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Toronto FC: TFC 2024 Season \ Canada Soccer: MLS Refocus

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Probably not many people watching at this point but still proud of team Canada.

Argentina up 2-0 right now. Canada was only down 1-0 at half. They've had a few chances but they have trouble scoring.

Argentina has been good like usual. Refs have been questionable and if you have actually watched all of COPA that is a legit fair statement.

Anyway see what they do the last 25 minutes. It'd be nice to see them get one. They still play in the 3rd place game too, which is great experience for them before the world cup.
 
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GQS said:
Team Canada plays hard and competes, but much like the Leafs they can't score worth a damn when it matters the most. :( :( :(
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At least with Canada it's understandable, they're still quite raw and developing and just don't have the firepower or finishing ability quite yet, and they're facing the defending Copa and World Cup champions. The Leafs are more embarrassing where they have the league's leading goal scorer and are a top 3-5 scoring team every year during the season yet choke.
 
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Here's the score card for the game... not to shabby Canada ... against the world cup champs. The ref was better in the 2nd half, but the fouls like no other lol.

1720579001521.png
 
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fancy lad said:
Canada is a team to be proud of. Very respectable showing in Copa America. They turned a lot of heads.

Hopefully North American teams are back in 4 years.
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CONCACAF needs to start inviting CONMEBOL teams to the Gold Cup. Make both competitions stronger.
 
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The good: Canada's skill level will play on the world stage. Canada has players that can make the best defenses in the world uncomfortable

The meh: Canada needs more players playing at higher club levels. MLS is not the right league for Shaffelburg and the plays he made in the first half were essentially the expectation. Get him to a better league (even if it is on a mid-table team) and let him grow his game. It was clear that the speed surprised guys more than a few times.

The bad: The high line was incredibly effective until it wasn't. Bombito and Johnston weren't communicating well enough (granted they've only played together a few times). Basically, the tactics helped until Argentina adjusted, then Canada was in trouble defensively.
 
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yeah it seems like a matter of time before Shaffelburg goes to Europe.

Another good is just how well Canada played as a team despite the couple hiccups defensively. They are new to Marsch's system. Naturally there will be bumps in the road, but as a whole they are showing so much growth as a team. Those stats from that game don't lie. They are very solid numbers.
 
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There's absolutely nothing wrong with MLS players like Osorio and Laryea being part of Canada. The hope is that the number of non-MLS guys goes up.

You could really see the quality of Alistair Johnston at times. While he struggled at the World Cup, he was solid at Copa (again, other than communication issues with Bombito). I don't know if Crepeau is interested in Europe, but he looks like he could play for a Big 5 as well (again, thinking more mid-table).

After Copa, the U20s play the CONCACAF U20 Championships. Canada is shocking 12th in CONCACAF at the U20 level (and the lowest ranked team of the 12 in the tournament). Looking at the roster for qualification, it looks like this might be one of the better U20 rosters that Canada has assembled in a while. Part of improving as a whole will also involve improving the U20 group. (Note: If they can make the final 4 (finish top 2 in group and win a knockout game), then they make the U20 World Cup. The U20 starts on the 20th (but unfortunately is a ONESOCCER mess).

 
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TFC plays Forge FC tonight in the Canadian Championship Semifinal (Vancouver and Pacific FC in the other one).
 
Crazy that TFC traded Shaffelburg for allocation money. They should try to get him back (assuming he stays in the league).
 
One of the things that frustrates me as a Canadian fan (and TFC fan) is how the academy is used. As an example, Lazar Stefanovic is likely to be called up to U20 team and plays for TFC2. The transition from TFC2 to TFC is an incredibly difficult one for most kids (especially on D where I can't honestly remember the last kid who successfully made it), so the best option is likely to find him a loan deal to transition to a softer spot (maybe a mid to lower table non Big 5 in Europe for example).

Heck, loaning him from TFC2 to CPL might even be a better option so that he can play against older players. This isn't unique to TFC, but it is a problem in the structure that most MLS teams use (where teams follow the hockey/baseball structure instead of the traditional football structure).
 
PanniniClaus said:
On One soccer?
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Correct (Pay Streaming or Telus Optik channel 980 apparently)

Edit: OneSoccer is 12.99 a month or 89.99 a year.

FuboTV is 29.99 a month for the Sport package (includes EPL Serie A One Soccer and more) or 279.99 a year.
 
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Bjindaho said:
One of the things that frustrates me as a Canadian fan (and TFC fan) is how the academy is used. As an example, Lazar Stefanovic is likely to be called up to U20 team and plays for TFC2. The transition from TFC2 to TFC is an incredibly difficult one for most kids (especially on D where I can't honestly remember the last kid who successfully made it), so the best option is likely to find him a loan deal to transition to a softer spot (maybe a mid to lower table non Big 5 in Europe for example).

Heck, loaning him from TFC2 to CPL might even be a better option so that he can play against older players. This isn't unique to TFC, but it is a problem in the structure that most MLS teams use (where teams follow the hockey/baseball structure instead of the traditional football structure).
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TFC academy seems like such a crappy program. Or at least how it is used in partnership with TFC like you alluded to.

I have been a supporter from year 1 (although i haven't watched nearly as much with the Apple TV move) and i can't think of any good players to come out of the TFC academy (other than Jacob Shaffelburg). And Toronto clearly didn't value him... which probably says more about Toronto Fc's handling and appraisal of young talent. They suck at it. The Academy has been around for like 15 years or something .... and what do they have to show for it?! jack shit.

That team needs a serious house cleaning above the manager.
 
Bjindaho said:
One of the things that frustrates me as a Canadian fan (and TFC fan) is how the academy is used. As an example, Lazar Stefanovic is likely to be called up to U20 team and plays for TFC2. The transition from TFC2 to TFC is an incredibly difficult one for most kids (especially on D where I can't honestly remember the last kid who successfully made it), so the best option is likely to find him a loan deal to transition to a softer spot (maybe a mid to lower table non Big 5 in Europe for example).

Heck, loaning him from TFC2 to CPL might even be a better option so that he can play against older players. This isn't unique to TFC, but it is a problem in the structure that most MLS teams use (where teams follow the hockey/baseball structure instead of the traditional football structure).
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I watch CPL on One Soccer, Wanderers fan. There simply has to be a way to loan academy players to the CPL for playing time against older professionals. Eustaquio mentioned it in his post match interview. This is the step that is missing as watching mediocre players from a pile of other countries is not doing what a domestic league should be doing.

fancy lad said:
TFC academy seems like such a crappy program. Or at least how it is used in partnership with TFC like you alluded to.

I have been a supporter from year 1 (although i haven't watched nearly as much with the Apple TV move) and i can't think of any good players to come out of the TFC academy (other than Jacob Shaffelburg). And Toronto clearly didn't value him... which probably says more about Toronto Fc's handling and appraisal of young talent. They suck at it. The Academy has been around for like 15 years or something .... and what do they have to show for it?! jack shit.

That team needs a serious house cleaning above the manager.
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It's brutal. Vancouver is just as bad. Montreal is the only team that has done a half decent job but it's still not up to the standard we need.
 
PanniniClaus said:
I watch CPL on One Soccer, Wanderers fan. There simply has to be a way to loan academy players to the CPL for playing time against older professionals. Eustaquio mentioned it in his post match interview. This is the step that is missing as watching mediocre players from a pile of other countries is not doing what a domestic league should be doing.


It's brutal. Vancouver is just as bad. Montreal is the only team that has done a half decent job but it's still not up to the standard we need.
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I am a huge fan of the Premier League 2 setup in Britain, where the developmental league is a U21 league with a limited number of over-age slots (currently 5 fielders and one keeper but was previously 3).

Have the 2 squads be primarily 17-21 year-olds with a couple of exceptions, then loan out the extra older players to the CPL to strengthen it and get them better competition.
 
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fancy lad said:
Canada is a team to be proud of. Very respectable showing in Copa America. They turned a lot of heads.

Hopefully North American teams are back in 4 years.
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I would only add that they're not done yet. The play for 3rd place against a top 15 world ranked team on Saturday (Uruguay or Columbia). A win would be huge for Canada but win or lose, it will be another chance to gain some more much needed experience.
 
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Gary Nylund said:
I would only add that they're not done yet. The play for 3rd place against a top 15 world ranked team on Saturday (Uruguay or Columbia). A win would be huge for Canada but win or lose, it will be another chance to gain some more much needed experience.
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Completely overlooked the third place match.

Don't personally like their chances against either Uruguay or Colombia, but oftentimes these 3rd place matches are a chance for nations to play their squad players and younger players, so anything can happen.

This entire tournament, much like the 3rd place match, is invaluable experience for Canada ahead of 2026. They now have 2 massive years to build off this. Most importantly though, they've provided a much needed and timely reminder that the program goes far beyond John Herdman.
 
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The fact that we looked competent against the defending World Cup champions shows how far we've come.

Looking forward to the 3rd place match.
 
Tak7 said:
Completely overlooked the third place match.

Don't personally like their chances against either Uruguay or Colombia, but oftentimes these 3rd place matches are a chance for nations to play their squad players and younger players, so anything can happen.

This entire tournament, much like the 3rd place match, is invaluable experience for Canada ahead of 2026. They now have 2 massive years to build off this. Most importantly though, they've provided a much needed and timely reminder that the program goes far beyond John Herdman.
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Yes I think typically these 3rd place games are an afterthought and thus easy to overlook. For Canada though, it seems like a pretty big deal if they win and at the same time, I think whoever they face might not want to go out losing to a team like Canada so they might be more motivated than they would otherwise be. But any way you slice, it seems like a big game for Canada!
 
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On the youth side, the U17 have made back to back U17 World Cups, whereas the U20s haven't made the U20 World Cup since 2007. In a perfect world, Canada makes it every time (since CONCACAF gets 4 slots to both).
 
Bielsa V Marsch. Is it wrong as a Canadian to want Uruguay to absolutely school the fraud that's somehow coaching/managing our national program?
 
jackflash said:
Bielsa V Marsch. Is it wrong as a Canadian to want Uruguay to absolutely school the fraud that's somehow coaching/managing our national program?
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Troll post.

I’m glad Colombia won as they are possibly the best team in this tournament. at least they are in the best form. I think Canada have a fighting chance against Uruguay.
 
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