KingsX Posted 18 July 2017 Share Posted 18 July 2017 Reinforcements have arrived for those teams still alive in the Gold Cup and it’s off to the quarterfinals we go. Some are not fond of the narrative shift that occurs when a nation drastically alters its roster once it gets through to the knockout stage of this tournament but there’s no question that it’s a massive boost for the programs that are able to do so. Every team takes advantage of the rule when it can but it’s possible that the Americans are the guiltiest culprits. They called up first-team regulars Jozy Altidore, Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey and Tim Howard once they were clear of the group stage. The USA ended group play tied atop the lot with Panama and will face El Salvador in the round of eight. The Yanks will be a massive fave in the quarterfinal match and will be disappointed with anything other than outright victory in the tournament’s finale. Just ahead of the hosting Americans it’s Mexico. Although they’ve played a boring brand of football thus far, El Tri – a country ranked 16th in the FIFA world rankings – is the favorite for a reason. They’re running with an experimental squad after using their best players at the Confederations Cup but Mexico has the deepest well of any team in CONCACAF and there’s little fear that they won’t be a part of the final. Finishing second in Group A, Team Canada went unbeaten in round-robin play. The Canucks actually won the competition back at the turn of the millennium so a champagne run is not totally out of the question. Calling up the talented Orlando City forward Cyle Larin to help out Alphonso Davies up front, Canada could be the dark horse going forward. Concacaf Gold Cup: Outright Winner Odds as of July 17 at Bovada Mexico +160 USA +175 Costa Rica +500 Panama +1000 Jamaica +1400 Canada +1400 Honduras +2500 El Salvador +5000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacemunky Posted 18 July 2017 Share Posted 18 July 2017 As a TFC fan, not thrilled to lose Jozy and Bradley but that certainly bolsters the US squad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jattdogg Posted 19 July 2017 Share Posted 19 July 2017 Come on Canada you timbits get innnnnn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacemunky Posted 20 July 2017 Share Posted 20 July 2017 Great ball from Bradley for the opening US goal. Can't say much about Lichaj's goal, since he's a Forest player Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Detroit Blues Posted 20 July 2017 Share Posted 20 July 2017 That was peak concacaf. At least 3-4 El Salvador players should have been sent off. The ref completely lost the plot, and the game suffered for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacemunky Posted 20 July 2017 Share Posted 20 July 2017 30 minutes ago, Detroit Blues said: That was peak concacaf. At least 3-4 El Salvador players should have been sent off. The ref completely lost the plot, and the game suffered for it. I feel bad for the US having to play in concacaf. What a joke of a region. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordan Posted 20 July 2017 Share Posted 20 July 2017 The Gold Cup didn't hurt TFC too badly last night Last night's game was classic CONCACAF. More ridiculous things about the tournament include: -Non-FIFA member French Guiana deliberately including Florent Malouda in their starting XI even though they were aware he was ineligible to play in the tournament even though they would have been fully aware doing so would result in a 3-0 forfeit loss (the original result was 0-0) -This tournament not only still being played on a biennial basis, but also just a year after 5 participated in the special Copa America -CONCACAF's efforts to stop Mexico fans yelling "Puto!" at goalkeepers taking goal kicks blowing up in their own faces -The final is on a Wednesday night Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Detroit Blues Posted 20 July 2017 Share Posted 20 July 2017 2 hours ago, Jordan said: The Gold Cup didn't hurt TFC too badly last night Last night's game was classic CONCACAF. More ridiculous things about the tournament include: -Non-FIFA member French Guiana deliberately including Florent Malouda in their starting XI even though they were aware he was ineligible to play in the tournament even though they would have been fully aware doing so would result in a 3-0 forfeit loss (the original result was 0-0) -This tournament not only still being played on a biennial basis, but also just a year after 5 participated in the special Copa America -CONCACAF's efforts to stop Mexico fans yelling "Puto!" at goalkeepers taking goal kicks blowing up in their own faces -The final is on a Wednesday night Adding to this ^ The forfeit allowed Honduras, who has not yet scored in the tournament (group stage), to go through to the knockout round. This over Martinique who upset Nicaragua, and came oh so close to getting a result with the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingsX Posted 20 July 2017 Author Share Posted 20 July 2017 Good luck Canucks. Your guys have turned into must-see TV (by CONCACAF standards). Have to record tonight's, but I hope Davies puts some quality onto the DVR for late enjoyment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacemunky Posted 20 July 2017 Share Posted 20 July 2017 1 hour ago, KingsX said: Good luck Canucks. Your guys have turned into must-see TV (by CONCACAF standards). Have to record tonight's, but I hope Davies puts some quality onto the DVR for late enjoyment Thanks! Not the best start though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacemunky Posted 21 July 2017 Share Posted 21 July 2017 Disappointing result tonight against Jamaica. Felt we outplayed them by a large margin. Just didn't get the result. Hoilett's goal was class. Looking good for the future I feel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingsX Posted 21 July 2017 Author Share Posted 21 July 2017 IMO CONCACAF is locked into being a “joke” confederation because of simple geographical reality. It’s an agglomeration of two large countries, another rich country in Canada, and mostly third-world micro-countries. Next biggest is Guatemala, with less than 15M people and no economy. In fact out of 40 members, only 15 number a million inhabitants. For most, the only things being scouted are the beaches. A membership clustering around the bottom of the FIFA rankings will never generate consistent (nor at times even useful) competition. Some members may punch above their weight, especially the few middle-income countries like Costa Rica and Panama -- but they are so tiny. Membership hurts the North American countries, because of the tendency to play up or down to the level of your competition. And in any case the tactics and style of play of Davids against Goliaths are usually designed to neutralize, rather than promote, quality, and can be disgraceful -- increasingly a CONCACAF speciality. ¡ Vamos Los Ticos ! -- just not tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingsX Posted 23 July 2017 Author Share Posted 23 July 2017 Thank you Clint, Tim and Jozy! If only the newbies could cut it like you guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacemunky Posted 23 July 2017 Share Posted 23 July 2017 Great goal by Jozy on the nice feed from Dempsey. Congrats to Clint on tying Donovan's record. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordan Posted 23 July 2017 Share Posted 23 July 2017 Vets did the job last night. Here's hoping we get the USA vs Jamaica final that everybody in CONCACAF was surely hoping for all along Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacemunky Posted 24 July 2017 Share Posted 24 July 2017 13 hours ago, Jordan said: Here's hoping we get the USA vs Jamaica final that everybody in CONCACAF was surely hoping for all along And that's what we have. Beautiful free kick for the winner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Webbo Posted 24 July 2017 Share Posted 24 July 2017 Has Wes Morgan retired from international football? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingsX Posted 25 July 2017 Author Share Posted 25 July 2017 18 hours ago, Webbo said: Has Wes Morgan retired from international football? He's not on their Gold Cup roster. Per socceramerica.com: Jamaican soccer has been in transition since the death of longtime Jamaica Football Federation president, Captain Horace Burrell, who died after a long illness in June. The conditions at the team's training facility at the University of West Indies, where it prepared for the Gold Cup, were so bad training sessions had to be cut short, and Blake, the captain, complained to Jamaica's sports minister. Unlike the 2015 Jamaica team, which was built heavily around English-based players, including Leicester City captain Wes Morgan, Whitmore's team at the 2017 Gold Cup has only one European-based player: backup keeper Andre Miller from Swedish minor league club Syrianska FC. Besides this disarray, my guess is that the iffy stature of the tournament in a WC qualifying year, coupled with his need for recovery time, made it an easy "miss". And it is hard to see a notable, late-career player coming back for friendlies, or a Caribbean Cup two (?) years out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordan Posted 25 July 2017 Share Posted 25 July 2017 They've been terrible in World Cup qualifying, but this is the second year in a row they've had fantastic goalkeeping at the GC. Andre Blake has been outstanding. He's an excellent shot-stopper (and with the teams he plays for, he has to be). The way Jamaica beat Mexico used the classic underdog formula. USA forwards have to be more clinical early, unlike in the semifinal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Detroit Blues Posted 25 July 2017 Share Posted 25 July 2017 2 hours ago, Jordan said: They've been terrible in World Cup qualifying, but this is the second year in a row they've had fantastic goalkeeping at the GC. Andre Blake has been outstanding. He's an excellent shot-stopper (and with the teams he plays for, he has to be). The way Jamaica beat Mexico used the classic underdog formula. USA forwards have to be more clinical early, unlike in the semifinal. Mexico should have scored 2 or 3 goals in the first half if not for the tremendous goalkeeping by Andre Blake. He allowed Jamaica to keep 2-3 players forward to threaten Mexico with the counterattack. Against the US they will look to do the same. The US back line in the tournament has looked far from organized, and it would not surprise me to see them concede opportunities on the counterattack. Against Costa Rica, Bryan Ruiz split the defense on the counter, and we needed a big save from Howard to keep the game scoreless. If Jamaica can get an early goal, they could sit back and effectively counter the rest of the game. That being said, I think the US will dominate. The six players brought in after the group stage makes US's "B-team" significantly better than Mexico's "B-team" that did not bring in any reinforcements. If the US were without Jozy Altidore, Tim Howard, Michael Bradley, and Darlington Nagbe. they might not have beaten Costa Rica. With these players, I think they'll comfortably defeat Jamaica 2 or 3-0. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacemunky Posted 27 July 2017 Share Posted 27 July 2017 Beautiful from Jozy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacemunky Posted 27 July 2017 Share Posted 27 July 2017 And there's Jamaica getting their usual quick strike goal. Great set piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacemunky Posted 27 July 2017 Share Posted 27 July 2017 Nice finish from Morris. That should do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Detroit Blues Posted 27 July 2017 Share Posted 27 July 2017 What a game. Zardes really changed the game, I can see him getting a roster spot at the world cup to be an impact sub like he was today. Nagbe MOTM. He was so good in possession and that crossfield pass on the second goal was a perfect example of what he brings to the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingsX Posted 27 July 2017 Author Share Posted 27 July 2017 Not a great tournament but I agree, what a game, especially that wide-open second half. Nagbe ( Cleveland kid and U. of Akron man ) certainly is ready of joining our old guard, but I don't know who else made a similar case with enough consistency. Jamaica were worthy of lifting the trophy in their own right. Blake and Mattocks ( U. of Akron man ) standouts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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