Sports Talk

[PortKells]

Atiba missed a Hollywood send off by mere inches.

[Typeing3]

Atiba missed a Hollywood send off by mere inches.

Ahhh, I felt so bad for him. Out of everyone on the team, he deserves that the most. Gave so much for the national team for two decades. A national sports legend. Unfortunate most Canadians know nothing about him.

[PortKells]

Ahhh, I felt so bad for him. Out of everyone on the team, he deserves that the most. Gave so much for the national team for two decades. A national sports legend. Unfortunate most Canadians know nothing about him.

Yeah that is heartbreaking to come that close. Good effort in the second half against another excellent squad. Tough group with no weak teams, maybe Belgium I guess. That first game is the true regret here.

[VanCitySouth]

Total mayhem in Group E right now holy.

[Typeing3]

Total mayhem in Group E right now holy.

For a few minutes, Japan AND Costa Rica were through.

As it is though, still a huge upset with Japan through and Germany out.

[Bonovox]

Ahhh, I felt so bad for him. Out of everyone on the team, he deserves that the most. Gave so much for the national team for two decades. A national sports legend. Unfortunate most Canadians know nothing about him.

To be honest, I had no idea who he was until I watched some of the qualifying matches. Glad I got to see him play in the World Cup.

[Forrest Gump]

I think so? All sorts of weird streaks around the league , especially St Louis

I guess not So much for making hay on home ice. What a cupla stinkers, and now Demko injured. What a Jekyll and Hyde team. Well , back to tank for Benard. But more like finishing in the middle of the pack, in no man's land.

[SouthSardiswx]

I guess not So much for making hay on home ice. What a cupla stinkers, and now Demko injured. What a Jekyll and Hyde team. Well , back to tank for Benard. But more like finishing in the middle of the pack, in no man's land.

Yes like picking your nose with 12th pick probably.

[VanCitySouth]

Oh man group G is absolutely wild too. FIFA got so lucky that this World Cup was actually entertaining. If it was boring there would be so many more headlines about the corruption and bad faith etc.

[Forrest Gump]

Is it just me or are soccer goalies getting better at stopping penalty kicks.

[PortKells]

Good work Netherlands, easily dispatching the USA. Actually I will begrudgingly admit it was a brace performance from the USMNT but I'm happy to see them go. We know from qualifying that Canada was the better team and if we were in that group we would've advanced without a doubt. Wales and Iran were disgustingly bad, didn't belong there at all.

[Typeing3]

Good work Netherlands, easily dispatching the USA. Actually I will begrudgingly admit it was a brace performance from the USMNT but I'm happy to see them go. We know from qualifying that Canada was the better team and if we were in that group we would've advanced without a doubt. Wales and Iran were disgustingly bad, didn't belong there at all.

They have much more experience at tournament football at this level. Hence why they had better results than Canada. Luck also plays a big role too, of course.

[Bonovox]

What’s next for Canada? Are we well positioned to continue getting better? Is there a pipeline of consistent talent coming?

[PortKells]

What’s next for Canada? Are we well positioned to continue getting better? Is there a pipeline of consistent talent coming?

I read a rumour that Copa America will extend an offer for Canada to participate in the next one. Would be like the Euro basically. Not sure how substantial it is

In terms of talent you just hope that the next gen was inspired to build on this and we get another wave of talent.

[Typeing3]

What’s next for Canada? Are we well positioned to continue getting better? Is there a pipeline of consistent talent coming?

Nations league matches resume in March, where Canada will take on Curacao away and Honduras at home. 6 points needed, as we lost the away match to Honduras last year (they decided to schedule the game in a city which had just received a monsoonal downpour and was like a swamp). Info on the nations league: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022%E2%8 ... s_League_A

A month later in July is the Gold Cup (North/Central America version of the Euros which is held every two years -- see here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_CONCACAF_Gold_Cup). Canada made it to the semi-finals of the gold cup when it was last held in summer 2021, which was our best finish since the 2007 tournament***. This summer, the team is realistically in the running to win the tournament. Canada last won the gold cup in 2000, which was a bit of fluky and lucky run.

A year later in summer 2024 is the Copa America, which Canada would like to be invited to. This is the South American version of the Euros, and there's rumours they wish to turn this into a pan-american tournament, where many North/Central American teams will be invited.


***Note: We were robbed in the semi-finals of the 2007 gold cup. This one still stings for long-timer Canadian football fans. Atiba Hutchinson scored what would have been a game tying goal against the United States in the 93rd minute (added time), which would have sent the game to extra time. Canada had all the momentum in the match and likely would have won it had it have counted.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ani9Wkx-TE


Edit: Oh man, seeing this again makes me mad.

We had a pretty solid team at the time, but the stars just never seemed to align at the right time. Many players would refuse call-ups for crucial games, or decide to play for their ancestral countries. Here was the squad on the day. A few notable names on the list. Paul Stalteri was an absolute legend of the game for Canada, and probably the best fullback/wide midfielder the country ever produced until Davies recently. Some of you may recognize Julian De Guzman, as he was one of the pundits at TSN for this world cup. Additionally, Dwane De Rosario was the all-time top scorer for the national team until he was surpassed by Cyle Larin earlier this year.

Screenshot 2022-12-03 173436.png