World Cup: QF: Sweden vs. England, 7/7/2018

[ScottishCanuck]

Is this real life??

No, it's a nightmare.

 

[philip]

Sterling is just unfortunate. He's working so hard and they just can't cope with his pace, he's frightening them to death. It's just not happening for him in front of goal, but he can't let his head drop

 

[Tryamw]

Sterling needed to pass that last one after that touch that wasn't as kind as he'd have liked. did get a corner but England ran out of time. Still a nice half for them. Hopefully they'll continue with the pressure in the second.

 

[Stray Wasp]

Sterling continues his bid for the post-defeat scapegoat role.

At least his pace will make it harder for Sweden to feel confident about committing more men to the attack in search of an equaliser.

Seeing the corner again, Sweden simply weren't concentrating on their marking.

 

[Eisen]

Competition? It's one thing to compete against some small countries where hockey is a big sport and a bunch of others where it's the 4th or 5th biggest sport and a totally different matter to be a small country competing vs 100+ nations where football is by far the biggest sport.

Does Canada have a proper youth program where the kids get the challenge and support they need on a grass roots level? If not, that is what they need first and foremost.

 

[Artorius Horus T]

I remember a match from last season where he missed 6 obvious scoring chances, 6!, in a row.
One was like less than 5 feet from the goal line.
Scored a hat trick in that match though...go figure. Sterling just is
(or was it 2 goals what he scored)

He had had about 3-4 straight matches before that ,where he missed almost 5 scoring chances a match.

 

[NyQuil]

Does Canada have a proper youth program where the kids get the challenge and support they need on a grtass roots level? If not, that is what they need first and foremost.

We don’t have enough qualified coaches.

Basically it’s a participation sport here.

 

[Cassano]

Why can't Canada produce any players capable of playing top tier soccer when more kids play soccer than hockey in Canada? It's not just about popularity and number of people playing, it's about how you develop those kids.

Because they teach youth 'when in doubt kick it out'.

 

[Prntscrn]

When Sterling was at Liverpool I thought he would figure the finishing stuff out eventually, but I'm not so sure anymore.. Now he gonna go out and score 3 in the second half just because I said this

 

[JJ68]

Competition? It's one thing to compete against some small countries where hockey is a big sport and a bunch of others where it's the 4th or 5th biggest sport and a totally different matter to be a small country competing vs 100+ nations where football is by far the biggest sport.

True but I dont think competition from outside is the underlying reason why a nation doesnt manage to develop a serious elite talent. It's just a thought I've had going through my head recently. Im not putting anyone down btw, just so you know. Sweden has had a couple great players in the past, and they are getting quite far this year with good team play. Good on them.

 

[Blender]

Differences....first we prefer Hockey. Secondly we let the kiddos play soccer for a bit before we put them in Hockey. Its always been that way. Some parents are worried their kids will get hurt playing Hockey.

You asked why those other countries don't produce more top players. It's all about development and has little to do with how many people watch it on TV. People "letting kids play soccer before they play hockey" makes no sense when more kids play soccer. Hockey is very expensive to play and soccer is cheap, but hockey in Canada has an extensive development system that kids can move up and improve through, while soccer doesn't.

I'd say a lot of the Canadian soccer players play more casually as well. Most of those registered are likely in house league and not looking at taking their talents further

The problem is there isn't the development infrastructure in Canada to even develop high quality players like there is in other countries. We do it well for hockey, but despite soccer having more registered players there is little chance anyone good comes out of the Canadian soccer system. If you're in Canada and talented at a young age, your best chance is to go to somewhere in Europe as soon as you can.

 

[letsgocaps]

I have a question. If places like Sweden and Russia like soccer more than Hockey, why is it these nations cannot produce a player that is elite in that sport like they can in Hockey? Relatively it's not close.

Zlatan?

 

[Eisen]

We don’t have enough qualified coaches.

Basically it’s a participation sport here.

On the bright side, getting coaches is an easy fix. Iceland did it.

 

[Jussi]

English fans in Finland clip on Finnish tv

 

[Prntscrn]

Besides the fact that we are a small nation population wise I think climate has a big part in it. During winter months they have to compete with lots of other sports for indoor fields etc. Plus if I'm not mistaken there is more money in Swedish hockey compared to Swedish soccer which means teams can put more money in youth development in hockey

 

[Blender]

On the bright side, getting coaches is an easy fix. Iceland did it.

Iceland is a great model that Canada can follow, and they have a fraction of the population to draw from. They made a big commitment to developing quality soccer players, Canada just scratches its head and wonders why the national team is so bad.

 

[Nalens Oga]

Is Southgate just playing Sterling in the middle to prove a point? This is beyond ridiculous, it'd be like using Johnny Gaudreau as a centre, put Vardy in ffs.

 

[Jussi]

Word of warning for England fans, we Finns know all too well what happens if you don't use your scoring chances against Sweden (in hockey). If they can't increase their lead, Swedes will score the (probably lucky) equalizer.

 

[Siamese Dream]

Big clubs in Europe are taking local players into their academies from like the age of 5 these days. Canada doesn't have that

 

[Eisen]

Iceland is a great model that Canada can follow, and they have a fraction of the population to draw from. They made a big commitment to developing quality soccer players, Canada just scratches its head and wonders why the national team is so bad.

Indeed. And as said, it's not that hard to fix. Get a couple of guys and let them get the A-license, get a couple of development centers and you are good to go and look how it pays off about a decade later.

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

RLC should come in for Alli. Kane is playing very deep.

Alli has been good. Not sure what you are on about.

 

[NyQuil]

Iceland is a great model that Canada can follow, and they have a fraction of the population to draw from. They made a big commitment to developing quality soccer players, Canada just scratches its head and wonders why the national team is so bad.

They have one UEFA certified coach for every 500-600 players.

In England, it’s one for every 20,000 players.

 

[Halladay]

Alli has been good. Not sure what you are on about.

When I posted this, he wasnt. Looked good after the goal. As did the entire team bar Stetling trying to put the ball into the net.

 

[Power Man]

Watching the game in a tapas bar near the beach in Barcelona

It's pretty cool tbh

 

[Stray Wasp]

Whilst they aren't playing top quality football, there's a genuine efficiency to England's game.

They seem less likely to run out of steam after the break. But that's only in theory.