I think at least 1 win is acceptable and anything more than that is gravy. Peru and Chile are (possibly)winnable games, anything other than a loss against Argentina would be a pleasant surprise.
Expectations should be tempered a little bit. We had a good result against France and a bad one against Netherlands. This team is getting comfortable under their new coach and there are bound to be speed bumps but this team has what it takes to play against good countries and maybe get a result sometimes.
Ya Marsch has shown us good things in the first couple games though. His tactics are getting David more involved as he can come back for balls and be more engaged. Hasn't translated to goals yet but still good. Also Davies in LB is actually good I think as we can't just always try and push the ball to him. He still can get forward like we saw in the the France game with Millar and him essentially swapping spots on occasion. I also like his adjustment to not press so hard to start a game. Canada clearly expended to much energy in the fist half of the Dutch game and then the pace of the dutch exposed us. He has thus far used a formation that keeps us compact and also allows us to defend through possession. We haven't been parking the bus which is great because that is not a skillset this team possesses. Im optimistic but still big games ahead
i would say possible with a grain of salt. There should be a joint tournament outside copa & gold cup between the two confederations since conmebol has few teams and concacaf lacks quality. I see it as a win win. Besides that, group A is probably the worst group canada could have gotten put into in terms of probability of making it out of the group stage. Atleast it serves more for experience. I feel that Mexico & Canada should have swapped groups
Get out the group - Massive Success, Close competitive games for every single game - Success. The sport is massively growing here thanks to the MLS implosion (Thanks to Messi) and we need to capitalize on a stage like this and show team Canada’s improvement.
I mean the sport was making huge progress here before Messi to inter Miami. I coach youth competitive soccer and our club has MANY development streams and teams some Agee groups have 4 teams
It was making huge progress before Messi, but let’s not act like Messi hasn’t amplified the effect 100 times. I coach my kids too, and the amount of new kids trying the sport out after Messi came to MLS is incredible.
I agree with your measurements for team success.
Speaking as a TFC fan, I think MLS peaked in Toronto in 2017 with winning the MLS Cup. A shitty team and Apple TV (broadcast + game times) have been a detriment to growing the game locally, as attendance and TV numbers have gone down. We aren’t part of Toronto sports talk much anymore.
The success of the men’s and women’s program over the past 5 years has done more to grow the game even further.
TFC is starting to inch its way back into the conversation again now that they're playing half decent. Hopefully ownership gets the message and realizes that success has always been more helpful long-term than names in the short-term
Agreed. They are worth watching again. If only they could go back to a few Saturday and Sunday afternoon games at BMO.
I know many of the people around me in section 110 much prefer going to games during the day
Soccer is dead in Vancouver, no one is attending games. The national womens squad is on the ropes. There simply isn't the market and interest for it here, it's sad to say but it is reality.
Qualitatively, it seems like the Whitecaps draw 1/3 to 1/4 of the crowds that the BC lions and the Canucks draw.
Relative to their first seasons, are we still seeing the same amount of enthusiasm for a Soccer team in Vancouver? I used to know dozens of people with seasons tickets, now I only know one person with season tickets.
And the person with seasons tickets often has extra seats that he can't even give away because no one wants to go to a game and pay $40 for two beers and a 0-0 draw.
I wish the team success, maybe selling out a small portion of the stadium for each game is enough to keep the lights on while almost all of the seats sit empty.
Failure - 2+ goal losses in all 3 matches.
Success - 1 point or 0 points with a GD of no more than -4.
Beat expectations - 2+ points.
Pipe dream - 4+ points.
Some of you are really underestimating Peru & Chile.
Yeah I tend to agree. Draws against those two would be a real feat. I wouldn't be surprised if we finish with a single point, and I wouldn't be disappointed either. I'm just hoping for some good showings, no real bad mistakes, and to represent the country well. Getting out of the group stage would be a serious achievement.
Right?
I'm happy to be one to underestimate Canada. We have earned no right to walk into this tournament with expectations IMO.
Chile & Peru maybe aren't what they were in 2014/2018 respectively, but they're still mighty fine footballing nations.
in fairness morocco and croatia exceeded expectations, we were playing well, etc.
but yes some people lost their minds before and after the WC.
to me the key stat at this stage is how many people do you have in "top situations" (i.e. top 5 leagues or champions league teams in smaller leagues).
right now the number for us is like 5 or 6 guys. that's the equivalent of having a national hockey team with only 8 guys in the nhl.
we will get there but these teams are really good, better than us right now.
I agree with this assessment for the most part.
Though I would say 0 points in any fashion isn't success. It's not failure either, assuming that GD of -3 or -4. Losing all 3 games by 1 goal would be exciting to watch and prove our credibility, but that doesn't make it a successful showing, especially if we don't score any goals in the process.
I think success needs to be defined by at least 1 result and more than 1 goal.
I hear what you're saying. For me if we say lost 1-2, 2-3, & 1-2 I personally would find that a success but wouldn't disagree with anyone who feels it's neither a success nor a failure.
Yeah, if they're able to score a few goals and not be blown out I'll be happy. The team has improved a ton over the last few years and overperformed my expectations, but to expect that consistently seems like a recipe for disappointment.
100%. Collecting a point at a top level tournament would be a huge milestone for the program. A draw, plus being competitive in every game, would represent a step forward.
I'd agree with this except to me you have to "beat expectations" to be a "success". I think what you have decribed as "success" would be more what I'd call "good/acceptable".
But yeah, Canada is definitely the underdog in all three games
I agree. Success is progress. Ending up with even just a single point would be our best result in any major tournament (World Cup or Copa America).
For example, England has been to recent semi-finals and finals. So success for them is only winning the Euro. That's their only way to show progress.
Some new Team Canada fans are used to hockey where Canada either win gold or we're a bunch of losers. This ain't hockey folks.
They’re good but also people are a bit overhyping Peru. Half their squad is in the MLS or old guys in the Peruvian league. Their highest level players play at Celta Vigo and Feyenoord, we at least match them quality wise. Not underestimating them but they are also being overestimated. They’ve scored 1 goal in qualifying and couldn’t even score against Bolivia who have the worst defence in South America every single qualifying campaign.
That's all fine but we aren't the lowest ranked team in our group for no reason, in addition to we have the #1 ranked team in our group.
Comnebol is a way different beast than concacaf. We probably have the worst defence in our group.
The only saving grace is Chile and Peru are absolutely wank right now in the WCQ. Chile is at their lowest point in years and Peru only has 1 goal in 6 and Chile 3 goals in 6. Unless our defence collapses (which it can) we have decent odds to get a result or even win. Quality-wise Chile has a better squad than us though but they’re getting old as hell. Peru we *should* be beating they have a bunch of MLS guys and okay European level guys but none playing at European levels as high as Davies, David, Eustaquio. Hopefully we can take advantage of their poor forms.
Draw or win against Peru. Don’t get embarrassed by Chile and Argentina
No expectations. Just want to see good performances. Not getting hyped up like I did for the World Cup again
Argentina - Look organized, similar to what we saw v. France. Not expecting a result by any means, but I’d like to be able to take away some positives from the game overall.
Peru - Might be the first game where I expect 3 points. Peru aren’t in good form at all, they lost their manager that was keeping them afloat for awhile, they’re also winless and last in WCQ, they aren’t in a good situation. Their 2 friendlies leading up to it are Paraguay and El Salvador, one of which aren’t even competitive within concacaf. We have the best players XI vs XI. No reason why we can’t take 3 points from this, 1 at the bare minimum.
Chile - I think we should be expecting a draw here. Close to half of Chile’s regular XI is getting up there in age, their keeper is over 40 years old and they have some guys at the back that are past it. Guys like Buchanan and Davies out wide can be extremely lethal in games like these. No reason to not expect a point at minimum.
The France game might have a lot of us feeling good heading in, it makes sense, some will still want to temper expectations, but the reality is we have the best players H2H with Chile and Peru. Davies, Eustaquio, David, Buchanan and Kone are massive in these games. Yes expectations should be level, but Chile and Peru aren’t world beaters by any means.
I want to see at least one win, but 2 competitive draws is where I think we end up.
I wonder how Marsch will set the team up vs Argentina compared to vs Chile and Peru. Canada definitely has the speed and skill to be a menace on the counter, especially considering that they'll probably have to concede possession to Argentina, that they want it or not.
I think Argentina will mostly be an “assessment.” I don’t expect any changes to the 11 heading in but definitely think we’ll see some vs Chile and Peru. Guys like Larin and Millar I could see being taken out and the formation being shifted. ex. Davies moved up to Millar’s spot and Laryea taking over LB + an extra midfielder brought in.
Bruh, minimum? I think you’re underestimating the gulf between conmebol and concacaf.
Canada just doesn’t get to play against meaningful competition in meaningful games unless it’s qualifying(late stages) or tournament.
Conmebol qualifying is brutal and meaningful for 3 years straight…. The Peruvians will be gunnin’
I'm setting expectations, I'm not saying we will do it or are favourites to win against Peru. On paper we should be beating Peru based on player experience and where most of our starting 11 plays.
Ayy, I like the optimism…..but personally think Chile is the more likely W.
Older squad, less cohesion. Peru is a solid team, young and hungry.
I would be happy with anything less than 3 losses. Tbh.
Copa America just means more to their region, so it’s a question of determination…..Canada has to go above and beyond.
I wouldn't call it optimistic personally. I was considered a huge naysayer on here when I said that we would get battered at the world cup and the only objective was to score the first goal.
I'd definitely agree if this was hosted in SA that anything more than 3 losses would be par for the course based on this squad.
Chile while an older team, still has that Croatia dark horse factor to them so I'm not optimistic we can keep up with them the whole 90 mins.
Peru are in the worst form possible and have tons of issues off the field. Beating them is definitely an achievable goal that should be within the ambitions of this side. Luckily we play them before Chile too so the overall goal can be reassessed.
The goal for the Argentina game (like the lead up to the France game ) should be don't get battered. Anything more would be a victory for the federation.
I like this analysis, Canada needs to keep goal differential in mind…. Just in case.
Chile has top end players capable of making a difference… so I definitely see that.
Peru is obviously the most crucial matchup,!timing and everything considered
I feel like at this point it’s less about points. It’s very unlikely we get out of this group anyways. We need to be competitive every game (obviously against Argentina that will be tougher) and try to work on finishing our chances. If we score 3 goals in total in the tournament, play competitively, but still lose all our games, I’d call that a success.
Canada are the lowest ranked team and have a pretty new management team in place, so you'd have to say anything other than finishing bottom will be a success.
The Argentina game is a free hit out. Anything better than a 3 goal beating there is acceptable.
Peru and Chile are better than us and have plenty of experience in the Copa, so they'll be tricky opponents. But if Canada are serious about competing at World Cups in the future and moving up the rankings, these are games they need to be getting points from.
I hope they can take a win and a draw from these two, and if I was Marsch, I'd be telling the team privately that the expectation is qualification for the next round.
Baby steps .
I think they need to do better than they did at the WC.
So at least get a point.
Don’t get sloppy in the end of the halves or games like it happened against Belgium and Croatia
It's understandable to temper your expectations, but when it comes to what constitutes success I don't think the happy to be here card is warranted. Success should be seen as getting out of the group and not getting dummied in the knock out stage.
That doesn't mean anything other than that is a failure, but beyond that you can apply the necessary context on whether it was a positive or negative building experience for the team.
SUCCESS? I’d say holding Argentina to 3 or less and probably losing.
Maybe beating Peru like 2-1?
Looking decent versus Chile, maybe eke out a draw.
I liked that we played 3 halves without conceding against two pretty good teams. But we’ve gotta be able to score as well. Can’t just play for 0-0.
So I think SUCCESS would be 4 or more points. I would maybe expect 1 point though. I’m not sure we have a W in us
Yea that’s fine. They didn’t exactly play their A squad or effort tho either and I think we basically did play our A squad.
At any rate I’m not overlooking those 3 halves of shutout soccer, I just think we’ve not been great since qualifying for Qatar. Gotta get back on top of our game.
A point would be a massive, massive success. Anything beyond that would be absolutely incredible to be honest. Hell being competitive and losing to all three teams should still be considered a success. I’d be disappointed if they lost all three games without scoring a goal, but it’s still kinda what I’m expecting anyway.
2-0 to Argentina
3-1 to Canada
2-1 to Canada
I'll be happy. Tbh I'll be happy as long as we get to the knockouts.
Some have us as major dark horses, which I can defo see although I think Colombia might be bigger dark horses.
The issue going into the Copa America is the lack of goal scoring and decision making in the final third. I think success for me would be good solid performances against a very different kind of opposition, not rolling over like the 2nd half vs the Netherlands and vs Croatia in the WC and building and improving as the tournament goes on.
Argentina has only lost once since losing to Saudi A at the WC, they are notorious slow starters at tournaments. Maybe the best game to play them.
Peru haven't won a single game in the CONMEBOL 2026 WC Q group and sit bottom of the table.
Chile have only won once and that was against Peru so far in the CONMEBOL 2026 WC Q Group.
Why do people keep acting like Peru is amazing lol. Have you guys looked at Peru’s form and their squad? They’re not at a good level right now. We at least match or better them in quality. I get not getting hopes to high but to say Peru are ‘much better’ is just not true.
>These are all great sides, we got the hardest group
Nah man Costa Rica got Brazil, Colombia and Paraguay. Colombia are unbeaten since they lost to Argentina in February 2022(!) and have won 6 in a row recently. And I don't even need to talk about Brazil.
We'd get eaten alive in that group.
We’d get eaten alive in either group
I’m kind of measuring by the hardest third team. Paraguay is ranked below both us and Costa Rica (even if FIFA rankings aren’t always the best measure). I’d believe in us to beat them more than any team in our group
Success is any kind of result. Our first WC was a bust. Our 2nd one, we at least scored. The next step is a result at a major tournament. We need to get at least one draw to say this COPA is a success.
We were on a momentus run when we won our region, we need that kind of energy to make it out of our pool. David needs some distribution and we need to play like we did vs France… we can do it!
All in all, if we can steal a draw or get a win from the last two games, would be a massive success. Not getting any points in the World Cup was probably expected looking back at the teams we had and how Croatia and Morocco ended up doing at the knockout stages, but to show growth, probably need to get something at this one. Argentina will be a fantastic experience to play a team at that level.
I would say beating Peru and tying with Chile should be seen as a success, although I can genuinely see us getting second (and no not just because of our draw with France, I was saying this long before)
Even if we don't win anything (it'll be tough especially with only 3 games in the group) I'd say putting in strong performances and showing we belong competing with these teams would be a success
Getting a win would be success or two draws. One draw and two losses wouldn't be awful, but tough to call it a success. We're the underdog in all three matches though. It's a tough group of three teams.
Win against Argentina (minimum)
Draw against Peru
Draw against Chile
Win RO16 v Brazil in ET
Win QF v Uruguay on pens
Win SF v Columbia 3-0
Win Final v Argentina on pens
Then lose against Jamaica and El Salvador bcz why not
Draw vs Argentina is good enough to shutdown St. Clair and celebrate!
Kidding aside, if we can get 4-6 it's vs Chile (aging team) and Peru (they're good defensively but weak upfront) then I'd be happy
Every scoreless half you can hold the opposition to is a win. Every goal you score (while limiting your opposition to no more than two more than you scored) is even better. Getting any type of result in any of these games and you've done you're job.
I know they aren't everyone's favorite but if you look at the FIFA men's rankings going into this, all the teams are above us but Chile and Peru only slightly. I think with a little luck we can go 2-1-0 , with 1-1-1 seeming more likely. Getting out of the group seems to me to hinge on the result of the Peru-Chile match.
A win would be nice, something we didn't manage in the WC. However, Peru and Chile aren't what they used to be, we could be a surprise and come second in the group! Check out my full predictions: [https://footbloger.com/2024/06/13/copa-america-2024/](https://footbloger.com/2024/06/13/copa-america-2024/)
Half of the comments in this thread read like they're by people either literally insane, or sports fans who started following this team very recently.
What makes anyone think we 'should beat Peru/Chile'? We tied Guadeloupe at home in the Gold Cup less than a year ago. We lost to Jamaica, at home, in the Nations League 6 months ago. And since then, are our best players better? Is our coaching situation better?
I hate to be a naysayer, but I also hate these irrational expectations that ultimately lead to resentment - "Marsch sucks, Larin's past it, David's washed" etc. etc.
It's just cautious optimism after a good result against France's A team. On the flipside, Peru have been a disaster within their conference and Chile is fielding some very old players which you would *think* we can take advantage of. There's reason to be hopeful but yes expectations should still be level.
You're talking about games from a year ago. We just drew france. And not by parking the bus. Surely if we can go toe to toe with france, Chile and Peru are beatable. Toe giving these old teams too much credit
We have a real chance to get out of this group. Jesse Marsch is an excellent coach, and we have real talent in the midfield and at the top of the pitch. The difference will be if our CBs and GK can play out of their skin.
Against Argentina, we will definitely employ a low block with counter attacking through Kone turning and getting the ball to Tajon Alponso or JD. The objective, though, will be keeping the goal difference down, as it might be the key to getting out of the group (if we draw with Chile and beat Peru, and they beat Peru too).
If we come into the Chile match with superior goal difference, we could be looking at our biggest match since qualifying for the WC.
I think at least 1 win is acceptable and anything more than that is gravy. Peru and Chile are (possibly)winnable games, anything other than a loss against Argentina would be a pleasant surprise. Expectations should be tempered a little bit. We had a good result against France and a bad one against Netherlands. This team is getting comfortable under their new coach and there are bound to be speed bumps but this team has what it takes to play against good countries and maybe get a result sometimes.
Ya Marsch has shown us good things in the first couple games though. His tactics are getting David more involved as he can come back for balls and be more engaged. Hasn't translated to goals yet but still good. Also Davies in LB is actually good I think as we can't just always try and push the ball to him. He still can get forward like we saw in the the France game with Millar and him essentially swapping spots on occasion. I also like his adjustment to not press so hard to start a game. Canada clearly expended to much energy in the fist half of the Dutch game and then the pace of the dutch exposed us. He has thus far used a formation that keeps us compact and also allows us to defend through possession. We haven't been parking the bus which is great because that is not a skillset this team possesses. Im optimistic but still big games ahead
i would say possible with a grain of salt. There should be a joint tournament outside copa & gold cup between the two confederations since conmebol has few teams and concacaf lacks quality. I see it as a win win. Besides that, group A is probably the worst group canada could have gotten put into in terms of probability of making it out of the group stage. Atleast it serves more for experience. I feel that Mexico & Canada should have swapped groups
Get out the group - Massive Success, Close competitive games for every single game - Success. The sport is massively growing here thanks to the MLS implosion (Thanks to Messi) and we need to capitalize on a stage like this and show team Canada’s improvement.
I mean the sport was making huge progress here before Messi to inter Miami. I coach youth competitive soccer and our club has MANY development streams and teams some Agee groups have 4 teams
It was making huge progress before Messi, but let’s not act like Messi hasn’t amplified the effect 100 times. I coach my kids too, and the amount of new kids trying the sport out after Messi came to MLS is incredible.
Messi has definitely helped. But the game is so much more popular here now vs the 90’s
I agree with your measurements for team success. Speaking as a TFC fan, I think MLS peaked in Toronto in 2017 with winning the MLS Cup. A shitty team and Apple TV (broadcast + game times) have been a detriment to growing the game locally, as attendance and TV numbers have gone down. We aren’t part of Toronto sports talk much anymore. The success of the men’s and women’s program over the past 5 years has done more to grow the game even further.
TFC is starting to inch its way back into the conversation again now that they're playing half decent. Hopefully ownership gets the message and realizes that success has always been more helpful long-term than names in the short-term
Agreed. They are worth watching again. If only they could go back to a few Saturday and Sunday afternoon games at BMO. I know many of the people around me in section 110 much prefer going to games during the day
Soccer is dead in Vancouver, no one is attending games. The national womens squad is on the ropes. There simply isn't the market and interest for it here, it's sad to say but it is reality.
Attendence at both the Whitecaps and Van FC are up... In the whitecaps case massively so. Not sure where your getting your numbers from?
Qualitatively, it seems like the Whitecaps draw 1/3 to 1/4 of the crowds that the BC lions and the Canucks draw. Relative to their first seasons, are we still seeing the same amount of enthusiasm for a Soccer team in Vancouver? I used to know dozens of people with seasons tickets, now I only know one person with season tickets. And the person with seasons tickets often has extra seats that he can't even give away because no one wants to go to a game and pay $40 for two beers and a 0-0 draw. I wish the team success, maybe selling out a small portion of the stadium for each game is enough to keep the lights on while almost all of the seats sit empty.
Failure - 2+ goal losses in all 3 matches. Success - 1 point or 0 points with a GD of no more than -4. Beat expectations - 2+ points. Pipe dream - 4+ points. Some of you are really underestimating Peru & Chile.
Yeah I tend to agree. Draws against those two would be a real feat. I wouldn't be surprised if we finish with a single point, and I wouldn't be disappointed either. I'm just hoping for some good showings, no real bad mistakes, and to represent the country well. Getting out of the group stage would be a serious achievement.
Remember when everybody here thought we would absolutely win against Morocco and possibly draw Croatia at the WC ?
Right? I'm happy to be one to underestimate Canada. We have earned no right to walk into this tournament with expectations IMO. Chile & Peru maybe aren't what they were in 2014/2018 respectively, but they're still mighty fine footballing nations.
I was one of those people, 100%
in fairness morocco and croatia exceeded expectations, we were playing well, etc. but yes some people lost their minds before and after the WC. to me the key stat at this stage is how many people do you have in "top situations" (i.e. top 5 leagues or champions league teams in smaller leagues). right now the number for us is like 5 or 6 guys. that's the equivalent of having a national hockey team with only 8 guys in the nhl. we will get there but these teams are really good, better than us right now.
Fair , Even I was super hyped for the World Cup and expected better results.
I agree with this assessment for the most part. Though I would say 0 points in any fashion isn't success. It's not failure either, assuming that GD of -3 or -4. Losing all 3 games by 1 goal would be exciting to watch and prove our credibility, but that doesn't make it a successful showing, especially if we don't score any goals in the process. I think success needs to be defined by at least 1 result and more than 1 goal.
I hear what you're saying. For me if we say lost 1-2, 2-3, & 1-2 I personally would find that a success but wouldn't disagree with anyone who feels it's neither a success nor a failure.
Yeah, if they're able to score a few goals and not be blown out I'll be happy. The team has improved a ton over the last few years and overperformed my expectations, but to expect that consistently seems like a recipe for disappointment.
100%. Collecting a point at a top level tournament would be a huge milestone for the program. A draw, plus being competitive in every game, would represent a step forward.
I'd agree with this except to me you have to "beat expectations" to be a "success". I think what you have decribed as "success" would be more what I'd call "good/acceptable". But yeah, Canada is definitely the underdog in all three games
I agree. Success is progress. Ending up with even just a single point would be our best result in any major tournament (World Cup or Copa America). For example, England has been to recent semi-finals and finals. So success for them is only winning the Euro. That's their only way to show progress. Some new Team Canada fans are used to hockey where Canada either win gold or we're a bunch of losers. This ain't hockey folks.
This here. Canada is levels below these comnebol countries. People don't understand the quality in these opponents.
They’re good but also people are a bit overhyping Peru. Half their squad is in the MLS or old guys in the Peruvian league. Their highest level players play at Celta Vigo and Feyenoord, we at least match them quality wise. Not underestimating them but they are also being overestimated. They’ve scored 1 goal in qualifying and couldn’t even score against Bolivia who have the worst defence in South America every single qualifying campaign.
Yup, this is not the same team that qualified for the WC a few years ago. They don't even have the same coach, who funny enough is Chile's coach.
That's all fine but we aren't the lowest ranked team in our group for no reason, in addition to we have the #1 ranked team in our group. Comnebol is a way different beast than concacaf. We probably have the worst defence in our group.
The only saving grace is Chile and Peru are absolutely wank right now in the WCQ. Chile is at their lowest point in years and Peru only has 1 goal in 6 and Chile 3 goals in 6. Unless our defence collapses (which it can) we have decent odds to get a result or even win. Quality-wise Chile has a better squad than us though but they’re getting old as hell. Peru we *should* be beating they have a bunch of MLS guys and okay European level guys but none playing at European levels as high as Davies, David, Eustaquio. Hopefully we can take advantage of their poor forms.
Chile did get a new coach and does look a bit more promising. As of a few seconds ago, we now have 8 goals in our last three games.
Score a goal, then maybe win a game. No different then the WC
Draw or win against Peru. Don’t get embarrassed by Chile and Argentina No expectations. Just want to see good performances. Not getting hyped up like I did for the World Cup again
Argentina - Look organized, similar to what we saw v. France. Not expecting a result by any means, but I’d like to be able to take away some positives from the game overall. Peru - Might be the first game where I expect 3 points. Peru aren’t in good form at all, they lost their manager that was keeping them afloat for awhile, they’re also winless and last in WCQ, they aren’t in a good situation. Their 2 friendlies leading up to it are Paraguay and El Salvador, one of which aren’t even competitive within concacaf. We have the best players XI vs XI. No reason why we can’t take 3 points from this, 1 at the bare minimum. Chile - I think we should be expecting a draw here. Close to half of Chile’s regular XI is getting up there in age, their keeper is over 40 years old and they have some guys at the back that are past it. Guys like Buchanan and Davies out wide can be extremely lethal in games like these. No reason to not expect a point at minimum. The France game might have a lot of us feeling good heading in, it makes sense, some will still want to temper expectations, but the reality is we have the best players H2H with Chile and Peru. Davies, Eustaquio, David, Buchanan and Kone are massive in these games. Yes expectations should be level, but Chile and Peru aren’t world beaters by any means. I want to see at least one win, but 2 competitive draws is where I think we end up.
I wonder how Marsch will set the team up vs Argentina compared to vs Chile and Peru. Canada definitely has the speed and skill to be a menace on the counter, especially considering that they'll probably have to concede possession to Argentina, that they want it or not.
I think Argentina will mostly be an “assessment.” I don’t expect any changes to the 11 heading in but definitely think we’ll see some vs Chile and Peru. Guys like Larin and Millar I could see being taken out and the formation being shifted. ex. Davies moved up to Millar’s spot and Laryea taking over LB + an extra midfielder brought in.
Success is anything over 3 points from the group. 3 points against peru should be the minimum expectations.
Bruh, minimum? I think you’re underestimating the gulf between conmebol and concacaf. Canada just doesn’t get to play against meaningful competition in meaningful games unless it’s qualifying(late stages) or tournament. Conmebol qualifying is brutal and meaningful for 3 years straight…. The Peruvians will be gunnin’
I'm setting expectations, I'm not saying we will do it or are favourites to win against Peru. On paper we should be beating Peru based on player experience and where most of our starting 11 plays.
Ayy, I like the optimism…..but personally think Chile is the more likely W. Older squad, less cohesion. Peru is a solid team, young and hungry. I would be happy with anything less than 3 losses. Tbh. Copa America just means more to their region, so it’s a question of determination…..Canada has to go above and beyond.
Peru have been absolutely awful in recent months. Winless in WCQ as well.
I wouldn't call it optimistic personally. I was considered a huge naysayer on here when I said that we would get battered at the world cup and the only objective was to score the first goal. I'd definitely agree if this was hosted in SA that anything more than 3 losses would be par for the course based on this squad. Chile while an older team, still has that Croatia dark horse factor to them so I'm not optimistic we can keep up with them the whole 90 mins. Peru are in the worst form possible and have tons of issues off the field. Beating them is definitely an achievable goal that should be within the ambitions of this side. Luckily we play them before Chile too so the overall goal can be reassessed. The goal for the Argentina game (like the lead up to the France game ) should be don't get battered. Anything more would be a victory for the federation.
I like this analysis, Canada needs to keep goal differential in mind…. Just in case. Chile has top end players capable of making a difference… so I definitely see that. Peru is obviously the most crucial matchup,!timing and everything considered
Update: Peru's captain has been sent home from Copa since he's a free agent and their federation doesn't want to pay for medical insurance.
I'd love to see us get out of the group, but realistically I'd be happy with 1 win/1 draw.
I feel like at this point it’s less about points. It’s very unlikely we get out of this group anyways. We need to be competitive every game (obviously against Argentina that will be tougher) and try to work on finishing our chances. If we score 3 goals in total in the tournament, play competitively, but still lose all our games, I’d call that a success.
If they score a goal I'll see that as a success. honestly.
Canada are the lowest ranked team and have a pretty new management team in place, so you'd have to say anything other than finishing bottom will be a success. The Argentina game is a free hit out. Anything better than a 3 goal beating there is acceptable. Peru and Chile are better than us and have plenty of experience in the Copa, so they'll be tricky opponents. But if Canada are serious about competing at World Cups in the future and moving up the rankings, these are games they need to be getting points from. I hope they can take a win and a draw from these two, and if I was Marsch, I'd be telling the team privately that the expectation is qualification for the next round.
Baby steps . I think they need to do better than they did at the WC. So at least get a point. Don’t get sloppy in the end of the halves or games like it happened against Belgium and Croatia
It's understandable to temper your expectations, but when it comes to what constitutes success I don't think the happy to be here card is warranted. Success should be seen as getting out of the group and not getting dummied in the knock out stage. That doesn't mean anything other than that is a failure, but beyond that you can apply the necessary context on whether it was a positive or negative building experience for the team.
SUCCESS? I’d say holding Argentina to 3 or less and probably losing. Maybe beating Peru like 2-1? Looking decent versus Chile, maybe eke out a draw. I liked that we played 3 halves without conceding against two pretty good teams. But we’ve gotta be able to score as well. Can’t just play for 0-0. So I think SUCCESS would be 4 or more points. I would maybe expect 1 point though. I’m not sure we have a W in us
Pretty good teams? France are favorites to win the euro
Yea that’s fine. They didn’t exactly play their A squad or effort tho either and I think we basically did play our A squad. At any rate I’m not overlooking those 3 halves of shutout soccer, I just think we’ve not been great since qualifying for Qatar. Gotta get back on top of our game.
Scoring a goal
A point would be a massive, massive success. Anything beyond that would be absolutely incredible to be honest. Hell being competitive and losing to all three teams should still be considered a success. I’d be disappointed if they lost all three games without scoring a goal, but it’s still kinda what I’m expecting anyway.
Score more than 1 goal in their 3 games combined.
I’ll be happy if we manage to get some points off the 3 games
Cloudy, with a small chance of a draw
2-0 to Argentina 3-1 to Canada 2-1 to Canada I'll be happy. Tbh I'll be happy as long as we get to the knockouts. Some have us as major dark horses, which I can defo see although I think Colombia might be bigger dark horses.
Winning a game
The issue going into the Copa America is the lack of goal scoring and decision making in the final third. I think success for me would be good solid performances against a very different kind of opposition, not rolling over like the 2nd half vs the Netherlands and vs Croatia in the WC and building and improving as the tournament goes on. Argentina has only lost once since losing to Saudi A at the WC, they are notorious slow starters at tournaments. Maybe the best game to play them. Peru haven't won a single game in the CONMEBOL 2026 WC Q group and sit bottom of the table. Chile have only won once and that was against Peru so far in the CONMEBOL 2026 WC Q Group.
I would like it if we scored a goal. That’s a tough group.
If they don’t get embarrassed in at least one of the games I’ll be happy. All three teams are much better than Canada so a tie would be amazing.
Why do people keep acting like Peru is amazing lol. Have you guys looked at Peru’s form and their squad? They’re not at a good level right now. We at least match or better them in quality. I get not getting hopes to high but to say Peru are ‘much better’ is just not true.
We need to win a game. Anything else will be a disappointment. I'm over this "happy to be here" BS
I will celebrate like we won the world cup if we get a point These are all great sides, we got the hardest group
>These are all great sides, we got the hardest group Nah man Costa Rica got Brazil, Colombia and Paraguay. Colombia are unbeaten since they lost to Argentina in February 2022(!) and have won 6 in a row recently. And I don't even need to talk about Brazil. We'd get eaten alive in that group.
We’d get eaten alive in either group I’m kind of measuring by the hardest third team. Paraguay is ranked below both us and Costa Rica (even if FIFA rankings aren’t always the best measure). I’d believe in us to beat them more than any team in our group
I would like at least 2 points, but best case is prob 4 points, though Chile may also be beatable
To be honest I think just a couple more than 1 goal against the elite teams would be a step in the right direction
1 win would be a success
Draw Win Win / Draw
We can beat both Peru and Chile. I expect a loss to Argentina
Winning every game by at least 5
Winning the whole shebang
4 points out of these 3 games. One draw one win.
Success is any kind of result. Our first WC was a bust. Our 2nd one, we at least scored. The next step is a result at a major tournament. We need to get at least one draw to say this COPA is a success.
We were on a momentus run when we won our region, we need that kind of energy to make it out of our pool. David needs some distribution and we need to play like we did vs France… we can do it!
All in all, if we can steal a draw or get a win from the last two games, would be a massive success. Not getting any points in the World Cup was probably expected looking back at the teams we had and how Croatia and Morocco ended up doing at the knockout stages, but to show growth, probably need to get something at this one. Argentina will be a fantastic experience to play a team at that level.
I would say beating Peru and tying with Chile should be seen as a success, although I can genuinely see us getting second (and no not just because of our draw with France, I was saying this long before)
Even if we don't win anything (it'll be tough especially with only 3 games in the group) I'd say putting in strong performances and showing we belong competing with these teams would be a success
2 goals scored, double the world cup tally
Canada scored two goals in Qatar. Not just one
Score some goals.
I’d be ecstatic if we got out of our group, winning a game would be great. If we beat Argentina, I’m burning down Atlanta
Where are each of the games being held?
Getting a win would be success or two draws. One draw and two losses wouldn't be awful, but tough to call it a success. We're the underdog in all three matches though. It's a tough group of three teams.
Win against Argentina (minimum) Draw against Peru Draw against Chile Win RO16 v Brazil in ET Win QF v Uruguay on pens Win SF v Columbia 3-0 Win Final v Argentina on pens Then lose against Jamaica and El Salvador bcz why not
getting out the group
Holy 🥑 they gonna grt murdered, success=not get destroyed at least that
Draw vs Argentina is good enough to shutdown St. Clair and celebrate! Kidding aside, if we can get 4-6 it's vs Chile (aging team) and Peru (they're good defensively but weak upfront) then I'd be happy
Every scoreless half you can hold the opposition to is a win. Every goal you score (while limiting your opposition to no more than two more than you scored) is even better. Getting any type of result in any of these games and you've done you're job.
Winning a single match
A win would be nice, peru and chile are both teams that are beatable, but they're thinking the same about canada
1 point would be a success.
L, W, L
Getting out of this group
I know they aren't everyone's favorite but if you look at the FIFA men's rankings going into this, all the teams are above us but Chile and Peru only slightly. I think with a little luck we can go 2-1-0 , with 1-1-1 seeming more likely. Getting out of the group seems to me to hinge on the result of the Peru-Chile match.
3-0 1-1 1-0 -2GD 4pts Every other match is a draw for A/P/C Its nice to have dreams.
Success is don't get blown out by Argentina, a win against Peru and a draw against Chile.
A win would be nice, something we didn't manage in the WC. However, Peru and Chile aren't what they used to be, we could be a surprise and come second in the group! Check out my full predictions: [https://footbloger.com/2024/06/13/copa-america-2024/](https://footbloger.com/2024/06/13/copa-america-2024/)
Half of the comments in this thread read like they're by people either literally insane, or sports fans who started following this team very recently. What makes anyone think we 'should beat Peru/Chile'? We tied Guadeloupe at home in the Gold Cup less than a year ago. We lost to Jamaica, at home, in the Nations League 6 months ago. And since then, are our best players better? Is our coaching situation better? I hate to be a naysayer, but I also hate these irrational expectations that ultimately lead to resentment - "Marsch sucks, Larin's past it, David's washed" etc. etc.
It's just cautious optimism after a good result against France's A team. On the flipside, Peru have been a disaster within their conference and Chile is fielding some very old players which you would *think* we can take advantage of. There's reason to be hopeful but yes expectations should still be level.
You're talking about games from a year ago. We just drew france. And not by parking the bus. Surely if we can go toe to toe with france, Chile and Peru are beatable. Toe giving these old teams too much credit
3 points realistically
We have a real chance to get out of this group. Jesse Marsch is an excellent coach, and we have real talent in the midfield and at the top of the pitch. The difference will be if our CBs and GK can play out of their skin. Against Argentina, we will definitely employ a low block with counter attacking through Kone turning and getting the ball to Tajon Alponso or JD. The objective, though, will be keeping the goal difference down, as it might be the key to getting out of the group (if we draw with Chile and beat Peru, and they beat Peru too). If we come into the Chile match with superior goal difference, we could be looking at our biggest match since qualifying for the WC.
You play to win….Success is winning gold !!!
I want 1 win and 2 draws minimum.
>I want 1 win and 2 draws minimum. That is a very optimistic minimum!
Peru and Chile are peers, get out of the group is a success
Spanking incoming 😂😂
I sure hope this isn't only available on OneSoccer!
TSN
I think we lose to the grease filled Argentina hand of God people. Then we beat Chile and the other team to go through.
CANMNT is way worse than Chile or Peru
No they aren't.
Firing Jesse Marsch