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Subject: World Cup 4 (Season 12)
Ouch ! We have to win at least one match !
Go Go Canada !! :)
Go Go Canada !! :)
[color=#000000 size=6 face=arial]Finland[/color]
Finland is a fairly large Sokker nation with ~650 managers. They are currently ranked 9th and have been in or around top 10 for some time
The Finnish domestic league (the Veikkausliiga) is the same age as Canada but is stronger. Top CPL teams would likely be bottom half in the Veikkausliiga.
In the first World Cup, they finished second in their group - lost to Poland, but defeated Slovenija and Mexico. They bowed out in the round of 16, losing to Croatia.
In the second WC they finished 4th in their group with 3 straight loses to Denmark, Norway and USA.
In the last WC they won a pretty tough group that included England, Mexico and Portugal. They progressed to the round of 8 before being eliminated by Lithuania
They finished first in Group E in qualifying this past season with a perfect 10-0 record. The only significant challenge in the group was Switzerland who gave them two good games.
Finland is a fairly large Sokker nation with ~650 managers. They are currently ranked 9th and have been in or around top 10 for some time
The Finnish domestic league (the Veikkausliiga) is the same age as Canada but is stronger. Top CPL teams would likely be bottom half in the Veikkausliiga.
In the first World Cup, they finished second in their group - lost to Poland, but defeated Slovenija and Mexico. They bowed out in the round of 16, losing to Croatia.
In the second WC they finished 4th in their group with 3 straight loses to Denmark, Norway and USA.
In the last WC they won a pretty tough group that included England, Mexico and Portugal. They progressed to the round of 8 before being eliminated by Lithuania
They finished first in Group E in qualifying this past season with a perfect 10-0 record. The only significant challenge in the group was Switzerland who gave them two good games.
The Finnish Team
Up Front
Jarmo Hietakangas and Miro Niinioksa have been the favoured options so far in the world cup, tho the subs are also pretty intimidating. A very strong group.
In the midfield
I point out winger Hannu Ala-Aho, as he has an impressive 69 assists in 88 caps for the Fins. He was very quiet last week, which might be a bad sign. :) Their whole midfield is solid, with a wide range of complete and diverse options.
At the back
Lauri Ruusulaakso is representative of their group. Solid defenders with good mobility and good ball skills. Lots of depth.
In Goal
Joona Leppäkangas is one of the best keepers in Sokker.
This Match
Mikko Jokinen, midfielder is out injured for the Fins, but with their depth I doubt he will be missed much. For Canada, Wagenaar is out injured who would have played. O Lavrynenko is also hurt, but would have been ruled out due to form.
We are over-matched everywhere - badly in some places. Team Canada’s offense, which has been suspect for over a season and has only mustered 2 goals in 2 World matches, has to come up with a +3 against the strongest roster in the group. :/ It will take some significant random intervention to accomplish that feat.
Up Front
Jarmo Hietakangas and Miro Niinioksa have been the favoured options so far in the world cup, tho the subs are also pretty intimidating. A very strong group.
In the midfield
I point out winger Hannu Ala-Aho, as he has an impressive 69 assists in 88 caps for the Fins. He was very quiet last week, which might be a bad sign. :) Their whole midfield is solid, with a wide range of complete and diverse options.
At the back
Lauri Ruusulaakso is representative of their group. Solid defenders with good mobility and good ball skills. Lots of depth.
In Goal
Joona Leppäkangas is one of the best keepers in Sokker.
This Match
Mikko Jokinen, midfielder is out injured for the Fins, but with their depth I doubt he will be missed much. For Canada, Wagenaar is out injured who would have played. O Lavrynenko is also hurt, but would have been ruled out due to form.
We are over-matched everywhere - badly in some places. Team Canada’s offense, which has been suspect for over a season and has only mustered 2 goals in 2 World matches, has to come up with a +3 against the strongest roster in the group. :/ It will take some significant random intervention to accomplish that feat.
Underway against Finland.
Finland has used the same tactic in both World Cup matches so far. They will likely change things up this week (that’s usually how it goes for me :D). Given their strength, I feel we have little option but to “gamble” on what we’ll see from them - so I’m hoping they will use that 442 a third consecutive week.
We’re playing a 541. May seem like an odd choice when we need to win by 3, but we have to win first - which in itself is a tall order. I think this approach gives us the most hope. Tight 3 in the middle - the idea is to keep the Finnish strikers wide. Offensively, we are testing one side and looking for a little weakness in the middle of their formation.
My biggest worry on our side is Omar. He’s been sitting due to off-form. His form isn’t much better, but I feel we don’t have much choice. With luck he’ll stay out of trouble.
Line-Up
Parker
Dehere, Bradshaw, Sebrango, Fichaud, Abbas Musa
Omar, G Verville, Caron, Iginla
Amado
Bench
Clemens
Mayard
O’Hara
Barrera
Wang
Finland has used the same tactic in both World Cup matches so far. They will likely change things up this week (that’s usually how it goes for me :D). Given their strength, I feel we have little option but to “gamble” on what we’ll see from them - so I’m hoping they will use that 442 a third consecutive week.
We’re playing a 541. May seem like an odd choice when we need to win by 3, but we have to win first - which in itself is a tall order. I think this approach gives us the most hope. Tight 3 in the middle - the idea is to keep the Finnish strikers wide. Offensively, we are testing one side and looking for a little weakness in the middle of their formation.
My biggest worry on our side is Omar. He’s been sitting due to off-form. His form isn’t much better, but I feel we don’t have much choice. With luck he’ll stay out of trouble.
Line-Up
Parker
Dehere, Bradshaw, Sebrango, Fichaud, Abbas Musa
Omar, G Verville, Caron, Iginla
Amado
Bench
Clemens
Mayard
O’Hara
Barrera
Wang
great match, great tactic.
you would have deserved a point. sadly amado was tackled always into another defender.
you would have deserved a point. sadly amado was tackled always into another defender.
We tried our best. :) I thought we held our own. 12-5 in shots suggests we were on our back heels a lot, but I think we could easily have had a few more shots - Amado was hesitant to pull the trigger in a few clear shooting situations.
The first 5-10 minutes was awful - looked like it was going to be a very long day. Once they got their first goal we seemed to settle down. :/
We did get the expected tactic - with a few tweaks. In particular, they adjusted their throw-in coverage. I'd stayed with the line throws because Finland doesn't usually cover them that well, but they did in this match. For the most part, our throws were still productive - tho we didn't get many crosses on target.
Both teams had some very nice chances to score. Both keepers played well. I've never liked goals like the first Swiss goal - scoring them or conceding them. It was a cross to a perfectly marked player. The way I understand it, those headers are 50-50 - sucks to lose the coin flip and concede. Oh well. C'est la vie.
I was happy with how our side played. Iginla and Caron both showed more spark and creativity then last match. Omar made good decisions with the ball, tho his passing could have been better. Verville didn't see a lot of action, but held his own which was great considering his knock. Barrera brought some life off the bench. Defense also played pretty well. About the only player I'd hoped for more from was Abbas Musa - he looked bad on Finland's second goal. But he did have a very difficult task.
With that loss we have been eliminated from further play.
The first 5-10 minutes was awful - looked like it was going to be a very long day. Once they got their first goal we seemed to settle down. :/
We did get the expected tactic - with a few tweaks. In particular, they adjusted their throw-in coverage. I'd stayed with the line throws because Finland doesn't usually cover them that well, but they did in this match. For the most part, our throws were still productive - tho we didn't get many crosses on target.
Both teams had some very nice chances to score. Both keepers played well. I've never liked goals like the first Swiss goal - scoring them or conceding them. It was a cross to a perfectly marked player. The way I understand it, those headers are 50-50 - sucks to lose the coin flip and concede. Oh well. C'est la vie.
I was happy with how our side played. Iginla and Caron both showed more spark and creativity then last match. Omar made good decisions with the ball, tho his passing could have been better. Verville didn't see a lot of action, but held his own which was great considering his knock. Barrera brought some life off the bench. Defense also played pretty well. About the only player I'd hoped for more from was Abbas Musa - he looked bad on Finland's second goal. But he did have a very difficult task.
With that loss we have been eliminated from further play.
I had little hope of getting the win and +3 we needed, but I thought there was a chance we could put the Fins in jeopardy and give the Swiss a opportunity to advance.
Several times Amado was close to getting through the line, and they got the perfect little side-ways kick on the ball. Against a strong team like Finland, we need lose little bounces to go our way. :)
Several times Amado was close to getting through the line, and they got the perfect little side-ways kick on the ball. Against a strong team like Finland, we need lose little bounces to go our way. :)
Pretty amazing how you managed to lose 2-1 in all of these stage matches, it seems your bad luck changes the way it comes this season!
Big commiserations, you really deserved to go further.
Big commiserations, you really deserved to go further.
I appreciate the thought - and would have loved to advance just one time - but I don't think we deserved it.
I should have used a tactic like this one against Germany. It would have quieted their wings some - which given Parker's performance may have been enough. Using 1 striker doesn't seem to hurt Canada that much. Wang had trouble getting shots in the World Cup, and didn't do much with the ones he did get. Funneling all the offense through Amado isn't really a bad idea. But the approach I took to that match was flawed, and we deserved the loss.
The performance against the Swiss was just flat. Players didn't make the quality decisions, passes or shots they are usually capable of. Aside from the throw-ins, I was pleased with the tactic. But competition is tight enough that you can't have a "flat" match in the World Cup.
I think we did the best we could in this match, but the result is the correct one. It wouldn't have taken much more luck to sneak a point - but the Fins deserved the win.
I should have used a tactic like this one against Germany. It would have quieted their wings some - which given Parker's performance may have been enough. Using 1 striker doesn't seem to hurt Canada that much. Wang had trouble getting shots in the World Cup, and didn't do much with the ones he did get. Funneling all the offense through Amado isn't really a bad idea. But the approach I took to that match was flawed, and we deserved the loss.
The performance against the Swiss was just flat. Players didn't make the quality decisions, passes or shots they are usually capable of. Aside from the throw-ins, I was pleased with the tactic. But competition is tight enough that you can't have a "flat" match in the World Cup.
I think we did the best we could in this match, but the result is the correct one. It wouldn't have taken much more luck to sneak a point - but the Fins deserved the win.