The Road to Qatar.

[Unnamed Trialist]

16 minutes ago, Jedi Ram said:

I think that is highly unlikely as FIFA cannot afford to postpone any more matches as the international match windows are already tight enough this year.   The more likely scenario would be to play in empty stadiums in January and hope the situation improves for March window.  Don't forget the World Cup Draw is on April 1, 2022.  Thus all qualifying games must be completed by then.

I agree that matches will be played and public be damned if need be, FIFA is not going to play around with specifics.

But to be precise, the intercontinental playoffs are after the draw, so part of the draw will be done with matches pending. And more could if it was just a case of saying this Asian playoff, or similar. 

But I don't think there will be delays, Fifa will say play.

[scullion44]

Increasingly worried our European based players wont be allowed to join the team..

[narduch]

14 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

I agree that matches will be played and public be damned if need be, FIFA is not going to play around with specifics.

But to be precise, the intercontinental playoffs are after the draw, so part of the draw will be done with matches pending. And more could if it was just a case of saying this Asian playoff, or similar. 

But I don't think there will be delays, Fifa will say play.

I still think its possible to cancel.

You can always delay the draw.

This past June we just played 4 official matches.

How hard would it be to do that again?

They also don't have Continental championships to worry about.

[narduch]

Confirmation we will play Honduras in the evening.

 

[CanadaFan123]

4 minutes ago, narduch said:

Confirmation we will play Honduras in the evening.

 

And El Salvador at 8 pm... nice.

[Approve My Account Pls]

4 minutes ago, narduch said:

Confirmation we will play Honduras in the evening.

 

I mean we all knew what I'm about to say already, but seeing the schedule gets everyone a little more excited: With Mexico, Panama, CR, and Jamaica all cycling through one another, the table could look veryy interesting come February 3rd. With those four teams being 3 thru 6 in the table, every game is enormous. Assuming the US put El Salvador to bed, we have a massive opportunity with two teams dead in the water.. f*ck boys bring on this window, I'm hyped

[CanadaFan123]

9 minutes ago, Approve My Account Pls said:

I mean we all knew what I'm about to say already, but seeing the schedule gets everyone a little more excited: With Mexico, Panama, CR, and Jamaica all cycling through one another, the table could look veryy interesting come February 3rd. With those four teams being 3 thru 6 in the table, every game is enormous. Assuming the US put El Salvador to bed, we have a massive opportunity with two teams dead in the water.. f*ck boys bring on this window, I'm hyped

Honduras may be a longshot but I think they'll come out flying against us in January. The advantage I see is that the away atmosphere, and weather, isn't going to be what we've faced in the past. 

[Kadenge]

32 minutes ago, CanadaFan123 said:

Honduras may be a longshot but I think they'll come out flying against us in January. The advantage I see is that the away atmosphere, and weather, isn't going to be what we've faced in the past. 

The 7 pm start should help v playing at 3 pm  in prior WCQ. Certainly going to be a new experience for the Cdn players that have not played in SPS but Borjan, Larin, Atiba, Jnr, Henry, Piette, Cav & Arfield (if called) have had the pleasure. That's not too bad as several could start. The USA got a win in SPS with probably less experience playing in that stadium

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

Jamaica sanctioned 1000 Swiss Francs for a thrown water bottle in November:

https://amp.jamaicaobserver.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20211213/ARTICLE/312139948&Show=0

Panama has been sanctioned with a match behind closed doors ( their match against Jamaica on January 30th ) for homophobic chants:

https://futbolcentroamerica.com/amp/panama/FEPAFUT-confirma-partido-a-puerta-cerrada-para-Panama-20211216-0014.html

 

The Panama sanction is good news for two reasons

1) Obviously no home crowd to cheer them on

2) With no home crowds for this window they'll be no homophobic chants in January/February, which means that crowds will be back for March. Panama-away remains a travel possibility for Vs!

[dyslexic nam]

2 minutes ago, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

Jamaica sanctioned 1000 Swiss Francs for a thrown water bottle in November:

https://amp.jamaicaobserver.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20211213/ARTICLE/312139948&Show=0

Panama has been sanctioned with a match behind closed doors ( their match against Jamaica on January 30th ) for homophobic chants:

https://futbolcentroamerica.com/amp/panama/FEPAFUT-confirma-partido-a-puerta-cerrada-para-Panama-20211216-0014.html

 

The Panama sanction is good news for two reasons

1) Obviously no home crowd to cheer them on

2) With no home crowds for this window they'll be no homophobic chants in January/February, which means that crowds will be back for March. Panama-away remains a travel possibility for Vs!

The biggest thing for me is the fact that it gives Jamaica a greater chance of taking points off Panama.  That would be a result that would really help us.  We will stumble somewhere along the way so Panama dropping points against Jamaica and Mexico this window would be huge.  

[Obinna]

2 hours ago, narduch said:

Confirmation we will play Honduras in the evening.

 

Not that I have a problem with it, because I am obviously a Canada fan, but....

doesn't it strike you guys as unfair that Honduras is not allowed to play games when it's hottest in the afternoon (I recall some new rule about that, but please correct if I am full of it)?

I don't shed a tear for Honduras EVER, plus if it helps us than great, but just wondering why there isn't a similar thing preventing us from playing in the evening during cold weather matches?

Just seems one-sided (to my delight, obviously).

[dyslexic nam]

15 minutes ago, Obinna said:

Not that I have a problem with it, because I am obviously a Canada fan, but....

doesn't it strike you guys as unfair that Honduras is not allowed to play games when it's hottest in the afternoon (I recall some new rule about that, but please correct if I am full of it)?

I don't shed a tear for Honduras EVER, plus if it helps us than great, but just wondering why there isn't a similar thing preventing us from playing in the evening during cold weather matches?

Just seems one-sided (to my delight, obviously).

I suspect it is a health concern.  Playing in scorching midday heat presents a health risk that cannot be mitigated in the same way that one can wear long sleeves and stay warm on the bench in Edmontonesque November weather.  

[Obinna]

Just now, dyslexic nam said:

I suspect it is a health concern.  Playing in scorching midday heat presents a health risk that cannot be mitigated in the same way that one can wear long sleeves and stay warm on the bench in Edmontonesque November weather.  

As a Canadian I agree

[Sal333]

27 minutes ago, Obinna said:

 

I don't shed a tear for Honduras EVER, plus if it helps us than great, but just wondering why there isn't a similar thing preventing us from playing in the evening during cold weather matches?

Just seems one-sided (to my delight, obviously).

That's not totally true. That US game in January we're cutting them a break and playing the game at 3:00 PM instead of 7 or 8 at night when balls regardless of their size freeze up and are liable to break.

[chalms04]

2 hours ago, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

Jamaica sanctioned 1000 Swiss Francs for a thrown water bottle in November:

https://amp.jamaicaobserver.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20211213/ARTICLE/312139948&Show=0

Panama has been sanctioned with a match behind closed doors ( their match against Jamaica on January 30th ) for homophobic chants:

https://futbolcentroamerica.com/amp/panama/FEPAFUT-confirma-partido-a-puerta-cerrada-para-Panama-20211216-0014.html

 

The Panama sanction is good news for two reasons

1) Obviously no home crowd to cheer them on

2) With no home crowds for this window they'll be no homophobic chants in January/February, which means that crowds will be back for March. Panama-away remains a travel possibility for Vs!

What a kick in the dick it would be if after all the Hamilton drama, we get shuttered for the pitch invaders in Edmonton. 🤫

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

Just now, chalms04 said:

What a kick in the dick it would be if after all the Hamilton drama, we get shuttered for the pitch invaders in Edmonton. 🤫

You would need a HELL of a lot of them to be sanctioned with a match behind closed doors. It certainly costs us quite a bit. The question is How much? 

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

58 minutes ago, Obinna said:

doesn't it strike you guys as unfair that Honduras is not allowed to play games when it's hottest in the afternoon (I recall some new rule about that, but please correct if I am full of it)?

I don't recall this. Honduras just decided not to do it this cycle because mid-afternoon matches during the week hurts attendance and they want the revenue.

January is also cooler. 29°C is not 34°C.

The strategic advantage is not quite the same.

At this point it is about revenue and 2026 prep for them. It is almost impossible for them to go to Qatar.

[Kent]

I had thought the evening games was about TV requirements from CONCACAF. I thought someone had mentioned that a while back. But then when our game was set for 3pm I was confused.

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

14 minutes ago, Kent said:

I had thought the evening games was about TV requirements from CONCACAF. I thought someone had mentioned that a while back. But then when our game was set for 3pm I was confused.

It was a requirement for CONCACAF competitions, aka the Nations League. Honduras would not have been allowed to host their matches at 3pm for that.

WCQ is FIFA as the primary organizer so it's different.

[Treppy2]

36 minutes ago, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

It was a requirement for CONCACAF competitions, aka the Nations League. Honduras would not have been allowed to host their matches at 3pm for that.

WCQ is FIFA as the primary organizer so it's different.

Slightly off topic, but why does San Pedro Sula host most (all?) of Honduras's matches rather than Tegucigalpa? You've been there, so I figure you'd know! TIA

[Free kick]

8 hours ago, dyslexic nam said:

I suspect it is a health concern.  Playing in scorching midday heat presents a health risk that cannot be mitigated in the same way that one can wear long sleeves and stay warm on the bench in Edmontonesque November weather.  

Playing at high elevation or altitude presents great or greater risks.   With the heat,  the ref can stop the match for hydrations breaks.   There isn't this kind of recourse for matches played at 2200 Metres

[Kent]

5 hours ago, Treppy2 said:

Slightly off topic, but why does San Pedro Sula host most (all?) of Honduras's matches rather than Tegucigalpa? You've been there, so I figure you'd know! TIA

From what I can find on Wikipedia, it looks like games were held in Tegucigalpa in Estadio Tiburcio Carias Andino for many, many years (it opened in 1948), until Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano was completed/opened in 1997. So it looks like at that time the shiny new stadium got to host most games. It also has a slightly larger capacity (38k to 35k).

[TOcanadafan]

On 12/17/2021 at 1:40 PM, Sal333 said:

That's not totally true. That US game in January we're cutting them a break and playing the game at 3:00 PM instead of 7 or 8 at night when balls regardless of their size freeze up and are liable to break.

The US is playing outdoors in Minnesota at night on the next match day… I don’t think they are afraid of the cold.  

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

On 11/30/2021 at 9:16 PM, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

Opponent watch - CONCACAF Octagonal Teams December schedule:

Saturday, December 4th El Salvador vs Ecuador - Houston

Wednesday December 8th Mexico vs Chile - Austin

Saturday, December 11th El Salvador vs Chile - Los Angeles

Saturday, December 18th USA vs Bosnia & Herzegovina - Los Angeles

December 17th or 18th Panama Vs Paraguay - Panama City ( not confirmed )

https://www.midiario.com/deportivas/paraguay-seria-rival-de-panama-en-partido-amistoso-para-el-mes-de-diciembre/

That's it for CONCACAF for the year!

El Salvador 1  Ecuador 1
Mexico 2  Chile 2
El Salvador 0  Chile 1
USA 1   Bosnia & Herzegovina 0

The Panama vs Paraguay friendly never got off the ground

[trc2014]

Interesting update - mainly that some Canadian players are potentially currently dealing with COVID