But they do have most of their other games at home so they'll be finishing strong. Canada on the other hand has home matches against Mexico and the US to play but are away for most of the other matches.

There will be no fans for the Panama Mexico game which probably takes away some home field advantage. The Canada-Panama game will probably go a long ways to deciding 3rd and 4th.

[Redliner]

Originally Posted by McG

I’m going to the match v Mexico on Tuesday. I was at the last WC qualifier versus Mexico at BC Place and the facility management was excellent.

The facility management at the womens’ World Cup was terrible, appalling and frankly it’s amazing that no one was hurt. Entire concourse paralysis, poor vendor management, it was as if there had never been a crowd at commonwealth. I’m hoping for better on Tuesday but fearing the worst especially hearing that there wasn’t enough security last night.

Commonwealth was a mess. Took us 35 min just to get in the doors, and it seemed like the whole venue was way understaffed for an event of that size. Go early, especially if you want to get food or any merch at the game.

In keeping with that theme, Edmonton’s transit is a joke. We parked up north (I think the station was called Belvedere) because we figured there would be less people going back that way. Took 45 min to get on the train because people were literally lined up out the door waiting to buy train tickets from the one - ONE!!! - ticket machine, which….wait for it…..is cash only. Leaving commonwealth was even worse. Massive lines to get back to the lrt station, took us the better part of an hour.

I don’t know whose brilliant idea it was to build a massive stadium with no parking. That was my first time at commonwealth and I came away convinced that Edmonton’s entire urban planning committee should be lined up against a wall and shot.

[You Need a Thneed]

^^
I wasn’t there for the game, but recently I was in Edmonton And took transit.

I fully expected that you could pay by tap or card somehow.

Nope, had to go out, find cash and then come back.

It’s 2021, that can’t be how the system works.

[Cappy]

First time at commonwealth in a decade. I was surprised how similar it was to McMahon given the amount of money invested in it. Getting there was a #### show. Huge lines at the train station and only accepted cash so we bit the bullet and got an Uber (at surge pricing).

The line to get in was long but didn’t take forever. But that concourse - what a tire fire. Was absolutely claustrophobic. I waited in line for 20 minutes at a concession only to find out it didn’t serve beer… what stadium with generic concessions doesn’t sell beer at all of them?? Bathrooms were surprisingly 100% stalls which is just wasteful and gross.

I didn’t have time to cruise the whole stadium. Seemed like they made an end zone beer area which I think McMahon needs to do. (Edit: just found out the rooftop is private/for ticket holders - screw that)

We ended up walking back to downtown which only took about 30 minutes and was actually nice weather wise. But also brings up a major issue of that city. That place is so sleepy. Most bars closed at 10 (even pre pandemic it seemed like that was the case) and finding one on the east end of DT wasn’t easy. I wasn’t going to pay for an Uber to go to the pint on whyte.

Overall, the game and night were great-despite the city to which it was held! The crowd was loud and engaged. I didn’t expect European level song and dance given that just isn’t our sports culture at this point. The crowd were into it and a lot of non-soccer/ fair weather fans were certainly falling for the sport.

[cam_wmh]

Any word on the location, for the January break? Vancouver?

[shermanator]

I paid $18 for parking at the Century Park LRT station and still got a ticket from the parking company because they "hadn't validated the plate". Not a chance I am paying that.