Subject: [NT] World Cup Qualifying

I was very confident with the players selected :)))
(edited)

Good match against Paraguay. They dropped a lot of guys back, which did limit Canada's scoring chances some. But the game was in control from start to finish.

I thought Bradshaw in particular had a nice match.

Paraguay had a lot of trouble controlling balls. I know they are a young team, and that's expected, but they really had a lot of trouble controlling balls.

That's the clincher. Doesn't matter what happens next week, Canada is in the World Cup. Nice work Laufer. :)

Sokker is random, all of this is random. Nothing more...

You can have a good team, good tactics, etc. BUT always the random catch you ^_^

¡Good luck in the World Cup!

I thought your tactic today was very good. In fact, I think you've done a nice job with Paraguay throughout qualifying.

But for me, this result was not random. The better team won. Good tactics only go so far. The manager can put the players in all the right spots, but if they lose the technique vs. defending battles, the game is also lost. And the skill gap between these two teams is extensive.

Well done Laufer. Congratulations on qualifying for the World Cup!

Guys, I'm sorry, I couldn't log in time to set the tactic last night for Finland, and this morning I woke up a little late, so the tactic from the last Paraguay match stayed......:(

I was a little surprised we would use the same approach against both Paraguay and Finland. Pretty divergent competition. :P Perhaps you should set the line-up earlier in the week, and then doing tweaking ~ Friday.

Canada actually had some pretty good scoring chances. It wasn't a strong defensive tactic from Finland, and there was even more space after the red card.

I didn't say anything last week about the crooked back-line. IMO you can bevel the outside guys. This is especially useful against a team that plays wide but not high midfielders, as it blocks passing lanes to the strikers (I used this approach against DB Rovers for a couple of seasons to some effect). But (IMO) the central defenders must be level. I can't see any advantage to offsetting them - just puts the second striker on-side and free.

Very nice match from W Lavrynenko. Seems he's progressing from the poacher against weak teams to a more talismanic figure. :)

I am glad to see that we both made it, Good luck in the WC :D

Good luck in the WC ^^

Guess we'll bump this thread for the new round. :)

Tough start against Mexico. They are a very strong team. It was a good attempt from our side.

Unfortunately Mexico got pretty much everything right. :S Looked like they expected the 1 striker 1 winger front and defended accordingly. Had their midfield positioned in such a way as to disrupt Canada's attempts at ball control. Their width of attack was a little too much for our narrow defense.

Caron played poorly (jet-lagged after his recent transfer maybe?). Madden could have helped out his side a little more. Broussard could have given the home fans something to cheer about with a little more precision.

I question the use of players like Renda and Ferranti in DM roles. Renda actually played very well (and Ferranti was likely a desparation substitution), but I'd like to see a little more grit there. Guys like O. Lav and Verville offer more tenacity and still have offensive upside.

Good try! Hopefully we'll get a few more breaks next week.

Verville had red card, not sure if O Lav was not in because of my oversight, but I thought that I had dressed him, oh well.

There isn't much to say, Mexico won every 50-50 battle in our penalty area, we had four guys there and they had two, two of the goals were crosses that went straight through our defenders, I hate the way that crosses are calculated in this game, but nothing can be done. A couple of the goals were physically impossible bombs from the center line that were headed perfectly into the corner of the net by running attackers, they were the most amazing goals I have ever seen, I have never seen anything like them in RL, so I have no clue how to defend against it :P

I still have very little player info that is less than two seasons old, so if you guys want wins you could help me out with that.

Deja, I think you have Caron's skills.
If you want I can SKmail the managers of the players asking for skills (give the more important first)

I hate the way that crosses are calculated in this game, but nothing can be done. A couple of the goals were physically impossible bombs from the center line that were headed perfectly into the corner of the net by running attackers, they were the most amazing goals I have ever seen, I have never seen anything like them in RL, so I have no clue how to defend against it :P

If you drop the defense back that far you allow crosses from deep positions. Mexico were having throwins from the middle of the park and your defense was standing inside your penalty area. Push up and they cant longball it.
Unfortunately 4 defenders is asking for trouble against anyone with width. I tried it against Australia and got battered, Seca tried it against Australia and the same happened.

The goals that I am talking about were passes in the air from the center line to the top of the area where they were met by running strikers who somehow hammered the ball perfectly into the corner of the net, even Pele couldn't do that multiple times in one game, if I pushed the defense up the striker would have been running onto it behind the defence, and it would have been the same result.

Defenders should have the advantage, especially in the penalty area. Even in the world cup the conversion rate on crosses from the best RL wingers to the best RL strikers is maybe 20%, not 80% as it was for Mexico today.

The ME judges the cross just on the passing ability of the winger, it doesn't seem to matter at all if there is a defender there or not, or how skilled the defender is. I watched two double divine defenders in pretty ok form get played like school kids in the area today, its absurd.

Apologies. I forgot about the Verville suspension. :)

It matters a little if the defender is there. :P Gives you a coin flip on which way the ball is going. Over the course of a match, those coin flips (everywhere, not just 18 yard box) can really influence play. Canada indeed was atrocious in the air in this one. Pretty much everything went Mexico's way.

The loss isn't a problem. The -10 might be. Less margin for error moving forward.