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    Guest
    This French national squad is coming off of a poor showing against Nigeria, where they only managed one goal against the Super Falcons. They spent more time defending the African champion's counter attacks then they probably wanted to. It took a '56 goal by Marie-Laure Delie to Lift les bleues past Nigeria.
    It's about to get nerdy again
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    The French squad is coming into this tournament having lost starting goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi to an ACL injury. Her replacement in the starting position is Celine Deville who plays for Montpellier. The 29 year old Deville has managed to accumulate 42 caps while with the senior squad but this will be by far her biggest test yet. Deville is captain at her club team so look for her to be focused and on her game today.
    Team Captain Sandrine Soubeyrand brings her 37 year old body out for one last kick about and could get victimized by a younger faster Canadian midfield. 3 years ago she passed the legendary Lilian Thuram as the most capped French international player. Male or Female. So there are a lot miles on those legs. Head to head the French midfield averages 3 years older but only 3 games more of experience. The younger faster Canadian midfield will try and exploit their European opponents inability to keep pace on the wings.
    The French are quite young and inexperienced up front but they seem to have a prodigy on their hands in 23 year old Marie Laure Delie. She was co-top scorer in the 2007 UEFA Women's -19 Championship. She has continued her merciless goal poaching rate and has 22 goals in 21 games leading up to this tournament. Since starting this tournament she is already 1 for 1 having notched the lone goal that proved to be the winner against Nigeria. France's forwards average 24 years old and 35 games of experience coming into this game. The Canadian defense average 2 years older and twice as many games of experience. The Canadians will not give France nearly the time or space that Nigeria offered, and we should not make the same defensive miscues. Other then Delie, nobody else in France's World Cup squad has more then 20 goals. So if she is shut down the Canucks should be able to keep France off the board.
    With goals in mind if you look at Canada after Christine Sinclair nobody on the squad has more then 13 goals. So her playing today is essential for a victory. Well at least it used to be. Several times this year Carolina Morace has rested her star and the team has managed to pull through with a victory. Look for Canada to have regrouped and dealt with any nerves that were present in front of the 73 000 Berliners on Sunday. France's defensive line will be organized by Sonia Bompastor of Olympique Lyonnais. She will be leading a relatively inexperienced defensive unit with her 129 Caps. Bompastor recently played here in North America with the Washington Freedom. So Canada will know what to expect from the defender. Her new squad Lyon are the defending UEFA League Champions and are well represented in this side. Look out for 20 year old defender Wendie Renard who played in more games this year for Lyon than Bompastor or national team defensive partner, and Lyon captain Laura Georges. Renard will be hard to miss she's a tall drink of water at 6'1. Even with Renard's height the defense as a whole only averages 5'7, so if Canada can get balls over or around her on set pieces and corners, they should be able to get balls on Tancredi's head. Canada's forwards average 2 years younger then the French defenders and 9 games more of experience. Too bad that experience has not barred fruit like the way it has in France.
    From what my math tells me France's forwards all score at better than a goal once every four games. Unfortunately for them Canada are strong defensively and held the power house Germans at distance forcing them to take long range shots. At the other end of the pitch if Christine Sinclair does not play, nobody on Canada scores at a clip of under 4 games between goals. This could be a very tight game and Canada know this match means life or death so expect high drama.
    Watch Online at CBC.CA
    Or on TV
    Live on CBC at 8:45 pm pt or 11:45 est
    replay on sportsnet
    Guest

    Toronto FC signs two DPs

    By Guest, in It's Called Football,

    Toronto FC announced this afternoon that it has signed a pair of designated players.
    Defensive midfielder Torsten Frings and striker Danny Koevermans will join the Reds when the transfer window opens on July 15. No salaries were disclosed.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Both will bring a level of leadership and pedigree that is sorely lacking on the injury depleted Reds right now. Frings has starred for Germany in past World Cups and Koeverman's time at PSV hasn't been short on goals.
    But perhaps the most telling moment of the press conference, and what lies ahead for Toronto, was when Technical Director and Head Coach Aron Winter danced around the question of what will happen to current defensive midfielder Julian DeGuzman.
    "Perhaps they both can play the position."
    Not exactly a ringing endorsement for the oft-embattled Canadian international.
    But what do you think? Do you like Koevermans and Frings? Is Julian DeGuzman all but out the door?
    Guest
    Toronto FC is making an announcement at 4:45 p.m. Speculation is running wild as to what it will be.
    There is even a report out that Aron Winter is out as coach at TFC. That story matches something I was told last week, but did not report at the time as it was single sourced. Since it's out now...
    I was told that Winter was moving upstairs to take over as full-time Technical Director and Director of Soccer with Bob de Klerk promoted to head coach. The move would actually line up to how the club is actually run anyway.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Guest
    This morning Marc Weber of the Vancouver Province is reporting that the Whitecaps brain trust has decided to release barely healthy and hardly used defender Mouloud Akloul.
    Basically it comes down to the fact that he wasn't getting minutes because he simply wasn't good enough. With Tom Soehn being the driving force in signing him to his initial contract, one would have to think that he simply never regained the form that he had shown previous to his horrific ankle injury last April. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Personally I am not to upset by this turn of events because Mouloud still owes me lunch from a bet we made last year. I am still yet to receive said lunch and will continue to hold a grudge until I do.
    The transfer window is about to re-open and this will give the 'Caps even more room to work with under the salary cap. Expect to see a couple more guys get cut as the club looks to add a few more players to their 30 man roster.
    Guest
    Montreal Impact are on the verge of announcing the signature of 38 year-old striker Eduardo Sebrango for the remained of the 2011 season.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Sebrango, who announced his retirement in April 2011, has been training with the first team for a week now, and it seems that the club is only waiting for the NASL to approve the contract.
    He was released by the Impact in October 2010, and announced his retirement in April 2011, but stayed with the club as a coach for the Academy program.
    What a few hours it has been for the Impact.
    More info to come...
    Guest

    Your daily WWC links - day 4

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    Day four links below the jump:
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Pressure? What pressure?
    North Korea never loses.
    More Sinclair news
    Athletes generally don’t have much interesting to say, but if reading their clichés is your thing Kaylyn Kyle is writing for the Vancouver Province:
    Canadian spirit, heart, want it more, liugggggggvytcxit (sorry, fell asleep for a second there)
    Can the WWC help the WPS?
    Team Sweden: Bunch of goons
    AUSSIE! AUSSIE! AUSSIE!
    12 years later it’s still Mia’s world. (that might be a problem)
    Guest
    It would be a bit disingenuous to suggest that tonight's MLS match between Toronto FC and Vancouver Whitecaps is nothing more than an appetizer for Saturday's Voyageurs Cup main course.
    After all, tonight's game will likely be seen by a larger crowd, as league matches have tended to fare better on the attendance sheet than Nutrilite Canadian Championship fixtures due in no small part to the fact that the general populace still doesn't "get" the tournament like they do MLS play.
    On top of that, TSN will be broadcasting the game tonight -- complete with a half hour pre-game show -- while Rogers Sportsnet ONE is the broadcaster for the V's Cup finale on Saturday afternoon. TSN's reach as the number one all-sports network in Canada is undeniable, while Sportsnet ONE is still struggling to find a home on many cable/satellite packages across the country.
    So it's a no brainer which game is the bigger of the two, right?
    Actually yes, it's the one that takes place on Saturday.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Let's face it. Tonight's match is -- at best -- a mid-season, mid-week regular season kickabout between two awful MLS teams going nowhere fast. Sure, they may both be ambitiously awaiting the transfer window to open for reinforcements to arrive, but at the moment Toronto and Vancouver are the dregs of Major League Soccer, and tonight's game at BMO Field will be a reflection of that -- even more so if either one or both of the coaching staffs decide to rest their prize fighters for the weekend main event.
    That said, there are still a few reasons to watch.
    First off, TFC have some bodies coming back from injury, including early season midfield pairing Julian de Guzman and Tony Tchani. Neither have featured for TFC in what seems like forever, and it's been even longer since they've played alongside one another. Look for Aron Winter to give both of his preferred central midfielders at least some playing time on Wednesday night ahead of the Nutrilite final, as the coach seeks to rebuild the competition for spots that he sees as vital for a healthy club.
    Also, watch out for the new system put in place by Vancouver interim coach Tom Soehn -- more specifically, we'll get to see first hand how it matches up versus a Toronto side that Teitur Thordarson's tactics (limited as they may have been) had seemed to have figured out. Will Soehn's tactical shift, along with his "new" players injected into the 'Caps side, be as successful against the home-bound Reds as Thordarson's tried-and-true game plan was over the years? (The answer may be a sub-plot in these next two games.)
    The third thing to watch out for -- and this may only be applicable on Saturday, depending on how much stock Soehn puts into the NCC vs. MLS debate -- is the match-up between Toronto's central defenders and Vancouver's Eric Hassli. The Reds are literally down to their last options at centre back (who could have foreseen Doneil Henry and Ty Harden as a starting CB pairing?), and while a highly-touted 18-year-old should be getting some minutes as he develops, he may be in over his head going up against the 'Caps behemoth DP striker, especially with a third-string journeyman as his on-field mentor.
    Ultimately, this match will likely be forgotten as soon as the final whistle is blown. Regardless of which team comes out on top (if any), those who tend to remember mid-season results will likely be far more focused on what happens on Saturday, while the average fan will probably care about neither of this week's matches by the time the end of the season rolls around.
    With that in mind, there is one thing that both teams could strive to achieve in tonight's game, and every match going forward: pride.
    It's something that both sides will be playing for quite often for the rest of 2011, if things stay the course.

    Toronto FC v. Vancouver Whitecaps FC
    Wednesday, June 29, 2011. 7:30pm EDT.
    BMO Field. Toronto, ON.
    Watch: TSN
    Listen: FAN590.com, TeamRadio.ca

    Rudi Schuller occasionally contributes Toronto FC and Canadian national team content to the 24th Minute. He manages the Euro File here at Canadian Soccer News, and is MLSsoccer.com's beat writer for all things concerning Canada's men's national teams. Follow Rudi on Twitter, @RudiSchuller.
    Guest

    Sinclair's status in doubt

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    Lost in the excitement and hyperbole of Christine's Sinclair's broken nose performance against Germany was that she suffered a serious injury.
    So serious, in fact, that it's being widely reported today that she is in danger of not playing against France. The issue isn't whether she's tough enough, but rather whether the team doctors will let her. The instinct here is to be critical of those meddling doctors, it's important to remember that the injury is to her head. Any knock to the head, rightfully -- is treated seriously now.
    She was unable to train with the team today as running was too painful.
    Clearly, her loss would be a huge blow to Canada's chances in the game. If Germany beats Nigeria, Canada would be eliminated with a loss to the French.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Guest

    Beyond the 90: Boys versus girls

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    The digs have been subtle and not so subtle, but the message is clear: Forget the Canadian men. Support the women. They win; the men suck.
    That underlining attitude is at the root of much of the traditional media’s reporting of the WWC in Canada. With the Canadian women riding a historically high No 6 ranking in the world, and considered to be a legitimate darkhorse to go deep, and the men coming off a uninspiring 1-1-1 Gold Cup, it’s easy to understand the argument.
    Well, if you aren’t really thinking about it anyway.
    The arguments fall into about four different categories. They are:
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    1) The “You’re a misogynistic dinosaur if you don’t care about women’s football” argument.
    The condescension is dripping when commentators bring this one out. They are enlightened, you, the hater of chicks playing footy, are not worthy of their time. Those that make this argument are trying to force you to care about the game and to ignore any and all personal taste preferences. They use the failures of the Canadian men’s program as ammunition in their argument – not only are you a Neanderthal, you’re also stupid. You’d rather support losers than winners if supporting winners means seeing girls out of the kitchen.
    It is, of course, impossible to argue against their point without proving it (in their mind).
    2) The “Noble Warriors” argument
    Here female footballers play a more pure, less cynical game than their male counterparts. The men do not deserve your support because they are diving, cheating and greedy mercenaries while women only play football out of a pure and inspiring love of the game.
    3) The “Glory hunting FTW” argument
    Only losers stay loyal to losing programs. Come join us cool kids that support the winning team. Glory, glory Man United.
    4) The “CSA screws the women in favour of the men so supporting the men means you are supporting the CSA and the CSA sucks” argument.
    (Hard evidence optional).
    All four arguments rely on faulty logic or, in some cases, outright falsehoods.
    It seems to escape the understanding of the commentators that it’s not an either or proposition. In fact, the two programs are far more dependent on each other’s success than it might appear on the surface. Canada, as we know, is not a traditional football culture. Resources are scarce. The country needs all the success it can get from both genders.
    For what it’s worth:
    1) – Dismissing the women’s game simply because women play it is indeed silly and deserving of scorn. But, you can’t force people to care and you certainly can’t judge them if they care more about the men’s program – actually, that would be like criticising someone for preferring the women to the men. Which is what they are doing. But, anyway.

    2) – The Noble Warrior argument is actually more dangerous to women’s football than outright hostility is. With hostility there is no misunderstanding. Condescension, which is exactly what the noble warrior argument is – capital C condescending -- is a far more subtle form of dismissal. It suggests that women are less competitive by nature. I’m pretty sure Christine Sinclair would claw my eyes out to win a corner kick. That’s not noble, but it is praiseworthy when you are talking about an elite athlete.
    Also, diving as a tactic is not universally accepted in the men’s game either. In fact if you look at the countries that tend to shy away from diving as a tactic – Scandinavia, Canada the United States, England, etc. – you’ll note that a lot of those places are front and centre at the WWC. Think maybe that’s why there is less diving?
    3) Beyond the sheer absurdity that a supporter should base his or her loyalty on whether a team is successful, there is also common thinking error at play here. Namely, that the women are, in context, markedly better than the men anyway.
    Before you jump all over that point remember that word: Context.
    There are, at best, 20 countries in the world that take the women’s game seriously. That’s sad, but pointing it out does not make one an enemy of the women’s game. The entire world takes the men’s game seriously. The depth of field in the men’s game is staggering.
    So, within that context, the women’s historical ranking of around No 10 in the world is pretty similar to the men’s historical ranking of No 60.
    To put it in a way that most Canadians would understand let’s compare women’s football with men’s ice hockey -- about the same amount of countries take the two sports seriously, after all. Canada, historically about the 10th best team in the world, but improving, are kind of like, say Switzerland in hockey - decent, improving, worthwhile and able, on the perfect day, to upset the best teams. But, still, Switzerland.
    Yes, but surely the men have crapped the bed in ways that the women could only dream of? Well, the failure to qualify for the 2004 Olympics was every bit as horrible of a performance for the women as anything the men have ever done.
    Let’s be clear, this is IN NO WAY an argument for not supporting the women. Rather, it’s a suggestion that we shouldn’t use the women’s success as a hit against the men. Apples and oranges doesn’t begin to cover the differences between men’s and women’s soccer. It’s arguably harder to qualify for the men’s World Cup out of CONCACAF than it is to win the women’s World Cup.
    4) The CSA is not the national teams. Anti-CSA arguments don’t belong on the pitch.
    Canada needs to build a stronger soccer culture, period. To do that it needs both genders to be more successful. Cheering for the women in Germany is the right thing to do. Cheering for the men in this fall’s World Cup Qualifying is also the right thing to do.
    Dismissing either, well...
    No one reading Canadian Soccer News should have any time for that.
    Guest
    Marc Dos Santos announced his resignation today after a series of poor performances. The team, currently sitting in 7th spot of the NASL, have been winless in 3 games, the more recent being a 1-0 loss against FC Edmonton.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]Club president Joey Saputo accepted (!) Dos Santos resignation and explained that the best decision was to give the coach seat to current sporting director Nick De Santis.
    In the last weeks, there had been some rumours that Marc Dos Santos would be fired but it seems that he decided to make the move himself and leave. I'm actually happy for him, and I hope he finds a better club.In the meantime, De Santis will once again show his multi-tasking capabilities by running the club AND coaching the first team. Wow! Is there anything he can't do? (write them in the comments section below!)
    The 2011 season was supposed to be filled with hope and success. At the end of June 2011, we can say that it has been anything but. March 2012 can't come any faster.
    Guest
    We take you now to the classified ads section of Quebec's largest English-language newspaper. The following missive has just been received, on a crumpled piece of paper, smelling oddly of cheese:
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    ---
    Wanted -- soccer coach.
    You know the game. You want the job. You get some guys that drive you crazy, but they tend to like to win for the new guy. Sometimes a league title. Sometimes -- darn near the continent! We're moving up to the big league next year. Good chance for everyone ... almost.
    Thing you gotta understand -- no matter how well you do, you get hoofed next June.
    Interested applicants file a resume in back of the ticket booth at Viau Metro station.
    Oh, and you'll be eating a lot of cheese.
    Sincerely yours: J.S.
    (Onward!)
    Guest

    Dos Santos steps down

    By Guest, in Le12eJoueur,

    The Montreal Impact season doesn't really start until their coach has quit or been fired.
    Well, it would appear the season is about to start as Montreal Impact head coach Marc Dos Santos has tendered his resignation.
    Technical director Nick De Santis will take over the coaching duties in the interim.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    The decision, for those who have been watching the Impact season spiral away, comes as no surprise. Whispers began to surface earlier this year that Dos Santos wasn't happy in the position he was. Several sources close to the club told Canadian Soccer News earlier this year that Dos Santos felt like he was being locked out of major decisions.
    'When the lockerroom doors close, it's his team," as one source told it. "But outside of that, it's Joey (Saputo) and Dos Santos running the show."
    What's next for Dos Santos? Well, he was reported to have had coaching offers from a lower division Portugeuse side mid-way through last year. Those offers are believed to still being explored.
    Canadian Soccer News will have more as it develops.
    Guest

    Your morning WWC links

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    Day 3 WWC links below the jump:
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    ESPNw talks about the growing excitement in Germany

    The wonderfully irreverent John Doyle looks at how women’s sports is covered in the MSM

    Equatorial Guinea, who seems to think rules are “suggestions” loses another player. At least this one was actually a woman*.

    The Beeb reports on how those behind the new Women’s Super League in England are hoping for a World Cup bump

    Anjali Nayar talks about #ChristineSinclair

    Another article talking about how women footballers are morally superior to men.


    * Yes, I know it wasn't proven, but...
    Guest
    A Dutch news source is reporting that PSV striker Danny Koevermans is flying to Toronto today (Tuesday) to meet with TFC. It's expected that the striker will sign a contract with the club.
    He's out of contract at the end of the month and does not require a transfer fee.
    In the report, Koevermans says that he is looking to move to MLS to escape the media attention in Holland. He was linked to Birmingham City, but interest there waned after the club dropped to the Championship.
    There is no word on what terms TFC is willing to give Koevermans, but he is expected to command a low-end DP salary.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Guest
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKCvuggGgD0


    Two days into the Womens' World Cup and the two goals assured of a place in the post-tournament video montages are claimed by Concacaf representatives. The first of course, was Christine Sinclair's free kick against Germany on Sunday. The second happened this afternoon as Mexico trailed England 1-0.

    The only thing lacking from this strike by Mónica Ocampo was that she didn't manage it with a broken nose. Head to 0:48 of this bizarrely choreographed video to see the goal.

    For a far, far better look at it, check out this link, which includes the aggressive post-goal celebration in which Campo and her teammates kick the shit out of the corner flag.
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