WCQ: Third Round - Window 5 (March 24 - 30, 2022)

[dyslexic nam]

7 minutes ago, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

 

As much as I was pissed off about the way our national anthem was disrespected in CR, I would love to see them grab a couple of quick goals against the US just to feel the surge of American panic.  I know it won't happen but a fella can dream.

[Alex]

I thought this yesterday, was Panama’s 5-1 away loss that eliminated them from the World Cup similar to our October 16, 2012 game in Honduras? 

[TGAA_Star]

5 minutes ago, Alex said:

I thought this yesterday, was Panama’s 5-1 away loss that eliminated them from the World Cup similar to our October 16, 2012 game in Honduras? 

I sure hope so but Panama I can easily see them qualifying in 2026

[Gian-Luca]

1 hour ago, CanadianSoccerFan said:

On twitter it is remarkable how bitter the El Salvador fans are.  They're all convinced we only qualified due to corruption from Montagliani.  The change in format and the Buchanan penalty decision etc.  Few seem to look at why their team has only 10 points in 13 games

They have probably been spurned on in that regard by their coach, who was still whining last week that his team should have had a PK on a youtube video he did that I saw him do last week on one of the American youtubers - I think it must have been "11 Yanks", who is one of the less obnoxious of the American bunch and usually has more international guest interviews. ES's coach also complained that our winning goal was a fluke, which is true in one respect but disregards the fact that it was extremely unlucky for the initial header not to have gone in the goal in the first place (not to mention that they didn't generate scoring chance at home until they hit 50 yard shot in injury time, which isn't exactly what I call breaking down a team's defences or cutting them open).

As for the change in format, I'm curious who they think was responsible for the corruption in coming up with the absurd original format in the first place.

 

[CanadianSoccerFan]

1 hour ago, Gian-Luca said:

They have probably been spurned on in that regard by their coach, who was still whining last week that his team should have had a PK on a youtube video he did that I saw him do last week on one of the American youtubers - I think it must have been "11 Yanks", who is one of the less obnoxious of the American bunch and usually has more international guest interviews. ES's coach also complained that our winning goal was a fluke, which is true in one respect but disregards the fact that it was extremely unlucky for the initial header not to have gone in the goal in the first place (not to mention that they didn't generate scoring chance at home until they hit 50 yard shot in injury time, which isn't exactly what I call breaking down a team's defences or cutting them open).

As for the change in format, I'm curious who they think was responsible for the corruption in coming up with the absurd original format in the first place.

 

The truth about the Buchanan penalty is that VAR didn't call the ref to look because Adekugbe was fouled in the buildup.  They all think it's some conspiracy that Vic was manipulating VAR

[Kadenge]

8 minutes ago, CanadianSoccerFan said:

The truth about the Buchanan penalty is that VAR didn't call the ref to look because Adekugbe was fouled in the buildup.  They all think it's some conspiracy that Vic was manipulating VAR

Good...ES can keep eating that stuff for the next 4+ years as they watch us in Qatar and in 2026

[VinceA]

1 hour ago, Gian-Luca said:

They have probably been spurned on in that regard by their coach, who was still whining last week that his team should have had a PK on a youtube video he did that I saw him do last week on one of the American youtubers - I think it must have been "11 Yanks", who is one of the less obnoxious of the American bunch and usually has more international guest interviews. ES's coach also complained that our winning goal was a fluke, which is true in one respect but disregards the fact that it was extremely unlucky for the initial header not to have gone in the goal in the first place (not to mention that they didn't generate scoring chance at home until they hit 50 yard shot in injury time, which isn't exactly what I call breaking down a team's defences or cutting them open).

As for the change in format, I'm curious who they think was responsible for the corruption in coming up with the absurd original format in the first place.

 

I find 11 Yanks to be kind of annoying. He's very anti-MLS and is especially disrespectful to guys like Paul Arriola without understanding the role they play.

He's one of those in the US Twitter echo chamber who will complain that Konrad de la Fuente isn't getting call-ups and will forget to mention that Konrad has been frozen out from Marseille because he has a shitty attitude.

[Gian-Luca]

6 hours ago, VinceA said:

I find 11 Yanks to be kind of annoying. He's very anti-MLS and is especially disrespectful to guys like Paul Arriola without understanding the role they play.

He's one of those in the US Twitter echo chamber who will complain that Konrad de la Fuente isn't getting call-ups and will forget to mention that Konrad has been frozen out from Marseille because he has a shitty attitude.

I’ll take your word for that, I haven’t seen everything he has put out, I do find him occasionally obnoxious in what he says but he tends to be fine when interviewing pundits from other nations. By comparison, that Tactical Manager guy should really be calling his channel “Tactical Douche-Bag”, or “Tactical Twat” or “Miserable Obnoxious, American Poseur-Pundit Wannabe-Manager but actual Know-Nothing Idiot”. And he’s not even the worst of the bunch.

[shortofbrillant]

I have not been following the ES complaints. What format change are they complaining about exactly? 3 games in 1 window?

 

[Floortom]

2 minutes ago, shortofbrillant said:

I have not been following the ES complaints. What format change are they complaining about exactly? 3 games in 1 window?

 

The change from a hex to an octagonal. 

i dont really see why thats so upsetting for them since it's not like they would have made the world cup in either format. The octagonal at least allowed them to play more matches and get more experience

[jonovision]

31 minutes ago, Floortom said:

The change from a hex to an octagonal. 

i dont really see why thats so upsetting for them since it's not like they would have made the world cup in either format. The octagonal at least allowed them to play more matches and get more experience

You have a better chance of finishing top 4 of 6 than top 4 of 8. And they are currently ahead of 2 teams that would have been part of the original 6.

[Floortom]

Just now, jonovision said:

You have a better chance of finishing top 4 of 6 than top 4 of 8. And they are currently ahead of 2 teams that would have been part of the original 6.

Actually thats a good point. They would have been in play for the #4 spot. 

Man the hex would have really been a joke - half of the teams would have been abysmal

[Gian-Luca]

I'm just not sure that "No fair! If they had only stuck to the format which excluded the best team from being able to participate in the tournament, we would have qualified!" is a particularly persuasive argument....

[Free kick]

10 hours ago, Gian-Luca said:

They have probably been spurned on in that regard by their coach, who was still whining last week that his team should have had a PK on a youtube video he did that I saw him do last week on one of the American youtubers - I think it must have been "11 Yanks", who is one of the less obnoxious of the American bunch and usually has more international guest interviews. ES's coach also complained that our winning goal was a fluke, which is true in one respect but disregards the fact that it was extremely unlucky for the initial header not to have gone in the goal in the first place (not to mention that they didn't generate scoring chance at home until they hit 50 yard shot in injury time, which isn't exactly what I call breaking down a team's defences or cutting them open).

As for the change in format, I'm curious who they think was responsible for the corruption in coming up with the absurd original format in the first place.

 

I think that they (El Salvador) got their first shot on goal close to the 90th minute mark in that game.    And, as I recall it was a long distance lob from way way back and Borjan was a little out from the line and made a bit of meal of it because he had to back track and managed to get to the ball.   I was watching highlights of it on Youtube from local broadcasts and the announcers went beserk thinking it was great chance.    That was hardly a quality scoring chance.

Edited March 30, 2022 by Free kick

[Free kick]

Actually it was at 1:42:27 and after 90 mins .  That was actually their second shot on goal.  Their first one was a half chance i few mins earlier.  I thought that ES was was the team with least amount of punch in the whole Octagonal.   They couldnt manufacture anything in the attacking half of the pitch to save their lives.  With Honduras it was defensive issues that did them in, that stuff is fixable.  Jamaica looked kind of disorganized.   But for ES I didnt see anything from them suggesting that there is even hope.   In finishing 6th, they got most of any team out of the talent that they had.

 

 

Edited March 30, 2022 by Free kick

[Free kick]

9 hours ago, CanadianSoccerFan said:

The truth about the Buchanan penalty is that VAR didn't call the ref to look because Adekugbe was fouled in the buildup.  They all think it's some conspiracy that Vic was manipulating VAR

You could make a case that it was the El salvadoran who fouled Buchanan.  I just watched the replay now

[CanadianSoccerFan]

2 hours ago, Floortom said:

The change from a hex to an octagonal. 

i dont really see why thats so upsetting for them since it's not like they would have made the world cup in either format. The octagonal at least allowed them to play more matches and get more experience

To add to what others mentioned, the real part that pissed them off is that the CONCACAF top 5 all got a pass to the Octagonal but ES was the only member of the top 6 that was forced to go back through the preliminary stage.  In their eyes they had "qualified" for the hex and were being retroactively kicked out and made to qualify again just to give Canada a path.  CONCACAF's reasoning was that Hon,Jam,USA,Mex, and CR had all mathematically clinched under the old format but ES had not.

Of course, the part ES fans don't want to talk about is the fact their position was a mathematical fluke in spite of the fact they had lost to Bermuda and failed to qualify for League A of Nations League.  Then they bombed out of the  2019 Gold Cup last in their group, proceeding to lose to the Dominicans in League B of Nations League where they racked up cheap points against pub teams, even needing an offside winner in injury time to beat Montserrat, a team they would later drop points to in WCQ.  Then they pulled that scam against Iceland where they made sure it was a training match to ensure they wouldn't be docked points for inevitably losing, which they did.  Then of course the pandemic happened, wiping out the last two FIFA windows where teams could collect points.  Their record was an absolute joke. 

I thought once they got through to the Octagonal they would get over it and stop whining because they got their place in the final round back but they're still crying about it.  I think the Buchanan penalty brought it all back to the surface.

In hindsight, the teams that were genuinely hard done by were Suriname and Haiti.  Being asked to defeat the best team in CONCACAF just to make the final 8 is a brutally tough bar.

[xabuep2]

If the previous format had not been reformed. Canada would have won the "B final (lower- seeded group stage)and with this they would have faced the 4th place of the hexagonal, which, observing the position of the octagonal, would be  Panama. To then face New Zealand, the champion of Oceania for a place in the world cup. 

On the other hand,  USA, Mexico and Costa Rica would be the ones that would have won the direct  3 tickets.

Thank God, that  aberration was eliminated, which seemed inspired by a segregation system that prevented 28 countries the opportunity to fight equitably to qualify for a World Cup

[An Observer]

1 hour ago, xabuep2 said:

If the previous format had not been reformed. Canada would have won the "B final (lower- seeded group stage)and with this they would have faced the 4th place of the hexagonal, which, observing the position of the octagonal, would be  Panama. To then face New Zealand, the champion of Oceania for a place in the world cup. 

On the other hand,  USA, Mexico and Costa Rica would be the ones that would have won the direct  3 tickets.

Thank God, that  aberration was eliminated, which seemed inspired by a segregation system that prevented 28 countries the opportunity to fight equitably to qualify for a World Cup

Panama wouldn't have been in the hex so 4th place would have been El Salvador.

[shortofbrillant]

4 hours ago, xabuep2 said:

If the previous format had not been reformed. Canada would have won the "B final (lower- seeded group stage)and with this they would have faced the 4th place of the hexagonal, which, observing the position of the octagonal, would be  Panama. To then face New Zealand, the champion of Oceania for a place in the world cup. 

On the other hand,  USA, Mexico and Costa Rica would be the ones that would have won the direct  3 tickets.

Thank God, that  aberration was eliminated, which seemed inspired by a segregation system that prevented 28 countries the opportunity to fight equitably to qualify for a World Cup

That old format was completely half baked. I didn't even know it existed. I have been comparing the 2018 to the 2022 cycle to try go figure out why ES is so annoyed. Imagine being annoyed that the format that would have given a top 6 spot to a nation that failed to qualify for nations league A was ultimately scrapped. 

The very first proposal apparently would have used the Concacaf rankings which probably would have seen ES on the outside of the top 6. I wonder who argued that FIFA rankings should be used instead....

 

[archer21]

1 hour ago, shortofbrillant said:

That old format was completely half baked. I didn't even know it existed. I have been comparing the 2018 to the 2022 cycle to try go figure out why ES is so annoyed. Imagine being annoyed that the format that would have given a top 6 spot to a nation that failed to qualify for nations league A was ultimately scrapped. 

The very first proposal apparently would have used the Concacaf rankings which probably would have seen ES on the outside of the top 6. I wonder who argued that FIFA rankings should be used instead....

 

They have to use FIFA rankings for WCQ because it’s a FIFA event, not a CONCACAF event. It was ridiculous that CONCACAF ever thought they’d be able to use their own rankings. 

[narduch]

Last matchday of the Octagonal. 

One Soccer dropping the ball again and they are only showing Mexico v El Salvador. 

Lame that they haven't made Costa Rica v USA available. 

 

[shortofbrillant]

2 hours ago, archer21 said:

They have to use FIFA rankings for WCQ because it’s a FIFA event, not a CONCACAF event. It was ridiculous that CONCACAF ever thought they’d be able to use their own rankings. 

And it wasn't even the most ridiculous part of their proposed format haha

[Gian-Luca]

8 hours ago, archer21 said:

They have to use FIFA rankings for WCQ because it’s a FIFA event, not a CONCACAF event. It was ridiculous that CONCACAF ever thought they’d be able to use their own rankings. 

Its also ridiculous to use FIFA rankings in Concacaf to the extent that they were originally going to do, since some teams - such as Canada - get denied opportunities to get FIFA points because they play official matches against the likes of non-FIFA members such as Martinique and French Guiana and get zero points for victories over them while  other teams play only against FIFA teams.

The format they should be using is "Fuck the FIFA rankings, just have the teams play against each other" format.

[Floortom]

Apparently Costa Rica is sill waiting to have it confirmed by FIFA that yellow card accumulation will carry over into the inter-confederation playoffs. If so, they will run out a B squad tonight since they have 8 players on yellows.

1. FIFA really needs to fix these ridiculous accumulation rules. 

2. US might get a blowout tonight meaning we would have to at least draw stay top of table.