The Road to Qatar.

[dyslexic nam]

1 hour ago, CanadianSoccerFan said:

Is this one of those hot and cold balls scenarios? 

It would be funny if someone thought to bring a thermal camera just to expose the fraud.   

[Free kick]

 

What we learned from Concacaf qualifying: USA wobble as Canada surge to the top | USA | The Guardian

Quote: " VAR is coming     Original refereeing is one of the quirks of Concacaf, but the governing body is reportedly introducing VAR for the remaining Octagonal games – adding the system mid-campaign, like Uefa. It felt like an aberration that Concacaf used VAR in the Nations League and Gold Cup but not its key competition, and Berhalter called that absence “an error” in September."

I don't know why I am learning this news from an overseas publication (ie.: The Guardian)  Maybe i missed this news. It looks like VAR will be available for the remainder of CONCACAFF WCQ.  

 

Edited November 23, 2021 by Free kick

[Big_M]

Already announced

[narduch]

6 minutes ago, Free kick said:

 

What we learned from Concacaf qualifying: USA wobble as Canada surge to the top | USA | The Guardian

Quote: " VAR is coming     Original refereeing is one of the quirks of Concacaf, but the governing body is reportedly introducing VAR for the remaining Octagonal games – adding the system mid-campaign, like Uefa. It felt like an aberration that Concacaf used VAR in the Nations League and Gold Cup but not its key competition, and Berhalter called that absence “an error” in September."

I don't know why I am learning this news from an overseas publication (ie.: The Guardian)  Maybe i missed this news. It looks like VAR will be available for the remainder of CONCACAFF WCQ.  

 

I read it the day after our last match.

Pretty convenient considering Jamaica were robbed in their last match v USA

[Mattd97]

3 hours ago, Obinna said:

Ah got ya. So more of a health concern than a footballing one for you. 

Do we know how they compare to other leagues? Regardless, no need to worry imo since teams having stringent testing protocols. We have yet to see an issue with this Canada group in that regard. 

Not health but the new policy that athletes are no longer exempt from needing to be vaccinated to avoid quarantine. Statistically were in a better spot with fewer British based players. Not sure what the %'s are in France, Belgium, Germany, Portugal-- but the article that was posted here at the UK leagues struggling to get to 50% I believe

 

Edit: Seems it's climbed a bit since that original report, still far lower than north American leagues for example

 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/football/2021/oct/19/premier-league-68-per-cent-of-players-fully-vaccinated-against-covid

Edited November 23, 2021 by Mattd97

[footballfreak]

51 minutes ago, narduch said:

I read it the day after our last match.

Pretty convenient considering Jamaica were robbed in their last match v USA

Jamaica have had, by far, the roughest go of it from the refs so far.

16 cards against, 5 to their opponents.

You can read that a few different ways. Are Jamaica getting screwed, or is it because they don’t possess the ball much, and aren’t very dangerous when they get it. Are we at the top because refs favour us, or because we put teams in compromising positions more often. 

I’ll chuck together a sheet with cumulative possession, chances/shots created, and chances/shots allowed to get a more balanced picture.

[Floortom]

Just now, footballfreak said:

Jamaica have had, by far, the roughest go of it from the refs so far.

16 cards against, 5 to their opponents.

You can read that a few different ways. Are Jamaica getting screwed, or is it because they don’t possess the ball much, and aren’t very dangerous when they get it. Are we at the top because refs favour us, or because we put teams in compromising positions more often. 

I’ll chuck together a sheet with cumulative possession, chances/shots created, and chances/shots allowed to get a more balanced picture.

Tbh Jamaica specifically lucked out against the US in both matches as they were clearly deserving of a red card in each match IMO. They also had a borderline one against us when Andre Gray elbowed Henry right in the face. I haven’t watched all their matches but based on those I think they’re just undisciplined and the cards are warranted.

[footballfreak]

1 minute ago, Floortom said:

Tbh Jamaica specifically lucked out against the US in both matches as they were clearly deserving of a red card in each match IMO. They also had a borderline one against us when Andre Gray elbowed Henry right in the face. I haven’t watched all their matches but based on those I think they’re just undisciplined and the cards are warranted.

This was my anecdotal read on them as well. Having zero central midfield presence can’t help either. 38 year-old semi-retired Je-Vaughn Watson walked back into the team.

[Shway]

...And I heard 'em say, nothing's ever promised tomorrow today.

[Big_M]

did watson say hes semi-retired or was that just assumed because of age...in that case guess another 38 year old semi-retired whos 8 months older than him walked into another team

[VinceA]

8 minutes ago, Big_M said:

did watson say hes semi-retired or was that just assumed because of age...in that case guess another 38 year old semi-retired whos 8 months older than him walked into another team

Watson's continued selection (and starting!) has been the biggest sore spot for most JAM fans.

[footballfreak]

1 hour ago, Big_M said:

did watson say hes semi-retired or was that just assumed because of age...in that case guess another 38 year old semi-retired whos 8 months older than him walked into another team

He’s semi-retired in the sense that he has played 8 club matches in the last 2 years.

• 5 games for Austin Bold (USL Championship) in 2020.
• 3 games for Humble Lions (Jamaican Premier League) in 2021.

[Big_M]

a quick search and it can be seen that hes far from retired coming from his own mouth...simply used the jamaican league games to prepare for a contract abroad

[TGAA_Star]

My updated 32 teams (via November 2021)

 

UEFA

 

1- Germany

2- Denmark

3- France

4- Switzerland 

5- Netherlands 

6- England

7- Serbia

8- Croatia

9- Spain

10- Belgium

11- (playoff) Portugal

12- (playoff) Italy

13- (playoff) Poland

 

* Notable absentees: Sweden, Scotland, Russia, Wales, Czech Republic, Turkey, Ukraine

 

CONMEBOL 

 

1- Brazil (qualified)

2- Argentina (qualified)

3- Ecuador 

4- Colombia 

5- Uruguay (playoff; beat 4th place CONCACAF team who will end up being Panama)

 

* Notable absentees: Peru, Chile

 

 

AFC (Asia) (5 teams)

 

1- Qatar (hosts; automatically qualify)

2- South Korea 

3- Saudi Arabia 

4- Iran

5- Australia

6- Japan (play off; beat New Zealand to qualify)

 

 

CAF (Africa) (5 teams)

 

1- Senegal (via play off draw; beat DR Congo in playoff) (my prediction)

 

2- Egypt (via play off draw; beat Morocco in playoff) (my prediction)

 

3- Algeria (via play off draw; beat Cameroon in playoff; get back to first World Cup since 2014) (my prediction)

 

4- Nigeria (via play off draw; beat Mali in playoff) (my prediction)

 

5- Ghana (via play off draw; beat Tunisia in playoff to get to Qatar; first World Cup in 8 years since 2014) (my prediction)

 

Notable absentees: Morocco, Cameroon, Mali, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, South Africa, DR Congo, Uganda, etc.

 

 

CONCACAF (North America) (only 3 teams due to playoff draw of CONCACAF vs CONMEBOL)

 

1- Canada (qualify for their first World Cup in over 36 years; last time was Mexico 1986; Canada qualify as one of the top teams in the table)

 

2- Mexico

 

3- United States (qualify for their first World Cup in 8 years since 2014 since Brazil)

Edited November 23, 2021 by TGAA_Star
Correction

[jonovision]

13 hours ago, footballfreak said:

Jamaica have had, by far, the roughest go of it from the refs so far.

16 cards against, 5 to their opponents.

You can read that a few different ways. Are Jamaica getting screwed, or is it because they don’t possess the ball much, and aren’t very dangerous when they get it. Are we at the top because refs favour us, or because we put teams in compromising positions more often. 

I’ll chuck together a sheet with cumulative possession, chances/shots created, and chances/shots allowed to get a more balanced picture.

Although we lead overall, Mexico's +2 in the red cards column will have had a bigger impact on the results of matches.

[footballfreak]

4 hours ago, jonovision said:

Although we lead overall, Mexico's +2 in the red cards column will have had a bigger impact on the results of matches.

Yeah I don’t think this really tells you anything about Canada or Mexico tbh. Small sample size and all that. But Jamaica is such an extreme outlier that I felt like it warranted posting.

[Alex]

5 hours ago, TGAA_Star said:

My updated 32 teams (via November 2021)

 

UEFA

 

1- Germany

2- Denmark

3- France

4- Switzerland 

5- Netherlands 

6- England

7- Serbia

8- Croatia

9- Spain

10- Belgium

11- (playoff) Portugal

12- (playoff) Italy

13- (playoff) Poland

 

* Notable absentees: Sweden, Scotland, Russia, Wales, Czech Republic, Turkey, Ukraine

 

CONMEBOL 

 

1- Brazil (qualified)

2- Argentina (qualified)

3- Ecuador 

4- Colombia 

5- Uruguay (playoff; beat 4th place CONCACAF team who will end up being Panama)

 

* Notable absentees: Peru, Chile

 

 

AFC (Asia) (5 teams)

 

1- Qatar (hosts; automatically qualify)

2- South Korea 

3- Iran

4- Australia 

5- Japan

 

 

OFC (Oceania) (1 team; Oceania back at a World Cup)

 

1- New Zealand (they qualify for their first World Cup in over 12 years since South Africa 2010 by beating AFC team Lebanon in inter continental playoff)

 

 

CAF (Africa) (5 teams)

 

1- Senegal (via play off draw; beat DR Congo in playoff) (my prediction)

 

2- Egypt (via play off draw; beat Morocco in playoff) (my prediction)

 

3- Algeria (via play off draw; beat Cameroon in playoff; get back to first World Cup since 2014) (my prediction)

 

4- Nigeria (via play off draw; beat Mali in playoff) (my prediction)

 

5- Ghana (via play off draw; beat Tunisia in playoff to get to Qatar; first World Cup in 8 years since 2014) (my prediction)

 

Notable absentees: Morocco, Cameroon, Mali, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, South Africa, DR Congo, Uganda, etc.

 

 

CONCACAF (North America) (only 3 teams due to playoff draw of CONCACAF vs CONMEBOL)

 

1- Canada (qualify for their first World Cup in over 36 years; last time was Mexico 1986; Canada qualify as one of the top teams in the table)

 

2- Mexico

 

3- United States (qualify for their first World Cup in 8 years since 2014 since Brazil)

Did you miss Saudi Arabia? 

[TGAA_Star]

12 minutes ago, Alex said:

Did you miss Saudi Arabia? 

Oh yeah totally forgot about them I edited it

[Kent]

On 11/22/2021 at 7:07 PM, narduch said:

I read it the day after our last match.

Pretty convenient considering Jamaica were robbed in their last match v USA

Not really. VAR was introduced for the Gold Cup before we got robbed against USA (Zimmerman double foul on Laryea/handball) and Mexico (Kaye was in the box, but I don't think there was any foul). VAR doesn't get rid of mistakes, it just kind of shuffles them around.

[footballfreak]

21 hours ago, Big_M said:

a quick search and it can be seen that hes far from retired coming from his own mouth...simply used the jamaican league games to prepare for a contract abroad

“Semi” as in pseudo. He’s 38 and has only played a handful of USL Championship games in the last two years. In the last 12 months, he has played 3 “professional” JPL games - a level so low that no other outfield player was called from the entire league to the Jamaica camp last window.

Maybe he gets a contract somewhere in January, but until then I feel pretty comfortable calling him semi-retired in the same way an elderly teacher is semi-retired. Maybe they take some sub work on and off, but chances are they’re never going back to work full-time.

[CanadianSoccerFan]

3 hours ago, Kent said:

Not really. VAR was introduced for the Gold Cup before we got robbed against USA (Zimmerman double foul on Laryea/handball) and Mexico (Kaye was in the box, but I don't think there was any foul). VAR doesn't get rid of mistakes, it just kind of shuffles them around.

Yeah I feel like VAR might have burned us in a few of these games if it was in place. For example, Crepeau's awkward bear hug at Azteca, Kamal Miller's last man handball against Costa Rica, Doneil's assault on Chucky at Iceteca.  Those are moments that a ref will use common sense in real time but VAR might get involved if it's available.

[Kent]

8 hours ago, CanadianSoccerFan said:

Yeah I feel like VAR might have burned us in a few of these games if it was in place. For example, Crepeau's awkward bear hug at Azteca, Kamal Miller's last man handball against Costa Rica, Doneil's assault on Chucky at Iceteca.  Those are moments that a ref will use common sense in real time but VAR might get involved if it's available.

And the calls where you think VAR should correct the call, they just might not. We will still have a CONCACAF ref watching the videos to make their decision, plus there is subjectivity in nearly every call.

[Free kick]

VAR can still correct blatantly wrong calls or mistakes.   Yes, sometimes they still get the call wrong but its not about whether or not it helps us.  Its about ensuring a fair competition and that results less impacted by mistakes.   

Besides, there are still six games left in this thing.   There could be a situation where VAR saves us from a bad result.

Edited November 24, 2021 by Free kick

[Kent]

5 hours ago, Free kick said:

VAR can still correct blatantly wrong calls or mistakes.   Yes, sometimes they still get the call wrong but its not about whether or not it helps us.  Its about ensuring a fair competition and that results less impacted by mistakes.   

Besides, there are still six games left in this thing.   There could be a situation where VAR saves us from a bad result.

For me, yes I want fair competition, but I also want to enjoy watching games. VAR decreases my viewing pleasure. It's more frustrating when calls are wrong, or when ticky tack calls are made (like someone was offside by half a millimeter and they gained no advantage by being in that offside position, but a goal is called back), and it's frustrating to question if something, like a goal, will actually count when you should be celebrating. It's also frustrating when the play continues and you KNOW it won't count, like the play that Ralph Priso suffered his season ending injury.

Apologies for going on a rant whenever VAR is mentioned. It's definitely my "old man shakes fist at cloud" trigger.

[footballfreak]

For all the talk of Crépeau’s gaff or Henry’s shenanigans, I think it’s safe to say there have been more calls missed on the other side of the ball. Off the top of my head,

• El Salvador probably deserved at least three reds and probably 3-4 more yellows. The knee to the head of Buchanan, the kick out to the back of his legs in the air, was there a spitting incident in that game? 
• Mexico (A) - Headshot(s?), choking someone (Osorio?)
• Panama - the spitting incident against Laryea
• Mexico (H) - Elbow to the head, I forget the specifics. The after the whistle shenanigans at the end were 100% initiated by The Mexico players who shoved someone (Miller?) celebrating away from the rest of the team.

Just have to get some of our guys under a shorter leash moving forward. Laryea in particular likes to play so close to the edge. Overall though I see VAR as a plus for us provided it is applied fairly.