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Are Canada good at soccer now?

3K views 82 replies 21 participants last post by  jonny ball 
#1 ·
Beating up on their neighbours USA atm... could they make the World Cup?
 
#4 ·
Make the WC? Make it worth watching. We’re winning it :party:
 
#8 ·
Pfft, not even Puskas was good enough for Bayern

This Canada team would destroy the Magical Magyars
 
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#9 ·
They will reach the semis in 2022 mark my words
 
#12 ·
PS nice win vs the Americans...Davies and David are better than anyone the US has and they are only teenagers still...and that even includes (in my humble opinion) their golden boy Pulisic...

As for Pulisic...no chance in hell he could play for Croatia even if he is eligible, not good enough. Has some speed but that's about it...no wonder he rides pine at Chelsea...

And to steal a line from a XT legend....and dare I say...

#weareCanada :tip:
 
#18 ·
I can let you all in a secret we and Canadians have:



It's very very easy to compete in hockey. There are like five countries who play the sport.



This soccer thing is a bit trickier.
I’d say there’s 7 ‘major’ countries when it comes to hockey success & development:

Canada
Russia
Sweden
USA
Finland
Czech Republic
Slovakia

But then there’s also been an increased number of countries in more recent years with less success but should also be mentioned:
Norway, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Latvia, Belarus, Austria, France, Italy, Korea, Slovenia, Kazakhstan, GB, Poland, Hungary, Japan, Lithuania, Ukraine, Estonia, Romania, Netherlands, etc.

In total there’s 52 countries in the IIHF.


Of course that has nothing on football/soccer, or the incredible number of competitive teams in FIFA. Just think some people didn’t know this :p
 
#19 ·
Germany winning silver in Pyongyang was unreal...and then Switzerland won silver in the WC this year.

Latvia and Belarus have also achieved top 8 finishes quite consistently during the last couple of decades.

Other countries not so much.

So basically there's like 11 countries where it's a serious sport.
 
#62 ·
I concur , the development of Swiss hockey the past 10 years is incredible.
I was in Swtizerland this past February and was amazed with just how popular hockey is. There was a match on the tele just about every night, the merchandise is for sale just about everywhere. I asked some local Swiss which is more popular, hockey or football and the consensus was that in the cities it is definitely football (except maybe Bern where the two are side be side popular) but in the regions, hockey is likely the bigger draw.
 
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#22 ·
Slovakian hockey dipped once the Czechoslovak trained generation faded away (hokcye is bigger in Czechia than Slovakia). Anyway, Canada definitely has the resources mixed with the immigrant population to make it a decent side in the future.
 
#23 ·
Anyway, Canada definitely has the resources mixed with the immigrant population to make it a decent side in the future.


That’s pretty much how Italy and Poland have teams lol
 
#24 ·
There are some conspiracy theories that US purposely lost so Canada can get into the hex for WCQ, it’s better to play Canada on the road then some Central American team in a hostile atmosphere. Also it benefits the MLS who practically control American football (The better the US and even Canada do in international competitions to belief is that will raise interest in MLS, which despite having good attendance and brand new stadiums lags greatly in TV viewership, more people watch a 7am game between Bournemouth-West Ham than prime time MLS games)

I personally don’t believe it but MLS has such a strong hold on the sport here killing everything not associated with them that people believe this stuff :D
 
#27 ·
There are some conspiracy theories that US purposely lost so Canada can get into the hex for WCQ, it’s better to play Canada on the road then some Central American team in a hostile atmosphere.
Americans and conspiracy theories, name a better match.. just as likely as the flat earth and anti-vaxx bullshit lmao

Seriously think about that, it would have taken them this long to try that? They really think it’s easier to beat this Canada team than say El Salvador or even Honduras? Nah, it’s bullshit, they’re just not as good this time around and lost fair and square. They need to learn to take a loss more graciously than invent wild excuses
 
#25 ·
I don't know honestly. Isn't Landon Donovan America's greatest player ever? But what did he do outside the MLS? Wiki says zero goals for Leverkusen's first team, zero goals for Bayern's first team, two goals on loan at Everton. Alphonso Davies already has two goals in ten appearances for Bayern, a clear improvement on America's GOAT.
 
#28 · (Edited)
Donovan’s got a Canadian dad too Im pretty sure :howler:

But tbh the best American ever is probably between Dempsey and Howard. And old timers might say McBride

Bradley and Friedel up there too. Pulisic had a good start to his career with Dortmund but now at Chelsea, some issues. Let’s see if he lives up to it.

We’ve had Hargreaves (if you want to count him), the de Guzman bros (although only Julian played for Canada, Jonathan played for the Dutch), Radzinski, De Rosario, Stalteri, Forrest, David Edgar, Marcel De Jong, Hume, Bunbury, Randy Samuel, Hutchinson, Hoilett, Arfield, Jonathan David, Alphonso Davies, Lucas Cavallini, Cyle Larin

Begovic played for our U20s lol.

Surely forgetting some
 
#35 ·
There were over 17k people on a Tuesday night in mid October. And this was nations league lol, not a bad turn out tbh. If and when they play in the hex, it’ll be an even bigger crowd.
 
#38 ·
Exactly .. there’s always gonna be the massive numbers of hockey and baseball fans in this city.

But trust me, there are TONS of real passionate football fans from Europe or wherever in Toronto, Mississauga etc. Most of them just don’t bother going to watch Canada, hell this was only my second time going to watch the Canadian national team. If they keep improving their level and giving a reason for more people to believe they’ll go to a WC, the crowds should improve too.

People who’ve never been to Canada are always surprise by how diverse it is and how much most people are still very close to where they came from here, not just thrown into a melting pot. There’s proper footballers and fans out here, on my life!!
 
#37 ·
I’m actually reading a lot of the Canadian NHL teams (western conference ones) don’t sell out anymore + Ottawa of course. The Leafs crowd is probably more corporate/touristy like the Knicks who have been trash for decades but still sellout every game with crazy ticket prices
 
#56 ·
The ladies in that video above have nice firm cheeks. :)err:) Must be part of the Pyongyang elite.
We talking bout the face here?
 
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