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Post by epjr on Jun 7, 2011 17:52:52 GMT -6
Gold Cup: Canada drop pretense, want revenge vs. US
Sting of 2007 semifinal loss still there for Hutchinson, de GuzmanDETROIT — After four long years, Canada finally get a shot at redemption against the United States. The last time the two sides faced each other was in the semifinal round of the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2007, a game that ended in controversy. Midfielder Atiba Hutchinson — having intercepted a ball headed backward by American defender Oguchi Onyewu — thought he had leveled the score in stoppage time, but referee Benito Archundia rescinded the goal due to an offside call by his assistant. The decision left the Canadian players shocked, and it allowed the Americans to advance to the final — a game they won over archrivals Mexico. Four years later, and the Canucks say that the ending to that game still stings. www.mlssoccer.com/goldcup/news/article/2011/06/07/gold-cup-canada-drop-pretense-looking-revenge-vs-us
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Post by epjr on Jun 15, 2011 9:41:23 GMT -6
Gold Cup: Canada "devastated," head home ruing missed chance
1-1 tie with Panama eliminates Canucks, who now look ahead towards W.Cup qualifiers KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Canada came into this Gold Cup with arguably its greatest base of talent in men’s national team history. They leave with their tail between their legs, eliminated at the group stage for the first time in three tournaments. In the minutes immediately after their 1-1 draw with Panama on Tuesday at Livestrong Sporting Park that effectively knocked them out — even before the US win over Guadeloupe that officially put the nail in the Maple Leaf coffin — there was one simple word to sum it all up: disappointment. “We were so close,” Vancouver midfielder Terry Dunfield lamented to MLSsoccer.com. “No one wants to go home and ... it’s back to the Whitecaps now.” Canada were barely 60 seconds from securing a victory over Panama when Luis Tejada poked home a goalmouth scramble in second-half stoppage time that evened up matters and saw the Red Tide clinch top spot in Group C. As Panama celebrated wildly, Canada stood around in disbelief, knowing they blew their chance to go on. But they also know they shot themselves in the foot time and again in their three group-stage games by continuously failing to put the ball in the back of the net against the US, Guadeloupe and Panama. Canada failed to score a single goal in the run of play in this tournament, their only two strikes coming from the penalty spot courtesy of Dwayne De Rosario. “At the end of the day, if you don’t score, you don’t win,” head coach Stephen Hart said in the postgame press conference. “Simple as that.” www.mlssoccer.com/goldcup/news/article/2011/06/15/gold-cup-canada-devasted-head-home-ruing-missed-chance
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Post by epjr on Jun 15, 2011 17:55:02 GMT -6
Gold Cup Commentary: Questions still linger for Canada
After surprising Gold Cup flop, Canucks have issues to addressDespite a veteran-heavy team with loads of CONCACAF experience, Canada crashed out of the Gold Cup on Tuesday night after giving up a late goal to draw Panama 1-1 in the final game of the group stage. The early exit represents Canada’s worst showing at the continental championship since 2005, a stunning outcome for a side full of optimism heading into this year’s tournament. With the Canadians’ lackluster performance in the books, a number of questions come to mind ahead of World Cup qualification, which begins for the Canucks in September of this year. www.mlssoccer.com/goldcup/news/article/2011/06/15/gold-cup-commentary-questions-still-linger-canada
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Post by epjr on Jun 26, 2011 21:09:10 GMT -6
Canada falls just short against Germany Germany 2 Canada 1While this match ended up as the German victory that most pundits had predicted, Canada legitimately served notice that they are a genuine contender for a World Cup title and showed just how far they have come as a team in recent years. Considering that Canada lost 5-0 to Germany the last time the teams met in a World Cup, this was an impressive performance by the Canadians, especially given the circumstances. While there is no point in speculating how this one might have turned out if Sinclair had been able to finish her early chance in the German box, it was plain to see that with some better finishing and a couple of instances of better defending on the German goals, Canada could have come out of this one with a victory or at least a draw. www.rednationonline.ca/CanadafallsshortagainstGermanyinopener.aspx
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Post by epjr on Jun 27, 2011 14:38:33 GMT -6
Canada falls just short against Germany Germany 2 Canada 1While this match ended up as the German victory that most pundits had predicted, Canada legitimately served notice that they are a genuine contender for a World Cup title and showed just how far they have come as a team in recent years. Considering that Canada lost 5-0 to Germany the last time the teams met in a World Cup, this was an impressive performance by the Canadians, especially given the circumstances. While there is no point in speculating how this one might have turned out if Sinclair had been able to finish her early chance in the German box, it was plain to see that with some better finishing and a couple of instances of better defending on the German goals, Canada could have come out of this one with a victory or at least a draw. www.rednationonline.ca/CanadafallsshortagainstGermanyinopener.aspx
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Post by epjr on Jun 30, 2011 13:43:39 GMT -6
Four star France defeat Canada France cruised to a 4-0 win over Canada in their Group A meeting in Bochum with Gaetane Thiney becoming the first Les Bleues player to score a brace at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in the process. The Juvicy forward, making her 50th appearance for the Bruno Bini’s side, scored in either half in a match which France dominated from start to finish. Such was the extent of their supremacy that Canada failed to register a shot on target during the entire 90 minutes. www.fifa.com/womensworldcup/matches/round=255997/match=300144434/summary.html
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Post by epjr on Jun 30, 2011 17:24:23 GMT -6
Canadian soccer's Best XI of all-time
To celebrate Canada Day, MLSsoccer.com selects its top lineup [/COLOR] Goalkeeper Craig Forest — Backstopped Canada to their first major international tournament title, the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Had a lengthy 17-year career in England with Ipswich Town and West Ham and is currently an MLS analyst on Rogers Sportsnet. Defenders Bob Lenarduzzi — The current president of MLS expansion side Vancouver Whitecaps had an 11-year playing career with the team. He also represented Canada 47 times, leading them to a berth in the 1986 World Cup. Randy Samuel — Has the second-most career appearances for Canada (82). During a 14-year international career, his rugged play made him one of the most feared and respected defenders in CONCACAF. Bruce Wilson — Captained Canada to their first and only appearance in a World Cup in Mexico in 1986. Two years later, he was the only Canadian named to the CONCACAF Team of the Century. Midfielders Paul James — Scored a crucial goal for Canada against Costa Rica during their Marching to Mexico 1986 World Cup campaign and represented the national squad 43 times between 1983 and 1993 as a defensive midfielder. Julian de Guzman — The first ever Canadian-born player to play in Spain’s La Liga (pictured above) is currently one of three Designated Players for Toronto FC. Known for his solid defending and brilliant ball skills, he has 47 international caps for Canada. Dwayne De Rosario — This clutch finisher is currently third on Canada’s all-time goal scoring list with 15. Now with D.C. United, DeRo has been named to the league’s Best XI five times. Mike Sweeney — A pint-sized but hard-tackling, ruthless midfielder who represented Canada more than 61 times during a 14-year international career. His quickness and pace made him a natural fit for both the indoor and outdoor game. Forwards Alex Bunbury — His 16 goals in 66 appearances put him third on Canada’s all-time scoring list. This clinical finisher, who spent 1999 and 2000 with MLS' Kansas City Wizards, was also named Top Foreign Player of the Year in Portugal in 1994 while with Maritimo. He is the father of current Sporting Kansas City forward Teal Bunbury. Dale Mitchell — His 19 career goals remain a Canadian national team record. He also had a lengthy career in the North American Soccer League (1977-1983) and the Major Indoor Soccer League (1984-1987). Branko Segota — Likely the nation’s most gifted goal-scorer, he ranks 13th on the NASL’s all-time scoring list (73) and also has the second highest goal tally (463) in the history of the Major Indoor Soccer League. Second Team (GK) Tino Lettieri; (D) Paul Stalteri; (D) Robert Iarusci; (D) Colin Miller; (M) Wes McLeod; (M) Paul Peschisolido, (M) Lyndon Hooper, (M) Gerry Gray, (M) Randy Ragan, (F) John Catliff; (F) Mike Stojanov www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2011/06/30/canadian-soccers-best-xi-all-time
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Post by epjr on Aug 4, 2011 19:31:00 GMT -6
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Post by epjr on Aug 5, 2011 18:54:57 GMT -6
Canada: Mission 2014?I sat and watched the entirety of the World Cup Qualifying draw and as each country was drawn in each region I had more than a few fistpumps of joy. But nothing compared to the draw for Canada. Before I get into how lucky Canada truly was for this draw, I’m going to address the feeling of dread that Canadian fans get when these draws come around. Under no circumstance should Canadian fans feel dread when these draws take place. CONCACAF is a region in which Canada should be able to advance to the pre-hex round with no problems. And much of the dread was around whether drawing Guatemala would be a potential short-circuit for Canadian football. Posted by Lars Lowther www.rednationonline.ca/Mission2014.aspx
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Post by epjr on Aug 5, 2011 19:26:27 GMT -6
Hart: No underdogs in World Cup QualifyingWith the Canadian Men’s National Team having recently learned the specifics surrounding their draw for their 2014 World Cup Qualification cycle, Stephen Hart and the Canadian Soccer Association held a conference call with the media to discuss Hart’s thoughts on the draw and his preparations for first round of World Cup qualifying. With many CMNT supporters quite positive about the fact that Canada will initially face off against world soccer minnows in the form of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Puerto Rico and Saint Lucia, the Canadian Men’s National Team Head Coach indicated that while he is confident of Canada’s chances heading into the opening round of qualification, Canada won’t be taking any team lightly. www.rednationonline.ca/HartNounderdogsinWorldCupQualifying.aspx
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Post by epjr on Aug 25, 2011 22:38:27 GMT -6
Hart announces squad for World Cup qualifiersMen’s Canadian National Team Head Coach has announced his 19-man roster for Canada’s first two World Cup qualifying matches as Canada begins the long road of attempting to qualify for Brazil 2014. The Canadian national team will begin its qualifying campaign against St. Lucia at BMO Field in Toronto on September 2nd and will then head to Puerto Rico for their second fixture on September 6th.
Hart has called up sixteen players who were involved in Canada’s 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup squad, as well as strikers Iain Hume and Olivier Occean and defender Ante Jazic. “There were some complications in picking the squad. I wanted to pick players who were playing, but it really didn’t work out that way because a number of positions could not be filled. But with those that were available I thought we got the best possible squad together,” said Hart on a conference call with members of the media on Wednesday afternoon. CANADA TEAM1- GK- Lars Hirschfeld | NOR / Vålerenga Fotball 2- D- Nik Ledgerwood | GER / SV Wehen Wiesbaden 3- M- Mike Klukowski | TUR / Manisaspor 4- CB- Kevin McKenna | GER / FC Köln 5- D- André Hainault | USA / Houston Dynamo 6- M- Julian de Guzman | CAN / Toronto FC 7- M- Terry Dunfield | CAN / Toronto FC 8- M- Will Johnson | USA / Real Salt Lake 9- M/F- Tosaint Ricketts | ROM / FC Politehnica Timiþoara 10- M- Simeon Jackson | ENG / Norwich City FC 11- M- Josh Simpson | TUR / Manisaspor 12- D- Ante Jazic | USA / Chivas USA 13- M- Atiba Hutchinson | NED / PSV Eindhoven 14- F- Dwayne De Rosario | USA / DC United 15- D- Dejan Jakovic | USA / DC United 16- F- Olivier Occean | GER / SpVgg Greuther Fürth 17- M/F- Iain Hume | ENG / Preston North End FC 20- D- Jaime Peters | ENG / Ipswich Town FC 22- GK- Milan Borjan | TUR / Sivasspor. www.rednationonline.ca/HartannouncessquadforWorldCupqualifiers.aspx
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Post by epjr on Sept 1, 2011 22:07:44 GMT -6
The Canadian Men’s National Team kicks off their arduous journey to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil Friday night as they take on CONCACAF minnows St. Lucia. The mantra all week has been not looking past any team and Stephen Hart’s initial selection for the squad reflects that, as nearly man for man he has called up what many would call the best senior players available. In St. Lucia, Canada are taking on the 187th FIFA ranked team in the world, and a side that are composed of mostly domestic players with a few based out of Trinidad and Tobago. Without a doubt, the Canucks are heavy favourites and that is without taking a home match into consideration. There is really no reason to think that Canada cannot leave this match with their arm raised, and in St. Lucia have an opponent that they can start their qualifying out with a good performance. www.rednationonline.ca/CountdownCanadavStLucia9211.aspx
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Post by epjr on Sept 2, 2011 9:51:31 GMT -6
Canada careful of relatively unknown minnows St. Lucia
Canucks focus on themselves ahead of first step toward Brazil '14 TORONTO — The first step of a long journey is often the hardest. For Canada, the first step towards Brazil 2014 begins Friday night against 184th-ranked St. Lucia, an opponent that is statistically one of the easiest they’ve ever faced in World Cup qualifying. "As far as we're concerned, we're not even considering that,” Canada coach Stephen Hart said of St. Lucia’s low ranking and the psychological effect it may have on his players knowing that they are huge favorites to win the game. “We have not spoken at all about being overwhelming favorites,” he said, making it clear that he doesn’t want his players feeling overconfident. “We are not trusting any sort of discussion like that.” In recent cycles, Canada bypassed the initial stages of CONCACAF qualification, meaning that they’ve never had to play many of the smaller Caribbean nations that inhabit the earlier rounds. Until now, that is. Besides the unfamiliar situation of heading into the match as clear favorites, the Canadians have to contend with an opponent that rarely plays international games, and thus is hard to prepare for given the dearth of information available. That’s not much of a concern, said Hart. www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2011/09/02/canada-careful-relatively-unknown-minnows-st-lucia
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Post by epjr on Sept 2, 2011 10:27:56 GMT -6
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Post by epjr on Sept 2, 2011 20:27:55 GMT -6
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