Sunday, November 25, 2007

The World Cup qualifying draw: Canada's road through CONCACAF

In terms of scale, nothing compares with the competition and following that are characteristic of the FIFA World Cup. As such, it was no surprise that a lot of hype followed the draw procedure for the preliminary matches for this tournament. Through all of the pomp and circumstance, countries from Asia, Africa, Europe and North America were drawn into groups and match-ups that will play a large part in determining which nations qualify for the next World Cup. Over 200 nations belong to FIFA, but only 31 of them will join South Africa at the global stage in three years.

As a fan of the Canadian national team, the qualifying draw in the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) was deemed the most significant. Here is how the draw worked out for nations in the North American region.

Stages One and Two

The 22 lowest-ranking nations in CONCACAF were drawn into match-ups for the first round of qualifying. The 11 winners of this stage and St. Vincent and the Grenadines will play against the 12 highest-ranking nations in Stage Two. The 12 winners from Stage Two will advance to Stage Three.

Each match-up in the first two stages of qualifying in CONCACAF will be determined by a two-game, home-and-away playoff, in which aggregate goals will be the primary tiebreaker. Should a match-up be tied after the second leg, away goals, extra time and penalty kicks will be used as subsequent tiebreakers.

Match-ups:

Group 1A:
Dominica v. Barbados
USA v. Winner

Group 1B:
Turks and Caicos Islands v. St. Lucia

Guatemala v. Winner

Group 1C:
Bermuda v. Cayman Islands

Trinidad and Tobago v. Winner

Group 1D:
Aruba v. Antigua and Barbuda
Winner v. Cuba

Group 2A:
Belize v. St. Kitts and Nevis
Winner v. Mexico

Group 2B:
Bahamas v. British Virgin Islands
Jamaica v. Winner

Group 2C:
Dominican Republic v. Puerto Rico
Honduras v. Winner

Group 2D:
Canada v. St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Group 3A:
US Virgin Islands v. Grenada
Winner v. Costa Rica

Group 3B:
Suriname v. Montserrat
Winner v. Guyana

Group 3C:
El Salvador v. Anguilla
Panama v. Winner

Group 3D:
Nicaragua v. Netherlands Antilles
Haiti v. Winner

Stage Three: Semi-Final

The 12 winners from Stage Two will be placed into three groups of four teams for the semi-final stage of qualifying. Teams will play a total of six games in this stage – one home game and one away game against each group opponent. The top two teams from each group will advance to Stage Four.

Group 1:
Winner of 1A
Winner of 1B
Winner of 1C
Winner of 1D

Group 2:
Winner of 2A
Winner of 2B
Winner of 2C
Winner of 2D

Group 3:
Winner of 3A
Winner of 3B
Winner of 3C
Winner of 3D

Stage Four: Final

The top two teams from each group in Stage Three will combine to form a single group of six nations for the final round of qualifying in CONCACAF. Teams will play a total of ten games in this stage – one home game and one away game against each group opponent. The top three teams will advance to the 2010 World Cup, while the fourth-placed team will play in the CONCACAF/CONMEBOL playoff.

Final Group:
Winner of Group 1
Winner of Group 2
Winner of Group 3
Runner up of Group 1
Runner up of Group 2
Runner up of Group 3

CONCACAF/CONMEBOL Playoff

The fourth-placed team from CONCACAF (North, Central America and the Caribbean) will play against the fifth-placed team from CONMEBOL (South America) in a two-game, home-and-away playoff. The winner from this stage will advance to the World Cup.

Canada’s role in World Cup qualifying

Canada received a relatively tough draw from FIFA. Although it has a bye through Stage One, all of the subsequent stages will be difficult for Canada.

Canada will begin its qualifying campaign in Stage Two, where the red-and-white will play against St. Vincent and the Grenadines. As of May 2007, St. Vincent happened to be the highest-ranked nation that was not in the top-12 of CONCACAF, meaning that Canada’s first two qualifying games will be tougher than expected.

Should Canada defeat St. Vincent and the Grenadines, it will play in a semi-final group that most likely will include Mexico, Honduras and Jamaica. This will be an extremely tough group to advance out of, as Mexico, Honduras and Jamaica were the top-seeded nations in Pots A, B and C of the qualifying draw, respectively. Canada has struggled to beat all three of those nations at some point, so this round of matches will be an excellent test to see how the red-and-white fares under intense pressure.

Despite the tough nature of the draw for Canada, the northern nation still has a good chance at qualifying for the next World Cup. With the best squad that this team has seen in years, Canada may actually exorcise its demons from previous World Cup qualifying runs. Only three nations from North, Central America and the Caribbean are guaranteed spots in the World Cup finals, but Canada has the skill and talent necessary to be one of those three nations.

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Marcel comes to his senses

Pick the odd man out, Owen Hargreaves, Jonathan de Guzman, Steven Vitória & Marcel de Jong. At first glance, it is hard to notice any difference at all (outside of physical appearance), all four gentlemen were born in Canada, and they all ply their trade as professional soccer players in Europe. All of these men are certainly skillful enough to earn a call-up to the national team, so how do we pick the odd man out? Well, only one of those men actually shows the class and integrity to want to represent their homeland on an international level.

The only silver lining to an embarrassing 2-0 defeat at a second rate South African side, was the certification that Marcel de Jong will be part of the Canadian national team for as long as his skill warrants. At the 73rd minute, as I saw Patrice Bernier trotting off the field, I cheered. Not for his play, but that of all the speculation of top players leaving our national side, we kept one. I felt like writing the KNVB, “neener, neener, neener, he’s on our side!”

We all know the story on Hargreaves and Vitória choosing other nations to further their careers, with de Guzman still undecided. Ideally, Marcel has set a precedent and this is not just one of the bunch. Of course there is the possibility that he was furthering career as well, and would rather have a potential concrete spot in an up and coming national side, as opposed to fighting for a spot (and more then likely end up on the losing end) on one of the top 10 teams in the world.

Anyways, no time to dwell on the past (and future), its time to rejoice! I am so happy I almost forgot we have Dale Mitchell coaching…..

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

San Jose announces MLS expansion draftee's

Player - former club

Ivan Guerrero- Chicago
Jason Hernandez - Chivas USA
Chris Pozniak-Toronto FC
Ned Grabavoy- Columbus
Brian Carroll - DC United
Clarence Goodson -FC Dallas
Zach Wells - Houston
Jose Burciaga - Kansas City
Gavin Glinton- Los Angeles
Joe Vide- NY Red Bulls
James Riley - NE Revolution

more info to come...

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Canada ends 2007 on a sour note

As far as years go, 2007 was a successful one for the Canadian men’s national soccer team. Canada had a winning year, coming to close to advancing to the Gold Cup final for only the second time in its history. Unfortunately, Canada could not finish 2007 on a high note. Despite fielding its top players against the second-string squad from South Africa, Canada lost to the hosts by a 2-0 scoreline.

From the opening kick-off, Canada was out-hustled and out-played by South Africa. Canadian goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld played well to keep the visiting team level, but he could not keep the ball out of the net forever. In the 39th minute, Teko Modise put a curling shot into the top corner of the goal, giving the African side a 1-0 lead. The home team doubled its lead to 2-0 right before halftime. After winning a somewhat controversial penalty kick, Modise slotted the ball past Hirschfeld for his second goal of the game. The scoreline at the half was indicative of the level of play, as South Africa had by far the best scoring chances in the opening 45 minutes.

Canada played a little better in the second frame. With impressive runs coming from such players as Tomasz Radzinski, Canada was able to win more corner kicks, allowing the visitors to get a bit closer to the South African goal. Despite such opportunities, the Canadians lacked the finish that was necessary to trouble Rowen Fernandez. The South African goalkeeper was hardly busy today, as he easily earned the clean sheet in the home side’s 2-0 victory.

After losing to the second-string squad of a country ranked 83rd in the world, a lot of questions must be raised concerning of the Canadian national team’s performance. First, why did Canada play so tentatively today? To anyone who watched last summer’s Gold Cup, it is quite clear that Canada thrives on an attacking style of play. Had Canada not played on its heels from the opening kick-off, the scoreline might have been reversed.

Second, why was Canada playing with a 4-5-1 formation? A 4-5-1 is a defensive formation that relies on excellent finishing from a lone striker and quality service from the midfield. In today’s contest, Canada had neither of the elements that were necessary to score goals. For future games, it might be in Dale Mitchell’s best interest to either switch to a 4-4-2 or a 4-3-3 formation, or to play a taller target man up front. Iain Hume may be an excellent deep-lying forward, but he does not have the height needed to collect crosses close to the opposing goal. Had he been available, Rob Friend would have been a better choice for striker.

Lastly, why did the Canadian players completely lack chemistry today? Canada simply could not move the ball through the midfield against South Africa. Even national team regulars such as Atiba Hutchinson and Patrice Bernier struggled today, failing to connect on routine short passes. Without a midfield that is firing on all cylinders, Canada will have little chance of qualifying for the next World Cup.

Luckily for the Canadian national team, today’s match was just a friendly and it should not hurt the morale of the team over the long haul. Canada will have many opportunities to iron out its problems over the coming months. With a national team camp in January and friendlies sure to follow, the road to South Africa is far from over for the red and white. With proper preparation, there is no reason why Canada should not be playing in South Africa again in three years time.

Monday, November 19, 2007

Toronto FC protected list no surprise

Comments follow names...

Protected:
Sutton - #1 Goalkeeper on TFC, time should heal concussion problems
Cunningham - 2006 MLS Goldenboot
Marshall - Former MLS defensive player of the year
Dunivant - Great pickup from RBNY for Goldthwaite
Brennan - TFC Player of the Year
Dichio - Lead TFC in goals
Samuel - Tied for 3rd on TFC in goals
Robinson - Decent Midfielder
Wynne - Possibly the fastest man in the MLS
O'Brien - MLS All-Star Midfielder
Edu - 2007 MLS Rookie of the Year


Unprotected:
Boyens, Andrew - Most likely to be chosen by San Jose
Attakora-Gyan, Nana
Braz, Adam
Canizalez, Maycoll
Djekanovic, Srdjan
Gala, Gabe
Guzman, David
Hemming, Tyler
Lombardo, Andrea
Lumley, Stephen
Melo, Joey
Nunez, Cristian
Pozniak, Chris - Could plausibly be chosen if Canadians count as domestic talent.
Reda, Marco
Stamatopolus, Kenny

Sunday, November 18, 2007

TFC used to sell hockey tickets - D.

I still find it funny how some people in Toronto claim that the city will always will be a Hockey city.

I beg to differ.

Recently, Toronto FC sold out 16,000 season tickets at BMO field leaving a small amount of room for half-season ticket packages. These packages come with a few Toronto Marlies tickets as well. 18 months ago, I would have bet dollars-to-donuts that anyone in Toronto would guess that it would have to be marketed the reverse to generate interest in Soccer. Obviously, not the case.

And as for Hockey pundits Damien Cox (Toronto Star) and Bob MacKenzie (TSN), I'd like to kick a soccer ball smack in their faces and scream "WAKE UP!!". Only 6 months ago, they had publicly advertised soccer as being due to fail in this city and country. Obviously, with a sold out BMO field and selling Marlies tickets through the thriving TFC franchise, Soccer is on the verge of collapse in the Great White North, right?

Wrong! :)

Cheers!

D.

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Future MLS Expansion to Canada?

As stated in MLS Commissioner Don Garber's annual State of the League address on Friday, the MLS is looking to expand the league to 18 teams by 2010 or 2011. With the success of Toronto FC, the MLS has begun to take a more serious look at viable markets in Canada, namely Montreal and Vancouver.

Current expansion side's San Jose (2008) and Seattle (2009) would bring the MLS Franchise count up to 15. News reports and rumors suggest the next 2 cities to win franchise expansion are St.Louis and Philadelphia, hence; bringing the count up to 17. Therefore, if the MLS were to expand to Canada by 2011, only one of Montreal or Vancouver could be awarded a franchise and would have to have serious stadium plan's in the works. Lets take a look at them individually.

Montreal - "A market MLS has looked at since the league's inception, Montreal would provide a potential Canada rivalry with Toronto that could give the league added flavor." Garber explained. Current construction on Stade Saputo has nearly complete. It will hold 13,500 french screaming soccer fans, as opposed to Toronto FC's BMO Field which holds 20,000. Not bad for Montreal, but can 13,500 be enough to satisfy the demands of MLS top dogs? San Jose's temporary university grounds will only hold 12,000 until a Soccer Specific Stadium (SSS) is built there.... and it could also be argued that Stade Saputo could be expanded to accommodate larger crowds, or an MLS side could even begin play in the decaying titanic that is Le Stade Olympique.
Pictures of Stade Saputo can be viewed here: http://www.boutiquemeteo.com/saputo/stadesaputo.htm

Vancouver - Garber said "Greg Kerfoot, owner of the Vancouver Whitecaps, is trying to arrange for the building of a stadium on the waterfront in downtown Vancouver. The concept is for a privately financed stadium. Kerfoot just needs approval to put the stadium at that proposed site." With this in mind and with approval to go ahead and build, it would seem Vancouver would be the next logical choice for MLS expansion. It would also create a perfect Northwest rivalry for the 2009 MLS expansion team in Seattle. Vancouver's waterfront stadium is a must in this case, though as Burnaby's Swanguard stadium holds a meager 6,868 for the Whitecaps.
Pictures of Vancouver's Waterfront Stadium proposal can be viewed here: http://www.whitecapsnewstadium.com/home.cfm

Even with all of this in mind, Vancouver and Montreal would have to beat out rival bids from competing cities such as Atlanta, Las Vegas, Miami, New York (a second club), and Portland. Of these cities, Portland would appear to be the front runner with the recent success of the Portland Timbers of the USL. Should Portland be awarded a team, Vancouver's chances could be seriously crippled for the near future being in the same geographical region should MLS want to balance the conferences.

Cheers,

D.

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