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    Guest
    You can look at last night’s 1-1 draw against Panama in one of two ways – logically, or emotionally.
    If you are coming from a logical point of view you likely slept better than the rest of us. You might also be dead, or, at the very least, a confused Hamilton Tiger-Cats fan that found this article by Googling “inept Canadian football teams.”
    Last night was infuriating. After controlling the ball for 80 minutes – and failing to score, as usual – they had a look down at their strips, realized that they were Canadian and PANICKED. Suddenly 10 men dropped into the 18 and instead of playing balls on the carpet through the midfield they decided to punt it 50-yards up field towards no one.
    Ineffectively.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]The inevitable happened just into stoppage time. Milan Borjan, who is a nice story but not really a No 1 keeper at an international level, sort of fell on top of the ball as it squeezed over the line.
    At this point the majority of fans either took a long shot of some hard liquor, leapt off the Bloor Viaduct/Lions Gate Bridge/Something really tall in your city, or did something that required major drywall repairs today – possibly a combination of all three.
    We should be used to it by now, really. It’s been said that the definition of insanity is to doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different result. Clearly, Canadian national team fans are stark raving mad.
    (deep breath)
    Logical. Ok. In a moment of reflection you can remember that yesterday’s result really didn’t set back the program. They have been struggling to score for about two years now. There was no reason to expect anything different in the Gold Cup. This tournament was always about developing the squad for this fall’s World Cup Qualifying. It was about having a look at some players and seeing what areas need to be improved.
    The instinct is to suggest that the drawing Panama while only beating Guadeloupe 1-0 (the same score that the US beat them by it should be noted) is evidence that they are going to crash and burn out of the quarterfinal round. They’re not. They will be playing three versions of the Cayman Islands. Before you want to argue that point take a deep breath and really think about it.
    So, there is time to turn things around before the really important games in 2012.
    Making 2014 was always going to be a big ask. The more realistic goal for Canada has always been making the hex. Nothing we saw this week suggests that they are any closer – or further – from that goal. If you’re logical about it you’ll stay sane.
    But, no one will blame you if you can’t do that because last night really (no, really ) sucked.
    Guest

    Sandro Grande hangs 'em up

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    Former Canadian international Sandro Grande announced on his Twitter today that he would be retiring from professional soccer.
    Grande is best known for his time with the Montreal Impact (two separate spells), most notably for his influence during Montreal's stunning run through the 2008-09 CONCACAF Champions League. The 33-year-old midfielder was most recently playing club football in Lithuania, the last stop in a career that also saw him suit up for teams in Italy and Norway.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Montreal native Grande earned himself 12 caps for the national side, scoring one goal. And what a goal it was, as Grande latched on to a poor clearance to fire a curling screamer into the net in a friendly vs. Spain:


    Photo: CanadaSoccer.com
    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

    c/P-A-N-A-d/M-A

    By Guest, in Onward Soccer,

    The hard part is that, up until that sad, soggy and fatal finale, there was so much to like about the way Canada played last night.
    For along about eighty minutes, the plucky, hard-charging Canucks essentially owned the ball. They hit the field with snap and purpose, won tons of loose balls, and managed to spend most of the night in Panama's end of the field.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Yeah, the game was no big whoop for the Canal-Zone boys. They'd already punched their ticket to the CONCACAF Gold Cup quarters, and sent six bench players out for this meaningless (to them) kick-around.
    But Canada showed real purpose going forward. The only reason this game was scoreless at the half was Our Lads couldn't find any sniff of a finish. At the break, the effort was commendable, but the scoreline was still fatal.
    Must-win game, this. A draw would leave Canada needing Guadeloupe to upset the Americans. I wrote in this space yesterday that any Canada team that will ever qualify for any World Cup simply has to be better than Panama. There is no room in that equation for needing blocks from Guadeloupe.
    There were early flashes, but nothing on the net. The best, most booming shot Canada concocted was a low, smoking second-half bomb-volley from Julian de Guzman.
    (Man! If he can play like that for the national team, imagine what he must be doing for his club!!!)
    This time, though, when the penalty kick came, it was legit. A wrong-footed Panamanian defender put a crack-back block clean through Dwayne de Rosario on a corner kick. Even in CONCACAF (most nights) you can't do that. DeRo slotted the spot kick cleanly. Canada had their goal.
    Any time you resolve to play the whole night in the other team's end, fatigue is going to be a factor. It was smokehouse hot in Kansas City last night, and your average Panamanian spends a lot more time in that kind of heat that your work-a-day Canuck.
    Suddenly, on about eighty minutes, the sureness melted out of the Canadian game. Not nearly as many direct challenges to opponents on the ball. Midfielders dropping back into containment positions, rather than continuing the pressure game.
    And then, just into stoppage time, it all went haywire at once. A lazy Panama lob found Canadian crossbar. The rebound got nudge-passed to the goal line -- then stepped-on into the net. (Couldn't really even call it a kick.)
    Canada paid -- not for its tactical approach, but for its fatal inability to score more goals. They didn't need to worry about overall goal difference, but they certainly needed to be one goal up on the night.
    I loved so much of what I saw yesterday evening, but I still needed a long walk downtown afterwards to try to shake off the result.
    Canada's hearts were absolutely in the right place -- but their legs couldn't finish the job. A team that desperately needs to play as much and as often as possible got sent home from a major tournament in the minimum amount of field time.
    The result is clear, and unarguable.
    We're not better than Panama -- and we're not ready for prime time.
    Onward!
    Guest
    So they stole a point in LA over the weekend, just like I suggested they could.
    Now, TFC turns right around and heads over to Foxborough, Massachusetts, home of the New England Patriots. Oh, and also the Revolution of MLS.
    The Reds meet the Revs on a short week with cross-continental travel, and they'll be missing a number of players due to injury and/or international duty.
    Adrian Cann and Elbekay Bouchiba (remember him?) are out for the season. Nicholas Lindsay didn't even make it to training camp. Tony Tchani, Jacob Peterson, and Nana Attakora are all "questionable" for the match -- in other words, don't expect to see them. Julian de Guzman was with Canada, and while he would be technically available for Aron Winter, he just put in 90 minutes on Tuesday night so he's as good as unavailable. Dicoy Williams is also at the Gold Cup -- with Jamaica -- although he has the distinction of being the only TFC player who is both on international duty and out injured.
    So who the hell starts for this team Wednesday night?
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Well, folk hero Alan Gordon should get the nod based on his heroic performance against his old team over the weekend. Health pending, of course.
    And we've heard that Alen Stevanovic was back in training yesterday, so that's something.
    If anything, expect roughly the same rag tag group that fought so valiantly on the west coast on Saturday night. But be weary of expecting the same result.
    As mentioned before, Toronto just picked up some serious Air Miles over the past few days, flying out to Southern California and back, before hopping on a plane again Tuesday for the hour-long trek to Boston. TFC generally doesn't do well on the back end of a two-games-in-one-week road trip. Hell, they usually don't do well on the front end of such trips, but it's hard to be too negative after Saturday's exciting performance.
    But let's not get too carried away here either way. The match against LA was a good one for the Reds, a true tooth-and-nail away result that can lift a team out of the doldrums. On the other hand, it's hard to be too happy about a draw against a disinterested opponent, league leaders or no.
    Now the focus turns to the Revolution, an uninspiring foe if there ever was one.
    To be played in what is sure to be an empty Gillette Stadium (and that was before taking Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals into consideration), the match at New England has all the makings of a "you dreamers get the hell back down to Earth" reality check for TFC fans.
    Crap opponent? Check.
    Little rest / lots of travel? Check.
    No atmosphere in the stadium? Check.
    TFC riding the high of an unexpected moral victory? Check.
    Little to no depth due to a plethora of absences? Check.
    The Revs are actually worse than TFC in attack, having only scored 11 goals thus far in the campaign. Even worse, New England's only player with more than one goal in 2011 is Shalrie Joseph, the talismanic captain who surely wishes he had moved on after the Revs' "glory years" of losing in every MLS Cup final a few years back.
    So with all of that in mind, it only makes sense that Toronto would crap the bed against such a dire opponent, right? We all remember the DC United home game back in April, after all.
    I don't actually think it'll be that bad. First off, this year's TFC seems to play better on the road than at home. Perhaps it's the bonding experience of traveling together, but the Reds seem to fight for one another far more when away from BMO Field than when within it.
    Not that they are world beaters at away matches, but if they can replicate some of the urgency they displayed in LA and Colorado, they could grab all three points against a side vastly inferior to the Galaxy or Rapids.

    New England Revolution v. Toronto FC
    Wednesday, June 15, 2011. 8:00pm EDT.
    Gillette Stadium. Foxborough, MA.
    Watch: TSN
    Listen: FAN590.com

    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

    How well do you know TFC?

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    Toronto FC has had 95 -- NINETY-FIVE!!! -- players dress for the club during its four and a bit years (in all competitions).
    Without looking, can you name all 95?
    Find out.
    You have 10 minutes. Post your score here. No cheating.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Guest
    By: Alyssa Ally
    The Canadian women faced number eight ranked Korea DPR in their final tuneup match before heading to Germany in five days for the Women's World Cup.
    Canada was quick to jump on the scoreboard with their first goal coming from Emily Zurrer in just the third minute. They added to the tally just before the first half whistle, when Jonelle Filigno scored again for Canada.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    This marks the fourth time the two nations have squared off and only the first time since Carolina Morace stepped in as head coach. Canada has won every meeting.
    The squad will leave for Germany June 19th and will play its first match of the Women’s World Cup against the host nation on June 26th in Berlin. The match will air live at Noon ET on CBC.
    Canada’s staring XI: Erin McLeod, Rhian Wilkinson, Emily Zurrer, Carmelina Moscato, Robyn Gayle on the backline. Diana Matheson, Sophie Schmidt, Kaylyn Kyle in the midfield and Jonelle Filigno, Brittany Timko, Christine Sinclair up front.
    Morace opted to use four substitutions going into the second half. Moscato off for Desiree Scott, Marie-Eve Nault came on for Gayle, Melissa Tancredi replaced Jonelle Filigno and Kelly Parker came on for Brittany Timko. Christina Julien then replaced Matheson in the 70th minute. Three minutes later Wilkinson came off for Chelsea Stewart.
    On another note, eight year veteran Rhian Wilkinson made her 100th appearance for Canada.
    ___
    Alyssa Ally writes about the Canadian Women’s National team, the WPS and women’s soccer in general. You can find her stuff at cdnwomenssoccer.blogspot.com
    Follow her on Twitter at @cdn_chica
    Guest

    No safety net for Canada

    By Guest, in Onward Soccer,

    So it comes down to win or die for Canada tonight at the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
    Because of their -1 goal difference, the only way Canada could advance to the quarterfinals with a draw would be if Guadaloupe (bless them) knocks off Landon Donovan and the Yanks.
    And since we all know that would be extremely funny … er, unlikely … let us simply concentrate on the fact that there are no tie-breakers and no back-door scenarios this evening. The game gets won, or the Gold Cup’s done.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Yes, Panama knocked off the States on the weekend. But so diddly what? Any vision of a future where the Canadian men’s national soccer team ever gets to the World Cup involves Canada being better than Panama. This is the perfect time to put that standard to the test.
    But which Canada will show up? The one that spend far too much time going backwards in the 0-2 loss to the Americans? The one that didn’t create nearly enough going forward, got a dodgy penalty call and survived 1-0 against Guadeloupe?
    Neither of the above, I hope.
    Canada’s weaker at the back tonight with the loss of Marcel de Jong. They’ve also got problems going forward as the contagiously brilliant Atiba Hutchinson is done as well.
    The focus, tonight, should be on Canada’s other attack-capable midfielders. Terry Dunfield, Will Johnson and that-guy-that-left-Toronto-FC-for-New-York-and-is-still-not-a-DP-and-still-stuck-with-that-contract-that-makes-him-so-unhappy are all fine and capable attackers. Josh Simpson has also shown fine dash and daring in attack.
    We basically need the back four to hoof the ball to the midfield, and some all-out grit and hustle to push the ball across centre and keep it there. Bottle up the Panamanians, and force them to go seventy yards when they get the ball back.
    Easily said, and not so easily done, right? Maybe not.
    I think an awful lot depends on the collective Canadian mindset tonight. If they play tentatively and cautiously in their own end, Panama will only have to cover 30 yards when they get the ball. A stronger, more urgent, no-guts-no-glory mindset must bear better fruit, if only in erasing this nagging tentativeness Canada simply cannot afford anymore.
    Go back to the U.S. game for a moment. The States played the ball backwards a lot, too. But every defender who received it had his head up, and had clearly already decided what he wanted to do next. The Canadian first touches weren’t as crisp, and there was a lot of aimless back-and-forth passes that really only bought time for the Americans to close in for the steal.
    Obviously, Panama can win tonight. If the risk of elimination is there, if Canada might go down, wouldn’t we all rather see them go down playing daring, positive football? Especially if the alternative is just going to get them killed anyway?
    I want to be very, very proud of my nation’s team when it’s all over tonight. A win would be lovely, but I want to see a team that knows how to fight for a win, rather than one that’s content to trip over one – as they basically did vs. Guadaloupe.
    See you at the Duke of Gloucester.
    Onward!
    Guest

    Your daily gold: day 9

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    Each competition day during the Gold Cup I will be providing a round-up of all that is noteworthy and interesting in our wacky little confederation championship.
    Below the jump, day 9
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    The Results:
    Guatemala 4-0 Grenada
    Jamaica 1-0 Honduras
    Who picked Jamaica to win this group before the tournament? Oh yeah, I did!
    The Reggae Boyz are on the upswing and Honduras may be on the way down. If Canada gets the win tonight its most likely opponent will be Jamaica. That won’t be an easy touch.
    Grenada is terrible. Have I mentioned how much I hate best third place standings?
    Performance of the day
    Ryan Johnson (Jamaica)
    It was more of a team effort, but you don’t win if you don’t score and Johnson had the goal in the win.
    Thanks for the condescending attention! (Mainstream media article of the day)
    This one is a couple days old, but it’s worth a read. The US is at a bit of a turning point. Is it a minor power worldwide playing in a weak confederation? If so, Bob Bradley is a perfectly good manager.
    Or, is it on the cusp of being a major power? Maybe then it might be time to look abroad for someone more accomplished.
    What about the Canucks? (Canadian news of the day)
    Canadian Soccer News’ own Rudi Schuller previews tonight’s game for MLSsoccer.com
    What’s on tap for today?
    Heartbreak
    (Be positive, Duane, be positive...)
    OK, Canada v Panama and USA v Guatemala. The scenarios were played out earlier today on CSN.
    Guest

    Group C breakdown

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    All possible scenarios in group C below the jump:
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]In a three way tie, it goes to GD between the three teams tied. Then, head to head.
    Canada win, USA win:
    Canada wins by 1
    1 - USA (+1 )
    2 - Panama (E)
    3 - Canada (-1)
    Canada wins by 2
    1 - USA (+1)
    2 - Canada (E - beat Panama)
    3 - Panama (-1)
    Canada wins by 3
    1 - USA (+1 - beat Canada)
    2 - Canada (+1 - lost to USA)
    3 - Panama (-2)
    Canada wins by 4 or more
    1 - Canada (+2 or more)
    2 - USA (+1)
    3 - Panama (-3 or less)
    Canada draws, USA wins
    All scenarios
    1 - Panama
    2 - USA
    3 - Canada
    Canada wins, USA loses
    All scenarios
    1 - Canada (head to head versus Panama)
    2 - Panama
    3 - Guadeloupe (head to head versus USA)
    4 - USA
    Canada wins, USA draws
    All scenarios
    1 - Canada (head to head versus Panama)
    2 - Panama
    3 - USA
    Canada draws, USA wins
    All scenarios
    1 - USA
    2 - Panama
    3 - Canada
    Canada draws, USA draws
    All scenarios
    1- Panama
    2 - USA (head to head versus Canada)
    3 - Canada (head to head versus USA)
    Canada loses, USA loses
    USA loses by 1
    1 - Panama
    2 - USA (+1 head to head versus Canada)
    3 - Guadeloupe (E)
    4 - Canada (-1)
    USA loses by 2
    1 - Panama
    2 - Guadeloupe (+1)
    3 - USA (E)
    4 - Canada (-1)
    USA loses by 3
    1 - Panama
    2 - Guadeloupe (+2 or more)
    3 - USA (-1, head to head against Canada)
    4 - Canada (-1, head to head against USA)
    USA loses by 4 or more
    1 - Panama
    2 - Guadeloupe (+3 or more)
    3 - Canada (-1)
    4 - USA (-2 or less)
    Guest
    Today we’re joined by Paul Varian, CEO of Oakville soccer, to talk about what responsibility youth clubs have in making the national team attendances a success, what can be done to cultivate that kind of community in our youth ranks and how it would affect our national team's in the long run. Canadian Soccer News called on Oakville to step up and be a leader in the club community on Friday and Varian responded less than an hour later via email, so he had lots to say on that.
    We also get into debating Eric Hassli’s goal, Toronto FC's late game heroics and, of course, Canada’s struggles or not so struggles in the Gold Cup.
    The archived show is now up
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    <embed src="http://itscalledfootball.podhoster.com/FlowPlayerLight.swf?config={embedded:true,videoFile:%27http://itscalledfootball.podhoster.com/download/2540/23833/jun132011final.mp3%27,initialScale:%27scale%27,controlBarBackgroundColor:%270x778899%27,autoBuffering:false,loop:false,autoPlay:false}" width="400" height="25" scale="fit" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>
    Guest
    You can’t win when you play Guadeloupe. The “country” (let’s just go with country for the sake of ease) is tiny, Caribbean and doesn’t even have much of a tourism industry. It screams minnow to the casual football fan. And, that’s even before they are told that it’s not a FIFA recognized country.
    Yet they are more than that. First of all their status as a French colony means that they aren’t just drawing from the Island. They are drawing from anyone living in France that has has as little as one grandparent that lived there.
    Thierry Henry is eligible to play for them, for God’s sake.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Nine of their current roster play professionally in France – eight are playing in Ligue 2. That’s not the Premiership, no, but it isn’t your local pub team either. They have players and they know how to play the game.
    To get to the Gold Cup, Guadeloupe finished second at the Caribbean Cup. Jamaica beat them in the final. On penalties after going 1-1. If Canada beat Jamaica 1-0 on a penalty, dodgy or not, there wouldn’t be the handwringing that we are seeing now.
    Guadeloupe beat Panama and Nicaragua at the 2009 Gold Cup and only lost 2-0 to Mexico. They beat Honduras 2-1 in the quarterfinals of the 2007 Gold Cup.
    There is literally no evidence whatsoever to suggest that they are a pushover – even if they go down a man five minutes in.
    So, those suggesting that Canada is “doomed” or “screwed” based on its play against Guadeloupe are, well, being a little bit hysterical.
    But, what about Panama, many might be saying right now. Aren’t they flying high and a step above? They beat the States!
    Yes, they did beat the States. Yes, that was impressive. Before that they allowed two goals against 10-man Guadeloupe (less impressive) and only beat Grenada 2-0 in their last pre-tournament friendly (the same Grenada that just lost 7-1 to Honduras).
    In short: Panama – not Brazil.
    Unless Grenada pulls a major upset tonight, Canada will go into tomorrow’s game with a very simple task – win and go on, lose and go home. The task is in front of them.
    And, that’s all you can ask for.
    Guest

    Sober Second Thoughts: Wait, what?

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    Didn’t see that coming did you?
    TFC’s last minute equalizer against LA – coming minutes after a heartbreaking goal by LA – was maybe the most unexpected goal in TFC history. No, really. This is a team that makes LeBron James look clutch. Blankets are jealous of the way they fold. LA Clippers fans feel sorry for TFC’s faithful.
    So, yeah, last minute gut checks to rip a point out of thin air are a little rare – particularly coming against the top team in the league.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]We must be careful not to read too much into it. It was one game. Alan Gordon was pumped up to play his former team. The club is still on pace for less than 30 points. All of that is true. Still, though, in this season of blandness (it’s not even frustration at this point, really) it was nice to have something happen that made you feel alive (or, more to the point, convinced you the guys in red were alive).
    The truly crazy thing about the result is that Toronto deserved it. Actually, they might have deserved more seeing that LA’s first goal came on a play that started with the ball a foot out of touch and the late go ahead goal came against the run. Look at the stats of the game. TFC was right there with the Galaxy. It was night and day different than last week’s dreadful 0-0 against KC.
    And, maybe it did mean something. There is a lot of the season left. It’s not so crazy that TFC could turn it around. This is MLS.
    The biggest difference Saturday was the big man up top. For the last month we’ve been talking about how important Gordon is to this team. You can laugh at that – it’s Alan Gordon, the man that Grant Wahl used to illustrate how ordinary most MLS players are in The Beckham Experiment – but the evidence was on full display. With a true target forward and a true MLS grinder up top TFC’s skill players can get more room and produce more.
    The brace also illustrates that he has a much better nose for net then pretty much any TFC player since Danny Dichio last limped off the plastic pitch.
    This week is massive. Another winnable (or draw-able anyway) road game against New England then a home date against the Sounders. By this time next week the TFC fan’s hope will either be exposed as naive or their (blind?) loyalty justified.
    It’s MLS, so don’t pretend like you know which way it’s going to go.
    Guest

    Fiddly bits

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    If you haven't seen the Portland Timbers Alaskan Airlines advertisement yet, just watch it:
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]


    Guest
    Hello, and welcome to this week's edition of Tracking Back. Given the precarious position of the Canadian team at the Gold Cup, I figured it might be nice to feature a photo of Canada in the process of winning by a nice, beefy scoreline – the kind of thing we really need against Panama tomorrow evening.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    This photo dates back to the Second World War, and shows a Canadian side in the process of thumping Norway 6-1. The game, played on October 28, 1944, was a benefit to raise funds for St. Dunstan's school in Harrow. I think that's quite nice of the lads, taking time out of their busy schedule of beating the Germans the bloodiest war in history to beat the Norwegian side with (metaphorically speaking) equal ruthlessness. And it's all for a good cause.
    The man making the diving save is A. Borgen, Norway's keeper. He probably would have been relieved that probably the only photo of the match to survive shows him actually making a save, not letting in one of those six goals.

    Photo credit: Lieut. Jack H. Smith / Canada. Dept. of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada / PA-180278
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