The Canadian Men's Soccer Team Thread

[browna]

Crickets around the pay dispute and the other issues the MNT brought up.

Hopefully negotiations are going on but who knows, they would be trumpeted if there were.

But, that's why it was smart to protest in the manner they did, especially since it was a useless friendly, not one that would actually help them in WC prep. It forced the CSA out of the shadows (in addition to seemingly bringing the terms of the CSB affiliation into a more clear light) to have to deal with it, when they've continually tried to avoid any sort of bad PR in the national media.

[shermanator]

Cyle Larin has joined Tajon Buchanan at Club Brugge on a 3 year deal.

https://www.clubbrugge.be/en/news/cy...ns-club-brugge

[shermanator]

September friendlies coming soon.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1544061511576027137

And the contract negotiations with the MNT and WNT.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1544062328378953733

https://twitter.com/user/status/1544062384297345026

[M*A*S*H 4077]

Doneil Henry waived by LAFC

He needs to catch onto a team quick and get some real minutes or his WC spot should be in serious jeopardy (although Herdman loves him so maybe not)

https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/lafc-...r-doneil-henry

[shermanator]

Based on recent club performance, Henry shouldn't be at the World Cup. I'd argue Joel Waterman has earned his way into that roster spot.

But he's a huge part of the leadership group and will be there in Qatar. Still behind Vitoria, Miller, Johnston, and likely fighting for that 4th spot with Kennedy.

[M*A*S*H 4077]

I thought Waterman should've been included in the team in the last window in case something like this (or an injury) happened.

[Party Elephant]

Yep on the whole I like how Herdman has managed this team but his reluctance to call in Waterman and sticking with Henry despite his lack of playing is frustrating. For better or worse, the 23 man squad has been settled for a long time and it's only the very fringes that are debatable going into the world cup (yes I know it's a 26 man squad for WC).

CB is the most obvious weakness for this team. This is our current CB depth chart:

Steven Vitoria, 35: Vitoria has performed admirably throughout qualifying and is no doubt a much needed veteran on the young CanMNT, but I expect the likes of Lukaku, de Bruyne, Modric etc are licking their chops at the idea of facing a defence anchored by a 35 year old who is just hanging on in the Portuguese top flight.

Kamal Miller, 25: Well established at both club and country, has been a rock throughout qualifying. Most safe player on this list.

Scott Kennedy, 25: Solid player in 2 Bundesliga, always in the squad but not trusted with a lot of minutes.

Doneil Henry, 29: Long time CMNT veteran, journeyman who appears to be fading out of MLS. Always in the squad but for how much longer?

Derek Cornelius, 24: Like Kennedy, is younger and a solid starter at a lower level in europe. Sometimes in the CanMNT squad but rarely sees the pitch with just the one appearance in the octo. Wasn't getting much playing time in MLS but has done well for himself in his one season in Greece.

Surely Waterman, a 26 year old regular starter at a good MLS team could displace one of these guys?

[ditty]

Originally Posted by Party Elephant

Yep on the whole I like how Herdman has managed this team but his reluctance to call in Waterman and sticking with Henry despite his lack of playing is frustrating. For better or worse, the 23 man squad has been settled for a long time and it's only the very fringes that are debatable going into the world cup (yes I know it's a 26 man squad for WC).

CB is the most obvious weakness for this team. This is our current CB depth chart:

Steven Vitoria, 35: Vitoria has performed admirably throughout qualifying and is no doubt a much needed veteran on the young CanMNT, but I expect the likes of Lukaku, de Bruyne, Modric etc are licking their chops at the idea of facing a defence anchored by a 35 year old who is just hanging on in the Portuguese top flight.

Kamal Miller, 25: Well established at both club and country, has been a rock throughout qualifying. Most safe player on this list.

Scott Kennedy, 25: Solid player in 2 Bundesliga, always in the squad but not trusted with a lot of minutes.

Doneil Henry, 29: Long time CMNT veteran, journeyman who appears to be fading out of MLS. Always in the squad but for how much longer?

Derek Cornelius, 24: Like Kennedy, is younger and a solid starter at a lower level in europe. Sometimes in the CanMNT squad but rarely sees the pitch with just the one appearance in the octo. Wasn't getting much playing time in MLS but has done well for himself in his one season in Greece.

Surely Waterman, a 26 year old regular starter at a good MLS team could displace one of these guys?

I think Herdman will also be keeping a close eye on Belal Halbouni who will be playing at the same level as Kennedy. Halbouni moved this summer from Werder Bremen's U-23s to 1. FC Magdeburg of the 2. Bundesliga. He's featured regularly so far in pre-season and if he can start regularly and perform well, I think he'll be in the conversation. Herdman called him into the January 2021 camp which ended up getting cancelled. Will be interesting to see if he's called in for the September friendlies.

[kobasew19]

Another potential CB is Justin Smith, he was the best player for our U-20 team. He's going to be playing in France's Ligue 2 this season as he was loaned out from parent club of Nice. From what I saw at the U-20 tourney, a player who's quick and has really good ball skills, although I think he was playing more in the CM role vs. his natural CB position. Needless to say I'm very interested to see how he does in the beginning of the season.

[M*A*S*H 4077]

I think Smith is a longer shot personally as it’ll be his first season full time in a first team. However if he balls out and is playing every week then absolutely bring him in! He looked good at the U20s, which you can’t say about a lot of the team

[browna]

IMO, as mentioned in my Cavalinni rant, if you haven't started more than 60% of the games in the last 2 years at the NT level, and are 28 or older, you shouldn't be on the team to Qatar.

First, you're not going to be in the coaches plans for this WC outside of maybe a souvenir 5 minutes in the third group game, combined with the fact, certianly by the next WC, you're also going to be too old.

Leave those spots and experiences to guys that may factor in the squad for the next 4 to 8 years.

[shermanator]

Paraguay aren't a top nation, but they are a nation outside of CONCACAF that would be a good test. As for the top 15 nation, I am intrigued...

https://twitter.com/user/status/1546639094259777539

https://twitter.com/user/status/1546525080284454913

[browna]

Originally Posted by shermanator

Paraguay aren't a top nation, but they are a nation outside of CONCACAF that would be a good test. As for the top 15 nation, I am intrigued...

https://twitter.com/user/status/1546639094259777539

https://twitter.com/user/status/1546525080284454913

Well won't be Belgium, Croatia, Mexico or the US. Paraguay is played in Austria so likely team will play both games there so it's likely a Euro team.

France England Spain Portugal Germany Dutch Denmark are the teams that are top 15 and in Europe and aren't Belgium or Croatia.

[Johnny199r]

nm

[shermanator]

Good in depth article on the CSA / national team negotiations, as well as the agreement with CSB. There are some excellent details about the deal signed and what all was involved. And it really shows how Bontis has handcuffed the organization for decades with this deal.

From a CPL / Cavalry perspective the deal was a massive win, this means professional soccer is here to stay. The deal is going to keep CPL and its clubs stable right out of the gate, allowing them to organically build fanbases over years / decades, which has been the biggest struggle in getting things off the ground in this continent. Long term the league needs to be sustainable on its own without a deal like this propping it up, but right now a deal like this is critical.

Browna, this is your cue to rant.

https://www.tsn.ca/world-cup-bonus-f...ance-1.1824428

[GirlySports]

The men were never expected to qualify for the 2022 World Cup. And when the men started to get better, the women got screwed. The women were never expected to win Olympic gold. I can see that the CSA wanted to strengthen the CPL going into 2026 but you can't hamper and be surprised when the national teams succeeds.

[M*A*S*H 4077]

Originally Posted by browna

Well won't be Belgium, Croatia, Mexico or the US. Paraguay is played in Austria so likely team will play both games there so it's likely a Euro team.

France England Spain Portugal Germany Dutch Denmark are the teams that are top 15 and in Europe and aren't Belgium or Croatia.

I think all the European countries have Nations league so I don't think it can be a Euro team.

[kobasew19]

Rumor has it it's Uruguay.

[TheIronMaiden]

Originally Posted by kobasew19

Rumor has it it's Uruguay.

That would be fun, Uruguay is always one of those teams I hope have a good tourney.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by TheIronMaiden

That would be fun, Uruguay is always one of those teams I hope have a good tourney.

Hope they don't take anyone's legs out!