Its was definitely a chilly night at BMO, but at times Canada looked good. A couple shots directly at the keeper and Bair's header in the 2nd half could have given us more. Bombito was insane. He does little things you don't even notice on TV. What a player.
Nice summary Josh. I agree with your assessment on all fronts. I would add a few observations. Cornelius was also strong and his contribution allows Bombito to play with a little more freedom. Remember when CB was our Achilles heel? The fullbacks were also solid. Davies got caught wrong side of his man on the turnover which resulted in the Panama goal and it got into his head for a few minutes, but he was still involved in the attacking play that lead to the winning goal. Laryea was rock solid. A win is a win and what matters most, but......central midfield had some consistency issues and made some poor passes, Crepeau was lucky on a couple of poorly timed attempts at being a sweeper keeper.....and the most concerning was the poor play of Schaffelburg. He didn't create much space or contribute positively to the attack. His pressing wasn't as good as his counterpart Ahmed. When Millar came on, the attack down the left was better. I think Schaff's lack of form and playing time for Nashville is having a negative impact on him presently.
Great thoughts. So many positives to talk about. But even though Millar was fabulous on the winning goal, it was very disappointing to see him sub on for Shaff instead of Adekugbe coming on and Davies pushing forward. Davies is just not strong enough defensively, and we've seen Adekugbe and Davies look really strong in years past - time to see that again. I'm torn on this though, because Davies up at left wing is not the kind of player that will provide David the service he needs (as Millar did in this case). We simply don't have a strong left wing option right now. It may be that if/when Buchanan is back and strong that Ahmed switches to the left. Or Buchanan plays left as he has for Inter and Ahmed goes right. They could easily switch freely as Davies and Buchanan have done in the past. But again, I don't think Davies should stay at the back, he just doesn't have reliable instincts for the role, so it's probably Davies left wing and Buchanan and Ahmed trading off on starts on the. right.
Canada got punched in the mouth when Panama equalized. The word on Canada, especially during WCQ, was that they often didn’t have to deal with a lot of adversity. Well, the pitch was torn up, the weather was frigid, and Panama equalized late, but Canada went on to find the winner. Impressive. 🇨🇦 ⚽️
Yes. I'm loving Marsch and have very little criticism of him. But frankly, I feel like Christiansen out-tactic'd him in this match but Canada's superior squad overcame. Exciting win.
David was great. Obviously Bombito was the MOTM. Let’s talk about what didn’t work. Davies game is better when it’s simple. If he’s playing LB he doesnt need to push up and play the overlap. It was clear Jesse/coaching staff were letting or giving Davies instruction to do that. That resulted in heavier legs and him making mistakes in our own half. Jesse and co. should not be desperate or concerned of our wingers not making their own chances. If Davies can just focus on playing LB, along with Bombito, Cornelius and Johnston (or Laryea), Canada would probably have the best defense in CONCACAF by some margin
I didn't think Shaffelburg had a good game... he seemed a bit off on his timing and form. Millar did look good subbing in. Overall, the better team won, and that's the bottom line.
@@paulprendergast3184Shaff was not his usual self, holding on the ball too long, poor touches, bad crosses, yeah not good. Millar has always been good for Canada but was always messing up in the final 3rd, yesterday was the first time I saw him decisive and taking good decisions in the final 3rd, nice to see. Millar is already very good defensively, if he can maintain this type of play he should start.
@@JerC-h3q Agreed. Millar and Shaff obviously offer different things and it'll likely be back and forth as to who provides what's needed in any given match. But I still think the best case scenario might well be Adekugbe slotting into the back and Davies pushing up to left wing. Was disappointed to not get a look at that setup last night. Not sure if Adekugbe was 100% or what, but hope we see that pairing again soon.
@@greglawrence9230 It could be another nice option but man having a back 4 of Johnston, Bombito, Davies and Cornelius is not something you want to mess with. If we're trailing and looking for a goal you make that second half switch but otherwise it is tough to justify.
@@JerC-h3q Sure, we're on a high right now and that's reason enough to not change things. At the same time, it's about analyzing where things are strong but where there are weaknesses and potential for greater strength (prepping for '26). Davies is spectacular carrying the ball forward but he's quite consistently out of position defensively and creating defensive holes that opponents hurt us on. It's been happening consistently. It seems to me that we can get everything we want/need from Davies as a winger, still allowing/encouraging him to be up and down the field (still contributing defensively), but with the stable defensive awareness of Adekugbe behind him. Davies wants to roam and should be allowed to - why leave a hole behind him to do that? Shaff has been exciting on the wing but he and Davies have not meshed well at all. Is Millar so good up field that we'd prefer him there than Davies? Not me. Adekugbe is very strong when he pushes forward, with great crosses (he created the goal against Morocco). I think we'd be stronger both defensively and offensively - still utilizing Shaff and Millar as subs. At very least it's worth a look in a friendly - hence my disappointment we didn't see it this window.
Bombito was MOTM for sure. David quite good as well. I don’t think this game was as bad for us as people are saying. I thought we really had full control in the first, then let Panama back in, but came up big when it mattered. The quality scoring chances were heavily in Canada’s favour. Sure we don’t convert enough of them, but what else is new? 😂
Choiniere didn't have a good night, but it was nice to see him on corner kicks. Reliable delivery. Just need someone getting on the ends of 'em. Sure would be a good question for the press to be asking Marsch about ahead of '26. It's an obvious problem.
Max is still making some boneheaded decisions (especially when you consider that he is playing with one of the best leftbacks in the world). Hopefully he cleans that up before 2026.
I feel that Davies shares some responsibility for this. If the keeper is not confident the full back will have something covered they're obviously going to feel they need to come out and deal with it, which inevitably involves risk. We saw Davies get upset when Max almost got caught that one time, but if I were in his position I wouldn't feel super confident. We've seen Davies fail to make essential clearances that resulted in goals and we've seen him out of position many times that either result in goals or very nearly do. And actually, as such, responsibility would lie with Marsch as well. Davies was clearly essential at full back for Copa but Adekugbe should slot back in there, imo.
@@greglawrence9230 I disagree. He only got 12 minutes and he looked way more useful than Larin did. I also cant see it happening, but its super frustrating to be giving Larin more time when he is clearly not what he used to be.
Bmo field pitch was so bad. It led to a lot of our players looking bad especially the ones that look to dribble and control the ball. Embarrassing to me i understand the crappy countries in concacaf having a bad pitch but we’re a country that should not. Heck bmo field is a World Cup venue and the pitch is absolutely terrible right now. Embarrassing for Canada
I was hoping Choniere would have taken another step towards solidifying his role but I think he had a poor game. Canada is thin & needs creative midfielders. I think it’s their weakest area Thoughts?
@@djknox2 the biggest issue for me is the 2 man midfield, on the world stage I'm not sure it's the best strategy. A 3 man midfield of Koné, Eustaquio, Sigur or even Ahmed would change everything.
![PARAGUAY vs. VENEZUELA [2-1] | RESUMEN | ELIMINATORIAS SUDAMERICANAS | FECHA 10](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/DigvK1TrJn0/mqdefault.jpg)
What was your biggest takeaway?
Bombito is the man.
@@lukecarrier9956he bloody is man!!! 😱
We've got the best CB paring in the region rn. if you'd told a CanMNT fan that years ago they'd have thought you were insane
@@Pikabo0really, there??? 🤔🤔
Its was definitely a chilly night at BMO, but at times Canada looked good. A couple shots directly at the keeper and Bair's header in the 2nd half could have given us more. Bombito was insane. He does little things you don't even notice on TV. What a player.
Yeah Bombito and David were great
Nice summary Josh. I agree with your assessment on all fronts. I would add a few observations. Cornelius was also strong and his contribution allows Bombito to play with a little more freedom. Remember when CB was our Achilles heel? The fullbacks were also solid. Davies got caught wrong side of his man on the turnover which resulted in the Panama goal and it got into his head for a few minutes, but he was still involved in the attacking play that lead to the winning goal. Laryea was rock solid. A win is a win and what matters most, but......central midfield had some consistency issues and made some poor passes, Crepeau was lucky on a couple of poorly timed attempts at being a sweeper keeper.....and the most concerning was the poor play of Schaffelburg. He didn't create much space or contribute positively to the attack. His pressing wasn't as good as his counterpart Ahmed. When Millar came on, the attack down the left was better. I think Schaff's lack of form and playing time for Nashville is having a negative impact on him presently.
Great thoughts. So many positives to talk about. But even though Millar was fabulous on the winning goal, it was very disappointing to see him sub on for Shaff instead of Adekugbe coming on and Davies pushing forward. Davies is just not strong enough defensively, and we've seen Adekugbe and Davies look really strong in years past - time to see that again. I'm torn on this though, because Davies up at left wing is not the kind of player that will provide David the service he needs (as Millar did in this case). We simply don't have a strong left wing option right now. It may be that if/when Buchanan is back and strong that Ahmed switches to the left. Or Buchanan plays left as he has for Inter and Ahmed goes right. They could easily switch freely as Davies and Buchanan have done in the past. But again, I don't think Davies should stay at the back, he just doesn't have reliable instincts for the role, so it's probably Davies left wing and Buchanan and Ahmed trading off on starts on the. right.
Canada got punched in the mouth when Panama equalized. The word on Canada, especially during WCQ, was that they often didn’t have to deal with a lot of adversity.
Well, the pitch was torn up, the weather was frigid, and Panama equalized late, but Canada went on to find the winner. Impressive. 🇨🇦 ⚽️
Yes. I'm loving Marsch and have very little criticism of him. But frankly, I feel like Christiansen out-tactic'd him in this match but Canada's superior squad overcame. Exciting win.
And they did it well, hahaha!!
Cyle Larin put one in...
🇨🇦🎉🇨🇦
Cyle
At last, hahaha!!! 🤣👉🏿
Cyle with a C iuuuuuuu
I agree 👍
David was great. Obviously Bombito was the MOTM. Let’s talk about what didn’t work. Davies game is better when it’s simple. If he’s playing LB he doesnt need to push up and play the overlap. It was clear Jesse/coaching staff were letting or giving Davies instruction to do that. That resulted in heavier legs and him making mistakes in our own half. Jesse and co. should not be desperate or concerned of our wingers not making their own chances. If Davies can just focus on playing LB, along with Bombito, Cornelius and Johnston (or Laryea), Canada would probably have the best defense in CONCACAF by some margin
I didn't think Shaffelburg had a good game... he seemed a bit off on his timing and form. Millar did look good subbing in. Overall, the better team won, and that's the bottom line.
I agree. Frankly, he played poorly
@@paulprendergast3184Shaff was not his usual self, holding on the ball too long, poor touches, bad crosses, yeah not good. Millar has always been good for Canada but was always messing up in the final 3rd, yesterday was the first time I saw him decisive and taking good decisions in the final 3rd, nice to see. Millar is already very good defensively, if he can maintain this type of play he should start.
@@JerC-h3q Agreed. Millar and Shaff obviously offer different things and it'll likely be back and forth as to who provides what's needed in any given match. But I still think the best case scenario might well be Adekugbe slotting into the back and Davies pushing up to left wing. Was disappointed to not get a look at that setup last night. Not sure if Adekugbe was 100% or what, but hope we see that pairing again soon.
@@greglawrence9230 It could be another nice option but man having a back 4 of Johnston, Bombito, Davies and Cornelius is not something you want to mess with. If we're trailing and looking for a goal you make that second half switch but otherwise it is tough to justify.
@@JerC-h3q Sure, we're on a high right now and that's reason enough to not change things. At the same time, it's about analyzing where things are strong but where there are weaknesses and potential for greater strength (prepping for '26). Davies is spectacular carrying the ball forward but he's quite consistently out of position defensively and creating defensive holes that opponents hurt us on. It's been happening consistently. It seems to me that we can get everything we want/need from Davies as a winger, still allowing/encouraging him to be up and down the field (still contributing defensively), but with the stable defensive awareness of Adekugbe behind him. Davies wants to roam and should be allowed to - why leave a hole behind him to do that? Shaff has been exciting on the wing but he and Davies have not meshed well at all. Is Millar so good up field that we'd prefer him there than Davies? Not me. Adekugbe is very strong when he pushes forward, with great crosses (he created the goal against Morocco). I think we'd be stronger both defensively and offensively - still utilizing Shaff and Millar as subs. At very least it's worth a look in a friendly - hence my disappointment we didn't see it this window.
Bombito was MOTM for sure. David quite good as well. I don’t think this game was as bad for us as people are saying. I thought we really had full control in the first, then let Panama back in, but came up big when it mattered. The quality scoring chances were heavily in Canada’s favour. Sure we don’t convert enough of them, but what else is new? 😂
Can ANYONE remember the last time Canada scored on either a set piece OR a shot outside of about 12 to 15 yards?
Yes, not their strong point.
Choiniere didn't have a good night, but it was nice to see him on corner kicks. Reliable delivery. Just need someone getting on the ends of 'em. Sure would be a good question for the press to be asking Marsch about ahead of '26. It's an obvious problem.
Shut up there, hahaha. What’s ur damn point, there?? 🤔🤔
@@greglawrence9230 I too noticed that Choiniere's corner deliveries were pretty good - 8 to 8.5 out of 10.
Max is still making some boneheaded decisions (especially when you consider that he is playing with one of the best leftbacks in the world). Hopefully he cleans that up before 2026.
I feel that Davies shares some responsibility for this. If the keeper is not confident the full back will have something covered they're obviously going to feel they need to come out and deal with it, which inevitably involves risk. We saw Davies get upset when Max almost got caught that one time, but if I were in his position I wouldn't feel super confident. We've seen Davies fail to make essential clearances that resulted in goals and we've seen him out of position many times that either result in goals or very nearly do. And actually, as such, responsibility would lie with Marsch as well. Davies was clearly essential at full back for Copa but Adekugbe should slot back in there, imo.
Bair should be starting over Larin. Even though Larin scored, it was the biggest sitter of all time, and other than that he was quite bad
I can't see that happening. Bair looks so labored running round the pitch in Marsch's model. It's painful to observe.
@@greglawrence9230 I disagree. He only got 12 minutes and he looked way more useful than Larin did.
I also cant see it happening, but its super frustrating to be giving Larin more time when he is clearly not what he used to be.
@@bentheman939 But surely you'd agree Bair isn't going to be pressing for 60 or 70 minutes?
Not really 2 new scorers Josh, but yeah they added to their tally last night, hahaha!! 😊
1:21 'shrooms kick in
So we will finally meet again ey Canada, we have a score to settle with you😤, see you in November 💪🇸🇷😎⚽🔥🔥🔥
Bmo field pitch was so bad. It led to a lot of our players looking bad especially the ones that look to dribble and control the ball. Embarrassing to me i understand the crappy countries in concacaf having a bad pitch but we’re a country that should not. Heck bmo field is a World Cup venue and the pitch is absolutely terrible right now. Embarrassing for Canada
I was hoping Choniere would have taken another step towards solidifying his role but I think he had a poor game.
Canada is thin & needs creative midfielders.
I think it’s their weakest area
Thoughts?
I agree, Kone is already ahead of him and we have yet to see from Sigur in the midfield where I think he’s a step above Choiniere.
100%. Eustaquio is good but not great. Kone is inconsistent. Osorio has been on the decline. We need 1 great 10 and Canada would be formidable.
@@djknox2 the biggest issue for me is the 2 man midfield, on the world stage I'm not sure it's the best strategy. A 3 man midfield of Koné, Eustaquio, Sigur or even Ahmed would change everything.
@@JerC-h3q Agreed they should use a 3 man midfield...
True a number 10, perhaps, hahaha. Otherwise the squad is quite good I’ll say b**h!! 😠