The possibilites that lie ahead

Following last weeks qualification draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, it is largely assumed the path Canada will have to take. No doubt it will be a tough road, but which teams will we have to face in the upcoming year? The only certainty is the St. Vincent & Grenadines squad in a home & home series in June.

They may be just a small island nation with only four players playing in a league most of us have ever heard of, but at the same time they are the only nation to receive a bye in the first round. Although they failed at the same stage last time around to Nicaragua, they held a draw in the first leg, and had an opportunity on home soil to see them through to the semifinal round.

Looking to more recent results shows an even greater improvement in the island squad. The 2007 Caribbean Nations Cup was one of two parts to the Gold Cup qualifying (the other being the UNCAF nations cup for continental Central America). In that tournament SV&G was in the same group as past World Cup qualifiers Jamaica, advancing to the second round over the Jamaicans in large part to a 2-1 victory away, at the National Stadium in Kingston. It took a one-goal defeat to eventual Gold Cup semi-finalists Guadeloupe, for SV&G to miss out on the big continental tournament by a single point. Forward Shandel Samuel (no relation to Lion-heart Colin) led the Island championships with 10 goals in 9 games, and will certainly make the backline of Canada earn their keep.

Assuming Canada advance through that stage to the third round (first group stage), the probable teams they will have to face is Mexico, Jamaica and Honduras.

The most daunting potential opponent is Mexico, who must defeat either St. Kitts & Nevis or Belize to be in the third round. St. Kitts and Nevis failed to advance past the first round of the aforementioned Caribbean Nations cup. While at the same stage four years ago, they upset Barbados before being blown out in the first group stage, including 5-0 and 8-0 losses to Mexico, whom they may yet again face. As for Belize, they fell in the first round last world cup attempt to the Canadians, followed by placing dead last at the UNCAF Nations Cup this summer, being only one of two teams in that tournament to miss out on the Gold Cup. As the Mexicans have qualified for 13 of 18 World Cups and are seven time Gold Cup Champions, is safe to say they will make it to the Group Stage.

The Jamaican team had a disappointing Caribbean Nations Cup, as was previously mentioned, when they failed to advance past the first round. In qualifications for last World Cup, they begun with a 4-1 aggregate win over Haiti, but were eliminated in the second round by a single point. The challengers for the Reggae Boyz are Bahamas and the British Virgin Islands. The BVI were steadfastly knocked out by a 10-0 aggregate in the first round four years ago, while withdrawing from Gold Cup qualifying last year. The Bahamas were also defeated four years in the first round, courtesy of a 4-2 aggregate loss to Dominica. In the more recent Gold Cup qualifying, they reached the second group stage, but went pointless the rest of the Caribbean island championships.

The third and final anticipated group stage squad is Honduras. The side that famously drew with Spain and Northern Ireland in their single World Cup appearance in 1982 has yet to be back. They began the last campaign with a 6-1 aggregate victory over the Netherlands Antilles, and were off to the group stage that included Canada (and a certain barrage of officiating errors, but that’s for another time). They missed out on the final stage by three points, drawing with the Canadians 1-1 in both matches. Los Catrachos are routinely in the Gold Cup, finishing fifth in the UNCAF Nations cup to reach the latest edition. While there they finished atop their group that featured the same Mexican team they could potentially be facing again. Any challenge for that spot will come from either baseball powerhouses Dominican Republic or Puerto Rico. The Dominican Republic showed promise in the Caribbean Nations Cup, reaching the final group stage, however they withdrew shortly after. Their last World Cup attempt was cut short in the preliminary round by eventual qualifiers Trinidad and Tobago. Meanwhile, Puerto Rico did not enter into qualifying for either the Gold Cup or World Cup, any indication of their results would be from the 2005 Caribbean Nations Cup where they registered a single point in a draw with Suriname and were eliminated in the first round.

It has been said many times in the past week alone that Canada have the most difficult path to reach the Bafan-Bafana hosted tournament in over 2 years time. If they want qualify though, these are the teams they must defeat (and have previously done so), simply to reach the final group stage. Last years Gold Cup results (and near results) gave hope that the impossible is actually attainable for this team. However, much like last attempt at the World Cup, if they don’t prove themselves early on, it will be a relaxing summer in 2010.

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.

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 73^rd 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…..

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...

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 39^th 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 83^rd 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.

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

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.