General Discussion on CMNT

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

2 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Since I did not really understand the question, I'll be consistent and say NO. 

Seriously, on current form and looking at those groups, no Concacaf team should get out of their group. Mind you, I don't know how good Saudi Arabia and Iran are; I saw they were amongst the strongest in Asia qualifying, they may also have that extra motivation playing in Qatar.

Both their groups are far easier than ours, England has shown to be inconsistent, Poland for Mexico, well they also tend to underperform and have not been strong in UEFA (I also don't think Morocco get an edge playing in Qatar that the Saudis or Iranians might, but that has to do with proximity and cultural affinity, just from what I know of Morocco and Moroccans; so I don't think we'll have to fear Morocco in Qatar the way I might fear the advantages Saudis or Iranians might get).

You did miss the point.   

But its fine and always fun and informative, just need to get some work done before some Red Star then West Ham (means nothing other than me wishing I was there) action.  

[BigMo]

1 hour ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Since I did not really understand the question, I'll be consistent and say NO. 

Seriously, on current form and looking at those groups, no Concacaf team should get out of their group. Mind you, I don't know how good Saudi Arabia and Iran are; I saw they were amongst the strongest in Asia qualifying, they may also have that extra motivation playing in Qatar.

Both their groups are far easier than ours, England has shown to be inconsistent, Poland for Mexico, well they also tend to underperform and have not been strong in UEFA (I also don't think Morocco get an edge playing in Qatar that the Saudis or Iranians might, but that has to do with proximity and cultural affinity, just from what I know of Morocco and Moroccans; so I don't think we'll have to fear Morocco in Qatar the way I might fear the advantages Saudis or Iranians might get).

I'll have to disagree here. Yes there some frictions and cultural differences between Moroccans and Gulf Arab countries, but they will be looked over in this context. Locals and local residents will without a doubt root for Morocco and they will have significant traveling support.

You only need to look at the support they had at the Arab Cup hosted in Qatar in 2021:

 

 

[Unnamed Trialist]

1 hour ago, BigMo said:

I'll have to disagree here. Yes there some frictions and cultural differences between Moroccans and Gulf Arab countries, but they will be looked over in this context. Locals and local residents will without a doubt root for Morocco and they will have significant traveling support.

You only need to look at the support they had at the Arab Cup hosted in Qatar in 2021:

 

I'm just saying that playing in Qatar will not be as clear advantage for Morocco as it should for Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Iran. 

For reasons of distance, culture, language, as well as the fact that all of the Moroccan team is based outside of Morocco and most born outside of Morocco.

They'll have support, I agree. I also know speaking to my neighbours here that they are supremely positive and their mentality is aggressively confident. I am sure they'll be fierce, but not because they are playing in Qatar over playing somewhere else.

Edited November 3, 2022 by Unnamed Trialist

[InglewoodJack]

Morocco is definitely not getting any sort of advantage in Qatar. For one, their players are Europe based, so much like how ours are not prepped to play at the iceteca, theirs are not prepped to play in 50 degree weather. Not to mention, culture-wise or whatever you want to call it, Qatar has an insanely high percentage of their population who are immigrants, migrant workers and expats. There are more people from Nepal than ethnic Qataris for example, and about 55% of people in that country come from India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. There are more Indians alone than Arabs in Qatar. Plus, that's not to mention how "curated" the crowd is gonna be- fans will be international and it isn't like any game, barring KSA's game that is going to have an overwhelming arab crowd, I would assume. Morocco would get around the same bump as say, Canada would get when Milan Borjan plays Croatia, because he's openly stated he's a serb who was effectively born on stolen land in Croatia, ie negligible.

I think the only team other than Qatar who gets any sort of advantage is KSA, and that's only because most of their players are domestic, and the tournament is a mere hours away from their home, so at least they won't be jetlagged, they won't have to travel 26 hours to get there, etc.

 

EDIT: Didn't consider travelling support. Their supporters will travel, however, the flight from Zagreb to Doha is actually shorter than that from Casablanca or Fez to Doha. Belgium is one of the best teams in the world, so they travel with heavy support, and I imagine Canada is going to have higher than expected support, just because a lot of people here can actually afford to attend the World Cup.

Edited November 3, 2022 by InglewoodJack

[Sal333]

5 hours ago, MtlMario said:

All you had to do is ask, there was no need to break into my house 😁. Anyways back by popular demand here is the ball's predictions and please do not shoot the messenger.

Canada 1 Belgium 1

Canada 0 Croatia 2

Canada 3 Morocco 1

I (ball) predict (hope) 4 pts gets us into the next round.

You are your crystal ball!? So what the hell was I rubbing last night in your house?

BTW, I don't think 4 points will get us through.

Edited November 3, 2022 by Sal333

[Unnamed Trialist]

35 minutes ago, InglewoodJack said:

Morocco is definitely not getting any sort of advantage in Qatar. For one, their players are Europe based, so much like how ours are not prepped to play at the iceteca, theirs are not prepped to play in 50 degree weather. Not to mention, culture-wise or whatever you want to call it, Qatar has an insanely high percentage of their population who are immigrants, migrant workers and expats. There are more people from Nepal than ethnic Qataris for example, and about 55% of people in that country come from India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. There are more Indians alone than Arabs in Qatar. Plus, that's not to mention how "curated" the crowd is gonna be- fans will be international and it isn't like any game, barring KSA's game that is going to have an overwhelming arab crowd, I would assume. Morocco would get around the same bump as say, Canada would get when Milan Borjan plays Croatia, because he's openly stated he's a serb who was effectively born on stolen land in Croatia, ie negligible.

I think the only team other than Qatar who gets any sort of advantage is KSA, and that's only because most of their players are domestic, and the tournament is a mere hours away from their home, so at least they won't be jetlagged, they won't have to travel 26 hours to get there, etc.

 

EDIT: Didn't consider travelling support. Their supporters will travel, however, the flight from Zagreb to Doha is actually shorter than that from Casablanca or Fez to Doha. Belgium is one of the best teams in the world, so they travel with heavy support, and I imagine Canada is going to have higher than expected support, just because a lot of people here can actually afford to attend the World Cup.

Iran should get an advantage, though I don't know the current geopolitics, if it is affecting anything between Iran and Qatar.

In any case, I imagine they will massively support Iran and they won't be in minority in any of their group stage matches. Leaving aside the edge--chip-- Iran has facing the US and also, to some extent, England.

As you mention, and I have stated and agree, the Moroccon connection with an Islamic country will not be as strong as some might imagine, for various cultural reasons and the make-up of the team itself. In other words, for Canada: it should not affect how we experience that match as fans or how the players feel on the pitch.

 

[InglewoodJack]

2 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Iran should get an advantage, though I don't know the current geopolitics, if it is affecting anything between Iran and Qatar.

In any case, I imagine they will massively support Iran and they won't be in minority in any of their group stage matches. Leaving aside the edge--chip-- Iran has facing the US and also, to some extent, England.

As you mention, and I have stated and agree, the Moroccon connection with an Islamic country will not be as strong as some might imagine, for various cultural reasons and the make-up of the team itself. In other words, for Canada: it should not affect how we experience that match as fans or how the players feel on the pitch.

 

I was also going to mention Iran since they are next door. I'm curious about their support in general. On one hand, some "Activists" are calling for Iran to be banned from the games due to their impending revolution, but on the other hand, what better opportunity to show massive support to one of the few things that has unilateral support in your country- your national team. Plus, their group is just primed to have their fans go absolutely off. Playing America at the world cup, especially with everything going on domestically? C'mon. And they're playing England too? If Red Star and Partizan or Celtic/Rangers is intense, this is a whole different ball game.

Logistically though, Iran is recruiting heavily from their domestic league, and all those players can straight up practice at their home pitch, eat their home cooked meals, sleep in their own beds, and then take a 2 (?) hour flight to Qatar to play. Hell, they're close enough to have their moms bring over some home cooked meals directly! I also think that Iran's group is just primed for insane crowds.

Plus, and this is more anecdotally, but in the Islamic world, at least in my experience, Morocco is seen as this other thing. Their dialect of Arabic isn't really mutually intelligible with someone who speaks Saudi or Lebanese Arabic. They practice religion differently. A lot of Moroccans have ancestral ties with Southern Europe, muslims on the Arabian peninsula are arabs whereas Moroccans are not. I don't know the Moroccan roster off the top of my head, but I am sure that many of their players grew up elsewhere, such as their goalie who I believe is from Montreal. If anything, they would get massive support if the World Cup was in France or Belgium.

 

 

[Sal333]

Iran is Shia. The rest are Sunni. I doubt very much the Sunnis will be rooting for the Shias. 

[InglewoodJack]

6 minutes ago, Sal333 said:

Iran is Shia. The rest are Sunni. I doubt very much the Sunnis will be rooting for the Shias. 

There are also just a ton of Iranians in general. I'm sure a lot of Iranians from Canada and the US will be attending with the intention to cheer for both teams.

[mpg_29]

From what I can tell the late Nov temps in Qatar don't seem that bad tbh. Mid 20's with low humidity. 

Not sure weather will be a significant factor.

[MtlMario]

48 minutes ago, Sal333 said:

You are your crystal ball!? So what the hell was I rubbing last night in your house?

BTW, I don't think 4 points will get us through.

Since I can't click on two emotions I'll give you a HA HA 😂 on the first line and a SAD ☹️ on the second line.

[narduch]

People were talking about lack of World Cup hype. Well Johnston and Giovinco? were on CTV's morning show this morning. 

Also according to this our final roster will be announced on November 7. Has that date been reported before?

 

[Unnamed Trialist]

1 hour ago, InglewoodJack said:

I was also going to mention Iran since they are next door. I'm curious about their support in general. On one hand, some "Activists" are calling for Iran to be banned from the games due to their impending revolution, but on the other hand, what better opportunity to show massive support to one of the few things that has unilateral support in your country- your national team. Plus, their group is just primed to have their fans go absolutely off. Playing America at the world cup, especially with everything going on domestically? C'mon. And they're playing England too? If Red Star and Partizan or Celtic/Rangers is intense, this is a whole different ball game.

Logistically though, Iran is recruiting heavily from their domestic league, and all those players can straight up practice at their home pitch, eat their home cooked meals, sleep in their own beds, and then take a 2 (?) hour flight to Qatar to play. Hell, they're close enough to have their moms bring over some home cooked meals directly! I also think that Iran's group is just primed for insane crowds.

Plus, and this is more anecdotally, but in the Islamic world, at least in my experience, Morocco is seen as this other thing. Their dialect of Arabic isn't really mutually intelligible with someone who speaks Saudi or Lebanese Arabic. They practice religion differently. A lot of Moroccans have ancestral ties with Southern Europe, muslims on the Arabian peninsula are arabs whereas Moroccans are not. I don't know the Moroccan roster off the top of my head, but I am sure that many of their players grew up elsewhere, such as their goalie who I believe is from Montreal. If anything, they would get massive support if the World Cup was in France or Belgium.

 

Bono, formerly Bonou, was born in Montreal, true. Fortunately he's having a bad year. Over half the core roster was born outside of Morocco, in France, Belgium, Netherlands, Spain. Others left young, like Abde, if he goes to Qatar.

I don't speak Arabic, only understand a few words or expressions, but perfectly distinguish Amazigh languages from Middle Eastern Arabic, I have heard both enough. 

BTW, most Moroccans, or let's say a large %, would not refuse the Arab label or even be okay to be Arabs, beyond ethnicity, even though the majority are Amazigh, formerly known as "Berber". Though technically you could say you have separate Amazigh and Arab ethnicities in the country (along with some regional identities, such as in the north, the Rif, who hate the current monarchy), you could have DNA that distinguishes you ethnically, but you identify another; or even a shared identity. Moroccan Berbers who are fine calling themselves Arabs and identifying with Arab identity and culture.

It is not like Turks or Iranians who would immediately reject any such insinuation and not even entertain it--rightly of course. 

Amazigh identity is on the rise. I see young people with the colours or stickers of the flag on their bags and backpacks in Barcelona. 

I discovered recently in the Canary Islands, which was colonised by the Spanish in the 15th century, that there is still Amazigh DNA and a residual North African identity that is also being revived by a minority.

In any case, it's a complex country. If you want to talk about the intense fanaticism of fans, in our group the Moroccans will be way ahead of the rest, they'll be nuts. This does not translate on the pitch, it is just a supporting style. I have found these last weeks that I can't have a conversation about our match or our group with people I know, they are worse than I am when it comes to overstating a case: they state categorically they are going to wipe us off the earth, along with the other rivals, they'll win the group, no questions asked.

Edited November 3, 2022 by Unnamed Trialist

[RS]

1 hour ago, narduch said:

People were talking about lack of World Cup hype. Well Johnston and Giovinco? were on CTV's morning show this morning. 

Also according to this our final roster will be announced on November 7. Has that date been reported before?

 

The November 7 date is a bit contentious, since it makes very little sense for Herdman to announce a roster prior to the Bahrain friendly. It could be a leak by CTV, or it could be a typo.

As for why Giovinco's there...

 

[kacbru]

WTF is Bud Zero?  Surely they should be in negative territory if Bud is the starting point?

[red card]

2 hours ago, RS said:

The November 7 date is a bit contentious, since it makes very little sense for Herdman to announce a roster prior to the Bahrain friendly. It could be a leak by CTV, or it could be a typo.

As for why Giovinco's there...

 

CP24 is chock full of typos & errors on any given day.

The interview itself made no mention of the squad drop. But Gio is applying for Cdn citizenship.

https://www.cp24.com/video?clipId=2555722&binId=7.395214&playlistPageNum=1

Canada Soccer is also having a Toyota driven event at Dundas Square this Sunday.

 

Edited November 4, 2022 by red card

[Gian-Luca]

Re: hype, I saw a Canada World Cup poster in a bus shelter  by CTV/TSN, featuring Davies, David and Larin. This was downtown Toronto as I was driving by, I wish it was the poster in my nearest bus shelter which I drive by each morning instead of the poster which they currently have up (which is actually a poster about urine, I kid you not). 

[ADP10]

Please don’t do any of this Vs

 

[An Observer]

8 hours ago, ADP10 said:

Please don’t do any of this Vs

 

Honestly, that is getting close in spirit to treason. I don’t plan on speaking out or saying anything about Qatar as I believe in respecting someone else’s culture while I am visiting but it’s another think to take money to spy on your brethren. 

[Metro]

15 hours ago, RS said:

The November 7 date is a bit contentious, since it makes very little sense for Herdman to announce a roster prior to the Bahrain friendly. It could be a leak by CTV, or it could be a typo.

As for why Giovinco's there...

 

DeRo was in studio on Time and Friends yesterday discussing his induction into the Canadian HOF and the national team.

[Canuckistan2019]

11 hours ago, ADP10 said:

Please don’t do any of this Vs

 

Why the hell not? It’s free trip

[A.D.I.D.A.S.]

11 hours ago, Gian-Luca said:

Re: hype, I saw a Canada World Cup poster in a bus shelter  by CTV/TSN, featuring Davies, David and Larin. This was downtown Toronto as I was driving by, I wish it was the poster in my nearest bus shelter which I drive by each morning instead of the poster which they currently have up (which is actually a poster about urine, I kid you not). 

Here's one by my apartment in Rexdale 😄

[Gian-Luca]

19 minutes ago, A.D.I.D.A.S. said:

Here's one by my apartment in Rexdale 😄

Yep, that's the same one I saw last night downtown around Bathurst & Davenport (IIRC)

[A_Gagne]

 

18 hours ago, RS said:

The November 7 date is a bit contentious, since it makes very little sense for Herdman to announce a roster prior to the Bahrain friendly. It could be a leak by CTV, or it could be a typo.

As for why Giovinco's there...

 

An Italian, advertising American beer, whilst cheering for Canada. #irony

Edited November 4, 2022 by A_Gagne

[Treppy2]

The Guardian is profiling all 32 World Cup teams. Here's their latest profile:

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/nov/04/world-cup-2022-team-guide-qatar

They're using the same format and categories for each team's profile. When they get to Canada, who should they feature under these categories: Star player, Unsung hero, and All-time cult hero? I'd go with Davies, Eustaquio, and uhm...? Have we ever had a cult hero? Pakos? DeRo? Maybe Hastings? (If you only ever score one goal in your national team career but it eliminates Mexico from a tournament, I think that's both cultish and heroic.) But even though he's still playing, I'd have to go with Atiba for all-time cult hero.

Who are your choices for Canadian: 1. Star player; 2. Unsung hero; 3: All-time cult hero?