KINGS OF CONCACAF: USMNT, CanMNT or Mexico? | Presented by tonybet

[@stevenneutron5070]

I am exited about the USA vs Canada friendly

[@joesphgatt1607]

Americans never play away from home, Canada on the other hand plays most of their matches away.

[@dcapitan7]

As of right now (August 2024), my order would be this... 1. USA 2. Canada 3. Mexico 4. Panama 5. Costa Rica There is very little separating 1 & 2. There's a larger gap...though it's still small...between 2 & 3. Still scratching my head as to why 🇨🇦 has to play basically two road friendlies in 🇺🇸 in September against 🇺🇸 and 🇲🇽 after its Copa America performances. They should be played in 🇨🇦.

[@jrcanuck1]

Soccer Canada, on their site, has different places that the.mens team will play than what you stated. The men's matches being played as follows: #1. Canada vs USA on Sept 7th in Arlington, Texas. #2. Canada vs Mexico on Sept 10th @ BMO field, Toronto. #3. Canada vs Panama on Oct 15th @ 7:30.pm.@ BMO field, Toronto.

[@jrcanuck1]

When you examine the real facts, Jimmy is 100% correct: If you look at facts since 2021, it favours Canada. In the only CONCACAF tournament that is fairly played with home & away matches (the U.S. plays about 95% of their matches at home & Canada around 15%, if that, which is ludicrous). In those 2022 World cup qualifiers (played in 2021 & 2022), the U.S. tied 4th place Costa Rica in points, while Canada beat both the U.S. & Mexico & finished #1. We won't include the Gold cup because many of the best CONCACAF players don't participate in that tournament; but it is yet another HUGE homefield advantage for the U.S., that everyone ignores. Can you imagine that happening in any other major professional sport? People would be screaming bloody murder. It would not be acceptable; but unfortunately FIFA & CONCACAF & CONMEBOL for that matter, go after the $ before fairness, or proper ethics etc... Canada's team was having a very rough 2023, as they were battling Soccer Canada's executives regarding serious union issues & they lost their inspirational coach John Herdman. Still, Canada ended up in the final vs the U.S.. Yes, they lost to the U.S.; but once again, the U.S. had homefield advantage. Then we had this Copa tournament, once again the U.S. had homefield advantage & they played in the easiest group with Panama, Uruguay, who Canada's B team just outplayed & Bolivia, who were rated as the worst team in the tournament by most experts. The USA did not advance. Canada played Argentina twice in this tournament & also had tough veteran teams Chile & Peru, both of whom have had successful histories in the Copa. Canada also beat a good Venezuelan team. Canada ended up in the semi-finals & outplayed Uruguay, but lost at the very end of the match & Canada ended up 4th overall in the tournament, while playing away from home, on U.S. soil. When you look at that history since 2021, would you not agree that all things considered, that Canada has been the better team? There is no reason to look further back in time. You don't declare Champions in any sport based on old history. If we did, we would still say that Mexico are the Kings of Concacaf, which they clearly are not. Having said all of that, it will be very interesting to see how the U.S. team will play under their new coach. So once again on September 7th, Canada will play the U.S. in a friendly... Yes, once again on U.S. soil in Arlington, Texas (according to Soccer Canada)... Of course, everyone conveniently forgets this very important "home field advantage" fact when they assess the teams.

[@turftraining2729]

The two biggest competitons in the last thrree years involving concacaf were the world cup qualifying and Copa. Canada was easily fhe best in both. Mexico and Us would trade winning those for the nations league and Gold cup. Its Canada for me.

[@hrb250]

In fairness that was a while ago. COPA, we did 'better' than the other Concacaf teams, but also got a little lucky with draws. From a roster/betting standpoint, I would go 1. USA 2. CANADA 3. Mexico 4. Panama 5. Costa Rica. The next year will be interesting. If we were putting in our chances in COPA, I could see Canada being argued for 1 but we didn't. WC qualifying was a long time ago.

[@jayatlanta2560]

IT’S JIMMY!

[@Sides99]

Does anyone know if there will be any friendlies scheduled in October? Looks like the entire world is either in World Cup qualifying or regional tournaments (even Oceania), but I hope we don’t sit this window out - Panama maybe? US, Mexico again?

[@KingOfTheLab]

Yes, the USMNT will have four friendlies against Canada, Mexico, and Panama, like always, and then New Zealand.

[@coulj6917]

I respectfully disagree with Jimmy Brennan. I could argue that Davies' Ego has been an issue for the last couple of years for the CANMNT, trying to do too much , hero ball, taking a penalty vs Belgium when Jonathan David should have taken it. Granted under Marsch things seems to be changing and improving. I hope that it continues.

[@gburbridge5966]

Herdman had Davies take the penalty - and he also had him playing higher up the pitch - it has nothing to do with Alfonso’s ego and hast to do with coaching

[@metronomix]

Harsh

[@coulj6917]

@@gburbridge5966 I disagree. There's no evidence that Herdman designated Davies as the penalty taker, instead he let the players decide. Trying to dribble 3 players at a time wasn't Herdman's instructions. Anyone who's impartial could see that was an issue for the team, under Herdman.

[@mrmr5580]

Canada has the best individual player in CONCACAF, Alphonso Davies (I like Christian Pulisic but there's a reason Davies is at Bayern and heavily linked with Real Madrid) I also rate Stephen Eustaquio and I think Jonathan David is the best striker in CONCACAF, but overall I think the US has a better overall team, plus with them getting Poch, I have to say #1 US, #2 Canada, #3 Mexico (honestly I never thought I'd say that)

[@jrcanuck1]

@@mrmr5580 , American press, podcasters & fans always like to say that outside of Canada's top 2 or 3 players, that the U.S. has the better players. They have never proven it & the U.S. has the huge advantage of playing over 95% of their matches at home & Canada plays less than 15% at home (ridiculous FIFA) CONCACAF situation). I would take Canada's top 8 players (Davies, David, Eustaquio, Buchanan, Johnston, Kone, Shaffelburg & Larin) over the U.S.' top 8 any day & Canada has the better goalkeeper too with Crepeau & after the Copa Americas, a very good case could be made for Cornelius & Bombito too, both of whom now play in Ligue 1 in France. Coach Poch, although he is recognized as a very good coach, has not won many trophies & he has never coached an international team or in CONCACAF, which is a very different style of play than Europe. We don't yet know if his chemistry with the U.S. players will be a good fit or not. Only time will tell. Jesse Marsch also has a good reputation; however he has been an assistant coach for the U.S. national team, so he understands CONCACAF very well. He has already shown that he is a perfect fit for the Canadian team & took Canada to the semi-finals in the Copa America. I like Canada as #1.

[@mrmr5580]

@jrcanuck1 for the record I'm not American, I just watch quite a bit of football, like I said Canada has about 3 or 4 real quality players, id say 4 as i like Tajon, Eustaquio, Davies and David, i think Kone has potential but isnt there yet, Larin is average at best, Shaffelburg is a good MLS player but that's probably his ceiling, and saying some they play in Ligue 1 is hardly a flex, they were struggling for a TV deal until a few weeks ago, nobody watches Ligue 1 outside of PSG, I really don't get why people on your side of the pond rate the French league, its on par with the Eredivisie or the Portuguese league at best, it used to be but now it isn't a big deal, I do like how the game is growing in Canada (and the US) I mean compared to about 30 years ago you've come a long way, I mean in the 90's I could only name 2 Canadian players (Craig Forrest and Paul Pescisolido) I think you've improved a lot, but I'd still overall say the US has the better overall squad right now

[@jrcanuck1]

@@mrmr5580 , well, we'll agree to disagree. Shaffelburg was a standout in the Copas vs. top competition, as were Kone & Johnston. Larin was very good defensively in the Copa & he is Canada's all time leading scorer, so I would say that he steps up when he plays for Canada & is above average when playing for his country. Johnston was terrific in the Copas & he also has a higher ceiling. The U.S. players have not proven themselves internationally for their country at all & once again, they almost always have homefield advantage, yet generally underwhelm. Canada played much better in the 2022 World cup Qualifiers (the only truly fair CONCACAF tournament in which all teams play home & away) & Canada beat the U.S. & Mexico & finished #1 & the U.S. finished tied for points with 4th place Costa Rica. The U.S., playing at home, in the easiest group in the Copas, didn't make it out of their group, losing to Panama & Uruguay. Canada, on the other hand, made it to the semi-finals & Canada's B squad outplayed Uruguay, but unfortunately lost in penalties.

[@mrmr5580]

@jrcanuck1 I agree the US should've made it through (they were never going to beat Uruguay, the damage was done vs Panama) and if we're honest who did Canada play at the Copa America?, the only real team they played was Argentina (twice) yes the US horrifically underperformed, yes certain Canadians did quite well at times, but like I said with Kone, hes obviously got talent but he's still inconsistent right now (he's still young and he'll learn consistency with experience), im not a massive fan of Shaffelburg, I think he played well in the Copa (apart from vs Argentina) but I still think MLS is his level, there's a reason nobody significant has come in for him (and no I don't think Club America is a significant step up, its a sideways step if anything)

[@issedoesit279]

Still the U.S. if we're being honest. Theyve won the last two nations leagues, won bunch of Gold Cups, and did best during the world cup. Canada hasnt done much ...yet. Will have to win a couple Gold Cups and Nations Leagues to enter the conversation.

[@NITESHADOWshouske]

Last 3 kid

[@joesphgatt1607]

The US play all their matches at home. It makes a huge difference

[@zeeshawnali4078]

Who cares? It's not a title anyone should be proud of at the moment given the level of competition.

[@AltJon10]

The fact that were all complaining about friendlies against each other speaks volumes lol

[@BGA2111]

With all due respect, they haven't won anything yet, and you're putting them in the top 2? In the last 3 years, the U.S. won 2 Nations League titles, were the best CONCACAF team in the World Cup, and reached the semifinals of the last Gold Cup with a B team. Mexico reached both Nations League finals, won the Gold Cup, and were the second-best CONCACAF team in the last World Cup. Panama reached the final in the last Gold Cup and the semifinals in 2 of the last 3 Nations Leagues, while Canada's best result was a final in 2023 Nations League and thats it, i know they have a few good young players but only Davies and J. David stand out on this team and in CONCACAF.

[@robswystun2766]

Your points are fair, but you did leave out Canada being the best CONCACAF team in the Copa America. I think these guys have some recency bias, but I do believe Canada is going to be lifting some trophies under Jesse, at least within the region.

[@Sides99]

I understand your point and agree with you on giving top ranks without winning any trophies yet, but there’s a few points to add to your summary below: Wrt the World Cup, while we finished last, we also had the group of death, whereas the US had the group of life (I’d take England, Iran and Wales over Belgium, Croatia and Morocco any day). The US was then sent home by NL in the round of 16, so I wouldn’t celebrate anything about their performance (they even scored the same amount of goals as Canada in the group stage). Another point about the WC is that Canada finished first in the qualifiers…it’s not a trophy but it’s still a gruelling campaign. About the 2023 Gold cup, the US and Canada didn’t send any European based players, meaning Mexico won against our B teams. Lastly, most recently there’s no denying Canada’s fantastic run in the Copa America, especially compared to the US and Mexico. On top of Davies and David, players like Kone, Shaffleburg, Ahmed, etc all holding their own against some of the world’s best. Kone, Cornelius and Bombito are now all playing for top clubs of Ligue 1 thanks in large part to this latest tournament. Anyways, this is all in the past and we’ll see if they get the first trophy in 24 years come March…but there’s much reason to be optimistic.

[@AltJon10]

This is some great cherry picking haha lost me at talking about the Gold Cup (where Canada lost to the U.S. on pens...)...and no mention of WCQ which is a way bigger deal for these three teams than NL or GC. Also, only Davies and David stand out in Concacaf, what? lol Larin is playing at a higher level than any striker but Antonio....Kone and Eustaquio are clearly two of the better midfielders in Concacaf right now, playing at a higher level than 99% of players int his region....Johnston was just voted the RB of the Copa....players on Bayern, Inter, Porto, Lille, Marseille, Nice, Mallorca, and Celtic...that VERY MUCH stands out in Concacaf lol

[@BGA2111]

​@@AltJon10 They faced the U.S. in the Gold Cup quarterfinals because Canada lost the group to Guatemala(they tie with Guatelmala and Guadaloupe). And if you think anyone cares about finishing first in the qualifiers, then you don't understand CONCACAF. You don't win anything by finishing first; teams only care about qualifying for the World Cup, whether it's in first, second, or third place. As for the Nations League, why do you think teams send their best players to the tournament? Canada lost to Jamaica, putting their spot in the Copa América at risk.

[@AltJon10]

​@@BGA2111 Now you're talking about GC group stage matches...which also mean nothing. Saying Mexico is better cause they won the GC and "were the 2nd best team in the WC" is so disingenuous. A tournament countries put in very little effort to win, and the WC where Canada faced two Semi-Finalists and Belgium and Mexico faced Poland and Saudi... lol Like come on... you can't watch these three teams over the last few years objectively and think Canada isn't at the very least in conversation for the 2nd best in the region, and they most definitely have the best recent form from the CA (these are power rankings....). Saying Davies and David are the only stand out players says it all - the talent in the starting 11 is long gone from Mexico at this point