Now that the CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers
teams has been finalized, and the
implication and anticipated toughness of
Group 2 has been realized our attention can
now be on the dates of the matches between
Canada, Mexico, Honduras and Jamaica who
will do battle in what is termed as the
“Group of Death”.
For Caribbean Canada soccer fans, the third
round schedule of the World Cup qualifiers
has presented a tough pill to swallow since
Canada is definitely in the thick of things
to advance, and Jamaica is a legitimate
contender, while the highly skilled Honduras
team is on the prowl with the intention of
upsetting a highly favored Mexico team.
Caribbean Canadians could still hold on to
their preference of Canada, Jamaica and
Trinidad and Tobago, Cuba and Haiti
advancing to the fourth round of six teams
since anything can happen but there are
always two teams and one winner.
Although no system is perfect, it is my
belief that the long term success of the
Canada 2010 World Cup team in the “Group of
Death” has the best chance of qualifying for
World Cup 2010 since Canada debut on the
World Cup stage in 1986.
Canada soccer program is picking up momentum
at the right time since the Women U-20 last
week has just defeated USA to win the
CONCACAF tournament and the just concluded
“Julian De Guzman and Friends” Celebrity
Challenge Charity” soccer game held at
Birchmount Stadium in Scarborough Ontario
was well received by the fans in attendance.
The “Julian De Guzman and Friends Celebrity
Challenge Charity” soccer game was presented
by the Annual Robbie Tournament and
sponsored by UMBRO Canada and coordinated by
Kudos Management.
The Charity game was also geared towards
raising funds for the Cystic Fibrosis
foundation which happens to be the charity
organization of choice that is supported by
the Robbie Tournament over the years.
The Celebrity game was reintroduced to allow
the fans to see live some of the players
that they usually see on television. The
teams were lead by members of the Canadian
National team. Julian De Guzman (Whites) and
the blue team by Paul Steltari present
captain of the Canadian national team.
Canada
advance into tough group after defeating SVG
vs
Montreal:
Canada’s men’s national team advanced to the
third round of the CONCACAF World Cup after
defeating St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG)
4-1 before an energetic crowd of 11,000+ at
the Saputo Stadium in Montreal Quebec.
Canada entered the second leg game with a
sizable 3-0 advantage and although it rained
before the game the weather conditions did
not seem to affect or dampen the hopes of
the Vincy heat team from getting past
Canada.
SVG played well in the opening minutes of
the game but the momentum shifted after they
could not capitalize on a number of close
calls around the Canada net. The missed
opportunities did not help SVG cause as
Canada defense moved forward aggressively
into the offense as captain Paul Stalteri
was making several runs down the right flank
to soften things up for the Canadian attack
of De Rosario and company.
Dwayne De Rosario opened the scoring for
Canada at the 29 minute after he negotiated
through several SVG players from the right
flank to score into what might have well
have been an open net as the SVG defenders
only hope was to block his shot with their
goalkeeper clearly beaten.
From that point onwards De Rosario imposed
his will on the SVG defense as he moved from
the center to the right and then to the left
flank. It was on the left flank that he sent
a perfect cross onto the head of striker
(#10) Ali Gerba at the 39 minute to give Canada a
commanding 2-0 lead as SVG continued to
misfire on offense.
With Canada leading 2-0 to start the second
half the game was now a mere formality with
the run of play still favoring Canada. De
Rosario and Gerba scored their respective
second goals at the 50 and 63 minute and
while they were busy looking for their hat
trick, SVG striker Marlon James scored to
send the colorful SVG supporters in a
festive atmosphere to end the game. Dwayne
De Rosario was voted the Man of the Match
for Canada.
In advancing into the third round Canada now
find themselves in tough company in Group 2
with the likes of Honduras, Jamaica, and
Mexico. Jamaica is presently on fire
offensively after demolishing Bahamas 7-0
and 6-0 in their two second round games and
it would take a tremendous effort for any
team to shut down the Reggae Boyz offense
and although Jamaica did not concede a goal
against Bahamas, the Boyz will have to
improve on defense while maintaining their
physical and mental toughness at home to
move forward.
Honduras in this third round will have to
get back to their Gold Cup form since they
had to use their home field advantage to
defeat Puerto Rico 4-0 after tying the first
leg 2-2 in Puerto Rico. Honduras is a very
capable team and showed their worth when
they defeated Mexico in Gold Cup action last
year, but that was then and this is now.
Until they are eliminated Mexico as always
will be favored to qualify out of the
CONCACAF zone, but the Tricolors were
sluggish in their 2-0 first leg win against
Belize which indicates that their football
is not out of the woods as yet when compared
to several other disappointing results at
major tournaments.
However Mexico are trying to turn their
fortunes around with the hiring of Swede
Sven Goran Eriksson and with a decisive 7-0
win at home against Belize in their second
leg it may just be enough to keep the
skeptics quiet until they open the third
round against Honduras.
The coaching staffs of the Group 2 cannot be
surprise of their opponents since these
match ups were anticipated when the initial
draw was made for the qualifying round of
the CONCACAF Zone.
Trinidad and Tobago managed to pull it
together just in time in their second leg to
defeat Bermuda 2-0 with goals from Daryl
Roberts and Stern John at the 10 and 69
minute mark respectively to squeeze into the
third round of the W/C Qualifiers. In other
qualifying second leg action El Salvador
upset Panama 3-1, while Surinam eliminated
Guyana to create the only two major upsets
of the second round of the 12 teams which
received a bye from the onset.
Canada
lost 3-2 to Brazil
Canada’s men’s national team played Brazil,
the #2 ranked team in the world toe to toe
in their international friendly match in
Seattle, Washington. Canada tied the score
twice but could not hold off the Brazilians
at the end. Canada will play Panama in
another friendly before taking on SVG in the
second round of the CONCACAF World Cup
qualifier.
Canada
Men face Brazil in Seattle WA
Canada’s
men’s national team will be playing Brazil
in an international friendly match in
Seattle, Washington on Saturday 31 May. The
match is one of two International friendly
games that Canada would be playing in
preparation for their two-match home and
away CONCACAF qualifiers against Saint
Vincent & the Grenadines (SVG) on June 15
and 20.
Canada second friendly is scheduled for June
6 against Panama in Panama City and at this
point I must admit that this game will
improve Canada’s chance of solidifying a
spot in the latter rounds of the CONCACAF
qualifiers because it presents match ups
challenges that is out of the Canada’s
players comfort zone.
The reason I stress if Canada get pass SVG
is because Canada played Martinique to on
January 30 to prepare for SVG style of play
and although Canada won the game 1-0, I
would hope that Canada coach Mitchell is
aware that the Martinique team is not a good
measuring stick to the strength of the SVG
team and unlike Martinique, the SVG team
midfield is as good and as creative as it
gets amongst the Caribbean teams.
After getting by the SVG hurdle, Canada
would reap the benefits of these two
upcoming friendly games against Brazil and
Panama, because I believe that the last 12
teams advancing into the final four CONCACAF
World Cup spots would include the style of
play of Costa Rica, Panama, Honduras, and
Guatemala.
It would have been better if the Canada
versus Brazil game of May 31 could have been
played in Canada which would have boast the
Canadian interest and for the Canadian team
similar to the impact of the England versus
T&T centennial game generated for the T&T
team which will be playing before a sold out
crowd on June 1.
However Canadian head coach Dale Mitchell
might be right when he stated 'Whenever you
are presented with the opportunity to play
the most famous national team of all, I
don’t think that you can pass it up,' 'Our
players will be able to measure themselves
against some of the world’s best. This game
will help us to prepare for the qualifying
matches upcoming.'
There is no doubt that Brazil game will help
to improve the physiological aspects of the
Canadian team but coach Mitchell may
discover that the Panama game may present
the best physical preparation for his team
to advance into the later rounds of the
World Cup qualifiers especially if Panama
maintains the team speed demonstrated at
Gold Cup 2007.
Canada
is making at attempt to full the Saputo
Stadium to improve Canada's men's national
team odds of advancing as one of the 12
teams to the Stage 3 group playing from
August to November. Canada’s first 2010 FIFA
World Cup South Africa Qualifiers game is
June 15, in Kingston, Saint Vincent while
the return match will be played on June 20
at the Saputo Stadium in Montréal.
The 12 advancing teams will be divided into
three pre-determined groups and should
Canada advance, they would play in a league
system home-and-away format against the
winners of the México-Belize, the
Jamaica-Bahamas, and the Honduras-Puerto
Rico series. Two teams will advance out of
the three groups and the six teams will then
play in another home-and-away league system
matches with the top three CONCACAF teams
automatically advancing to the 2010 FIFA
World Cup South Africa, and the fourth team
playing the fifth-best team from the
CONMEBOL Confederation (South America) zone
in a home and away playoff series for the
fourth and final CONCACAF spot. The fourth
and final stage takes place in 2009.
Canada
Women qualify for Beijing Olympics
Canada
has drawn Argentina, Sweden and host China
in their Group E at the official draw for
the 2008 Women’s Olympic football
Tournament in China.
The
Canadian women clinched a spot to the Olympic
Football tournament in Beijing, China
after defeating Mexico 1-0 in the semi final
on a goal scored by Melissa Tancredi at the
25th minute to reach the CONCACAF Olympic
Qualification final.
Canada got a big break when the Mexican last
defender lost her footing with the ball
travelling towards her and striker Melissa
Tancredi pounced on the loose ball which
resulted in a break away. Tancredi was
composed on her approach to the goal and
neatly tucked her shot into the net to give
Canada a 1-0 lead, a lead they never
relinquished
In the in suing final Canada loss to USA 6-5
on penalty kicks after the teams played
scoreless in regulation time and scored one
each in overtime to set up penalty kicks.
Canada showed real grit to come back when
after a scoreless 90 minute, USA took the
lead on a goal by Carli Lloyd at the 108th
minute of extra time, but Canada returned
the favor as Melissa Tancredi scored the
equalizer eight minutes later to send the
game into penalty kicks. Canada missed two
of their 7 kicks while USA converted 6 with
Canada missing one wide and the team’s
goalkeepers saving one apiece.
Canada
Women meet USA in CONCACAF Olympic final
Canada Women team will meet USA in the final of the
CONCACAF Women Olympic qualifiers this Saturday after
defeating Mexico 1-0 on a goal scored by Melissa
Tancredi at the 25th minute to reach the
CONCACAF Olympic Qualification final.
USA could ill afford to make the same mistake they made
against Costa Rica after USA watched but did not take
serious note of the fast improving Costa Rica team in
their previous group game against Canada. In that game
Costa Rica stretched Canada to the limit before losing
1-0.
Although the high winds seemed to assist Costa Rica
in neutralizing the long USA passes, to most people
surprise Costa Rica had a decent share of the
offensive play in the first half.
However after a tight 0-0 first half, USA turned up the pressure
as the wind die down in the second half to defeat Costa Rica 3-0
to clinch
a spot in the final to meet the winner of the second
game between Canada and a well supported host Mexico
team.
As
Canada touched off the ball they hoofed
the ball long forward into the Mexico defense to my
disappointment but in hindsight it could have been coach
Even Pellerud game plan since he started with one
striker instead of his customary 4-4-2 formation and
could have wanted to see what Mexico had to offer on
offense.
Coach Pellerud also push his world class striker and
team captain Christine Sinclair back as a central
midfielder but move was not as effective
as the other moves that coach Pellerud made during the game.
With Sinclair in the midfield Mexico still had control
of most of the midfield play due to their ball
possession style of play.
Then Canada got a big break when
the Mexican last defender lost her footing with the ball
travelling towards her and striker Melissa Tancredi pounced on the
loose ball which resulted in a break away.
Tancredi was composed on her approach to the goal and neatly
tucked her shot into the net
to give Canada a 1-0 lead, a lead they never relinquished.
Canada was the tougher and stronger team and although they
were not as good in the technical category and ball possession
as Mexico they
compensated their short giving with speed as Canada was
the faster of the teams to the balls
which helped to solidified their defensive schemes and coverage.
Canada was also tougher than the Mexico mentally and
deserves a lot of credit for displaying their best offensive
thrusts towards the latter part of the game at a time
when it seemed like their one goal lead was sufficient
to at least take the game into overtime.
This was a game where coach Pellerud use of his
substitutes was suburb, especially with the entrance of
Brittany Timko
on the left flank to compliment Lang on the right flank.
Lang was giving the Mexicans defenders beans as she took
on two and three defenders on a regular basis still was
successful in penetrating and getting to the byline or
keeping possession via throws and corner kicks.
The
flank players of Canada will have to continue their
aggressive play as they did in the Mexico game but
Canada defense would have to up their game a notch to
defeat a very strong USA team on Saturday.
Canada Women team is in the semi final of the CONCACAF
Women’s Olympic Qualification game at press time
(Wednesday) and although it can be said that Canada
Women soccer team under coach Even Pellerud is the
highest ranked and maybe the most recognized of all the
Canada teams world wide, for me the Women team still
have a long way to go in regards to their technique and
substantial advantage in ball possession.
Due
to this lack of composure Canada Women team is usually a
bit shabby when up against mediocre opposition but can
hold their own with the best teams in the world when it
comes to being competitive and keeping the final score
close.
Against Mexico the Canada women soccer team would need
to step up their technique to win to secure a place at
the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament Beijing 2008.
Canada is the better team in terms of mental and
physical toughness, speed and power, but they will be
seriously challenge in regards to their technical
capabilities since the playing style of two team are
completely different and the game will be decided on
ball possession and individual players confidence on the
ball.
Canada
reached the semi final after clinching first-place in
their Group B after shellacking Trinidad and Tobago 6-0
in their opening game and defeating Costa Rica 1-0 in
their final game.
The
Costa Rica game was yet another example where the
Canucks was challenged due to the difference in style of
play. Costa Rica is ranked 48 to Canada’s #8 world
ranking and the play and final result of the game was a
little to close for coach Pellerud comfort.
The Canada– Costa Rica game was played as the first
game of a double header and USA closed out the second
game with a 3-1 win over Mexico in front of a record
crowd of 22,280 for a CONCACAF Women’s Olympic
Qualification game at the Benito Juarez Olympic Stadium.
The
win also gave USA the Group A title as they defeated
Jamaica 6-0 in their first game to add to their unbeaten
streak of 26 games in CONCACAF Women’s Tournament
matches.
The
four teams of the double would have to cross over as
Mexico finished second in Group A and so did Costa Rica
in group B after finishing ahead of Trinidad & Tobago on
goal difference (-1 to -6). As a result USA will play
Costa Rica and Canada up against Mexico in the semi
final games of the 2008 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic
Qualification.
Jamaica was defeated 8-1 and 6-0 respectively by Mexico
and USA while Trinidad and Tobago was defeated 6-0 by
Canada and tied with Costa Rica 2-2 to be eliminated on
goal differential
The
semi finals are scheduled for at the Benito Juarez
Olympic Stadium and the two (winners) finalists will not
only play for the CONCACAF title on 12 April but will
also qualify to the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament
Beijing 2008.
New CONCACAF
Champions League Tournament for Canada
The Canadian Soccer Association (CSA), Major
League Soccer’s Toronto FC, and the
Vancouver Whitecaps and Montreal Impact of
the USL-1 announced details for a three
city, six-match Canadian club competition.
The competition determines Canada’s
representative at the CONCACAF Champions
League this summer.
The qualification tournament takes place
between May 27 and July 22, 2008 with each
participating city hosting two games.
The CONCACAF Champions’ League is the
revamped version of the CONCACAF Champions
Cup, the longest running international club
competition in the CONCACAF region that has
crowned the best club of the confederation
since its inception over four decades ago.
The CONCACAF Champions League will have 24
teams from all regions of CONCACAF
participating. The preliminary round begins
in August 2008 with the first CONCACAF
Champions League winner to be crowned in
late April 2009. The League winner will move
on to represent the confederation at the
FIFA World Club Championship in Japan and
compete for the top prize of $5 million
against some of the top soccer clubs in the
world.
“Toronto FC is excited to compete in a
national tournament that challenges our
players and gives them an opportunity to
develop their game at a another level,” said
Tom Anselmi, executive vice-president and
chief operating officer of Maple Leaf Sports
& Entertainment and Governor of Major League
Soccer. “More importantly competitions such
as this Canadian Qualification tournament
support our goal of motivating the next
generation of Canada’s soccer talent and
show them that they have professional soccer
teams to aspire too.”
“We are very excited, as a club, to
participate in an event that will showcase
soccer locally, nationally and
internationally,” said Joey Saputo,
President, Montreal Impact. “All three clubs
have achieved great things in their
respective local markets, but this is a
unique opportunity to further promote the
game of soccer throughout the country.”
Saputo added “I truly want to underline the
great spirit of cooperation that has
surrounded this project since the clubs
first initiated their discussions last
October. When natural rivals such as
Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto put their
differences aside and come together for the
good of the game, you know something
exciting is going to happen.”
“The realization of a Canadian club
represented at the CONCACAF Champions League
is a huge step in the evolution of
professional soccer in Canada,” said
Vancouver Whitecaps FC president Bob
Lenarduzzi. “Canada’s three professional
clubs have never been stronger both on and
off the field, and this tournament will
showcase the growth of the sport in Canada’s
three biggest markets. It’s a great time to
be a fan of the professional game in
Canada.”
“This competition provides a unique
opportunity for the professional clubs and
the Canadian Soccer Association to showcase
a high-level competition to our fans,” said
CSA chairman of the board Dominic Maestracci.
“It will open the door for our best
professional club to measure itself against
the best clubs in CONCACAF.”
Canadian
Qualification Tournament dates:
Toronto FC at Montreal Impact - May 27, 2008
(Stade Saputo)
Vancouver Whitecaps at Montreal Impact (Stade
Saputo) – June 17, 2008
Montreal Impact at Vancouver Whitecaps (Swangard
Stadium) – June 25, 2008
Vancouver Whitecaps at Toronto FC (BMO
Field) – July 1, 2008
Toronto FC at Vancouver Whitecaps (Swangard
Stadium) – July 9, 2008
Montreal Impact at Toronto FC (BMO Field) –
July 22, 2008
Canada performed well at Gold Cup 2007 and if their
personnel and level of play can be maintained, Canada
would have a very good chance of qualifying for World
Cup South Africa 2010
The
big story out of the CONCACAF Gold Cup
semi finals, was the surprising play of
Guadeloupe and the controversial offside
called by the referee in the semi final
game between Canada and USA. The offside
call negated a second goal scored by
Canada which would have tied the game in
the dying seconds of injury time, with
USA playing with 10 players due to a red
card. On the play in question, it was
obvious that the assistant referee
(linesman) who made the call did not
have the best of angle on the play and
as a result it was the only decision he
thought that could have been made. The
public had the luxury of a replay and a
better camera angle, which showed that
the play was not off side. Nevertheless,
those are the breaks of the game and it
was too little, too late for Canada.
However Canada overall
defensive effort in the Gold Cup was
outstanding and the team also showed
that it can score goals to win the big
games in the tournament.
Canada is
on to the semifinals
Gold Cup Report 16/JUN/07 -
Dwayne De Rosario opened the scoring in
the 17th minute by tapping in a shot
from Ali Gerba. Gerba found his way onto
the score sheet in the 33rd minute after
great buildup work in the offensive
third, and added his second and his
team’s in the 44th minute by deflecting
a Julian De Guzman shot.
Canada started the brighter of the two
sides and nearly opened the scoring
after 12 minutes. After Dwayne De
Rosario was fouled out on the left wing,
Canada midfielder Martin Nash swung a
free kick into the far post. Andrew
Hainault was first to it, but his effort
towards the gaping net was deflected
wide.
There was no respite for the flat-footed
Guatemalan defense in the 17th minute as
Canada claimed the lead. Paul Stalteri
played a diagonal ball through the
Guatemalan backline onto the run of Ali
Gerba. Gerba slid his effort toward the
far post, where the onrushing De Rosario
tapped home. The second goal nearly arrived six
minutes later, as Canada took advantage
of some miscommunication on the
Guatemalan defensive line. Atiba
Hutchinson’s effort from 14 yards was
blocked, but the rebound fell to Julian
De Guzman. His effort was only kept out
by a diving save from Guatemalan
goalkeeper Carlos Trigueno. Canada’s second goal came in the 33rd
minute through an intricate passing
movement. The goal started with De
Rosario on the left playing the ball
inside to Hutchinson, who slotted a ball
behind the defense to De Guzman. De
Guzman played from the byline across the
face of goal to the waiting Gerba, who
had a simple finish to double the
Canadian lead. The Canadian lead was extended to three
a minute before halftime. Ante Jazic
found space down the left hand flank and
played a pass back to De Guzman on the
edge of the penalty area. De Guzman
scuffed his shot towards goal, but the
effort hit off the right heel of Gerba
and deflected off the right post and
past Trigueno into the net. After the interval, De Rosario had an
early chance to grab his second of the
contest in the 50th minute. De Rosario
was played through on goal by Gerba, but
he could only manage a tame shot that
failed to trouble Trigueno. Guatemala had a penalty appeal turned
away in the 62nd minute as Pat Onstad
and substitute Mario Rodriguez collided
inside the Canadian penalty area, but
the contact was dismissed by referee
Courtney Campbell. It was a matter of both teams playing
out time, as Guatemala could not find a
way to penetrate the Canadian defense
and Canada was not pressing forward
because of its advantage. There was one last chance for De Rosario
in the 89th minute. De Rosario earned a
free kick on the edge of the Guatemalan
penalty area after shaking free from
Medina. De Rosario curled the resulting
free kick around the wall, but Trigueno
dove and tipped the ball around the box.
Miller Lite Player of the Match: Ali
Gerba (Canada) CANADA HEAD COACH STEPHEN HART
On today’s game:
“We felt going into the game that our
game was to not get counterattacked upon
and deny service to Ruiz. I thought my
backline had an excellent game.” “The victory was nice. I thought in the
first half, we were balanced. We
attacked well and we defended well. It
was a game of two halves. In the second
half, we had to defend.” On Guatemala’s performance: “I was
very surprised. I thought they would
play similar to the way they played
against the United States. We were
fortunate to get a goal early. That puts
pressure on the opponent. We had to hold
the lead long enough to put pressure on
them and we did that.” CANADA FORWARD AND MILLER LITE MAN OF
THE MATCH ALI GERBA On today's game:
“It is very easy to score when you play
around quality players. It makes your
job easy.” GUATEMALA HEAD COACH HERNAN DARIO GOMEZ
On today's game: “Canada was superior in all points of
the game. They were in better condition
than us. The three or four times they
got to our goal, they were able to
finish.” “After losing 3-0, it’s hard to say
anything to our fans. You’re blind after
that.” On how the Gold Cup works to integrate
players for World Cup Qualifying: “It’s hard to incorporate people into
the team. We have to work from the group
up to develop players. We have to
prepare in every possible way, including
physically.” “The country is anxious for immediate
results. I’m not scared of the
pressure.”
The Gold Cup quarter finals opened
between Canada and Guatemala at Gillette Stadium in
Foxboro. In this game Canada stifled Guatemala’s offense
on their way to a commanding 3-0 halftime lead.
Canada was on the offensive from the get
go, and although they missed a few scoring chances,
Dwayne De Rosario made it 1-0 for Canada at the 17th
minute mark, after he redirect an Ali Gerber shot into
the Guatemala net. Canada’s defensive intensified as
they sniffed out every offensive play by Guatemala much
to the disgust of the pro Guatemala crowd.
Canada scored two more goals, both by
striker Ali Gerber at the 33rd and 44th minute mark and
coasted through the second half to book their ticket to
the semi final. Ali Gerber was voted Man of the Match
for his big goals and strong offensive presence. Canada
was into the semi finals to play the winner of the
second double header.
The second quarter final was played
between USA and Panama. Most people considered this
game to be he biggest test for USA after they dominated
the B Group without a loss and without conceding a goal.
Panama was also the best playing team in the tournament
at that point but was reeling a bit after a tough loss
to Mexico two days earlier.
The game was a display of emotions and
indiscipline by Panama as they questioned every
unfavorable call by the referee. The game entered the
second half of play tied 0-0 as USA took the lead on a
penalty kick in the 60th minute after Landon Donavan was
hauled down by Carlos Rivera. Donavan converted from the
penalty spot and USA increased their lead minutes later
on a neat header by Carlos Bocanegra from a DaMarcus
Beasley in swinging cross.
Canada win
CONCACAF
Gold Cup Group A
Costa
Rica, Canada, and Haiti were favored to advance out of
Group A, but apparently no one told that to Guadeloupe,
as they sprung the biggest surprise of the tournament.
Canada had the challenge of trying to dethrone Costa
Rica as the third seed team in CONCACAF, while Costa
Rica was anticipating a move to replace USA as the # 2
team in the region. Guadeloupe was supposed to be just
in the tournament for the first time experience.
However when group play began it seemed like the match
ups in this group were a lot tougher than the coaches
anticipated and the coaches adjustments made the games
uninspiring and lacking in excitement. Winning and
losing became paramount and the only team that had a
distinctive style of play was Costa Rica. Canada had
talented players and was the team to beat. Unlike
previous years it seemed like the team composition was
not based on any alleged quota system which meant that
advancing to the final round was important.
Costa
Rica was questioning lady luck for yet another spell at
the big tournament after having to open World Cup 2006
against host Germany and now Canada in the first game of
CONCACAF Gold Cup 2007 USA.
On
June 6, 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup kicked off under cloudy
skies at the Orange Bowl Stadium in Miami where Costa
Rica and Canada lock horns. Costa Rica controlled the
first half of play but Canada took care of the
scoreboard with a double scored by Julian De Guzman in
the second half to erase a one goal deficit. Canada won
the game 2-1 and gained the early lead in the Group A
standings as Guadeloupe and Haiti played to a 1-1 tie in
the second game of the double header.
In the
second games of the group Canada was caught by surprised
and lost to a tough Guadeloupe team 2-1. Guadeloupe
defeat of Canada was the start of the upsets of Gold Cup
2007. Haiti and Costa Rica tied 1-1 in the second game
of the double header which left three out of the four
teams in the group under pressure to advance. Heading
into the third group A games Guadeloupe was the only
team which had secured a spot into the second round with
four points. Canada stood in second place with three
points as Costa Rica and Haiti had two points apiece
Canada’s women soccer teamsuffered a heartbreaking loss to USA on
a penalty kick called in the dying
seconds of the second half of overtime.
The game was played at the Home Depot
Center in Carson, California and the
infraction occurred when Canada’s #18-
Robyn Gayle, attempt to screen out a USA
player. Canada entered the game having
secured a spot at the women World Cup
2007 in Chinaafter defeating
Jamaica 4-0 in the semi final days
earlier.
Unlike
the Jamaica game Canada fell behind
early. USA
took a 1-0 lead against the run
of play on a
goal scored by Leslie Osborne from a
rebound. Canada showed character
and returned the favor in the 40th
minute after
midfielder Randee Hermus pounced on a
rebound and unleashed a left foot half
volley into the roof of the USA net.
The second half saw USA in total command
but not exactly in control. As a result
time expired in regulation play with the
score still tied to send the game into
overtime.
Overtime usually spells p-r-e-s-s-u-r-e
for the favorite team and in this game
it looked no different. The pressure was
clearly on USA to get a score before the
introduction of the dreaded penalty
kicks. The arrival of penalty kicks
means that the ego of favored team can
be broken and in that light, the
underdog’s chances are better.
USA,
desperate to end the game was moving
forward with everything in attack which
opened up their defensive coverage
somewhat, and Canada’s striker Christine
Sinclair shot wide from a golden
opportunity to score. On the other end
of the field Canada’s goalkeeper Erin
McLeod was kept busy and responded well
with some brilliant saves that kept
Canada in the game.
With no ticks left on the clock USA made
a long throw into the Canadian 6 yard
box that created the untimely penalty
that was scored by
USA
striker Christine Lilly. As a result USA
defeated Canada 2-1 to win the Gold Cup
2006.
Canada
and USA women team advance to the World
Cup 2007 in China while third place
Mexico will play Japan in a home and
away series to advance. The Mexicans
clinched third spot by eliminating
Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago by the
same score of 3-0.
Canada women's soccer team lead by captain
Christine Sinclair two goals, secured a
spot at the women World Cup 2007 in
China. They defeated Jamaica 4-0 in the
first semi final of the CONCACAF Gold
Cup played at the Home Depot Center in
Carson, California and will meet the
winner of the Mexico versus USA on
Sunday. Jamaica will have to wait to
play
the loser of
the next semi final for the third spot to face Japan (from
the Asian Football Confederation) in a
home-and-away playoff for the final
berth in the FIFA tournament.
Christine Sinclair led the Canadian
attack with two goals in the 40th and
70th minute while Rhian Wilkinson and
Melanie Booth both scored in the 51st
and 88th minute respectively. Although Canada had defeated Jamaica four times
previously (with a
goal differential of 31:0), this game
was anticipated to be a close encounter
by the recent showing of the Jamaica
defense. The Jamaica
women started well but as the game progressed
Canada shut down their early advances
and systematically took control of
the midfield. Canada missed several
good scoring
opportunities and one was beginning to
wonder if those missed chances was going
to be their downfall. However
the talented Sinclair made no mistake in
the 40th minute when she chest trap a
cross from the right side at the far
post and buried a left foot volley into
the net to open scoring just before the
half.
The
second half started with Canada piling
on the pressure but for the most part
the play was a little shabby. Rhian
Wilkinson scored the second goal with a
neat placement from a backward cross
along the ground from
Sinclair after Sinclair
ran out of real estate after eluding the
Jamaica defense. Sinclair closed out
her play after pouncing on a rebound off
the cross bar and showed the calm of a
veteran when she hammered home the ball
pass the stranded Jamaica goalkeeper to
give Canada a comfortable 3-0 lead.
Although Canada had their way in terms
of the run of play, the Jamaicans
deserve a lot of credit for keeping
their composure and doing a decent job
of ball possession in the second half of
the game in spite of the score. In
future Canada would have to concentrate
on more ball possession in games where
they have a sizable lead. This tactic
can be very effective in preventing
injuries.
All
in all it was a good display of
aggressive soccer by Canada and Jamaica
would have to regroup for their next
game for third place against most likely
Mexico.
Now that the CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers
teams has been finalized, and the
implication and anticipated toughness of
Group 2 has been realized our attention can
now be on the dates of the matches between
Canada, Mexico, Honduras and Jamaica who
will do battle in what is termed as the
“Group of Death”. 
vs
defeating St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG)
4-1 before an energetic crowd of 11,000+ at
the Saputo Stadium in Montreal Quebec.
From that point onwards De Rosario imposed
his will on the SVG defense as he moved from
the center to the right and then to the left
flank. It was on the left flank that he sent
a perfect cross onto the head of striker
(#10) Ali Gerba at the 39 minute to give Canada a
commanding 2-0 lead as SVG continued to
misfire on offense.
