Which country has a stronger football team: USA or Canada?

[Pavel Buchnevich]

that xG was nonsensical and did not tell the story of the game. Possession favored USA because NED let them have it. NED was content to sit on their lead and ceded possession. Definitely not a disaster today, but if you play that game ten times, Netherlands probably wins it 9 times. That’s why xG isn’t telling the right story

I think Van Gaal did plan to let the US have the ball, but they showed a stat on the Fox Broadcast that USA was winning the ball back within 14 seconds and NED within 28 seconds. USA was better with their pressing, and hemming the Dutch in.

That stuff matters. USA did that all tournament. Their midfield is very good with pressing because of how much ground those three players cover, Weah is athletic, Pulisic is athletic, Robinson, Dest. The speed and how hard the US team works compared to some of these older and slower teams is partially why they were able to register so much possession at this tournament.

In past years, they had the athleticism and work-rate to win back the ball, but knew they couldn't keep it and do anything with it, so they'd play entirely on the counter. This team played differently because now there are some good players that can play real football.

 

[Savant]

I think Van Gaal did plan to let the US have the ball, but they showed a stat on the Fox Broadcast that USA was winning the ball back within 14 seconds and NED within 28 seconds. USA was better with their pressing, and hemming the Dutch in.

That stuff matters. USA did that all tournament. Their midfield is very good with pressing because of how much ground those three players cover, Weah is athletic, Pulisic is athletic, Robinson, Dest. The speed and how hard the US team works compared to some of these older and slower teams is partially why they were able to register so much possession at this tournament.

In past years, they had the athleticism and work-rate to win the ball, but knew they couldn't keep it and do anything with it, so they'd play entirely on the counter. This team played differently because now there are some good players that can play real football.

and USA has some very good building blocks. They need to fix the manager and they need to fix hope they operate in both the penalty boxes. Even with that, things are definitely looking up

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

As a Canadian...it makes me cringe. We had one of the worst collective peformances of all teams this tournament. Have probably the worst backline in CONCACAF and a meh midfield. We (should) identify it is still a major project up here. It is best to just shut up and stop comparing the nations because the US looked like a more complete squad this tournament and were undone by 3 breakdowns today by a quality side.

I will happily engage in trash talk with American supporters once we win a god damn tournament or make it far in the WC (at least get a point) but until then, yeah.

As an American, I don't feel I should trash talk Canada. I want to see you guys get better. You played some good football at the tournament. Didn't only go to Qatar to get beat 5-0, like Costa Rica did. You guys belonged. First time you guys made the tournament in a long time. Like the American team, your players didn't know how to make their moments matter against the teams that have been in this spot before.

You guys are improving, as are we. You guys have never had players accomplish what Davies, David, and others have. We've never had players accomplish what Pulisic, McKennie, and others have, so the improvements from both nations are real. Don't see the need for the fighting between fans at this point. Neither of us are that good. Maybe when we play each other or go head to head to convince a player, but now we should be rooting each other on to help improve CONCACAF football.

 

[Gecklund]

Or Costa Rica above Canada?

Grabbed this from the Canada thread (not my post)



To all the people who think FIFA Rankings are the best measure, do we think Ghana should be (significantly) last on here?

 

[SeawaterOnIce]

As an American, I don't feel I should trash talk Canada. I want to see you guys get better. You played some good football at the tournament. Didn't only go to Qatar to get beat 5-0, like Costa Rica did. You guys belonged. First time you guys made the tournament in a long time. Like the American team, your players didn't know how to make their moments matter against the teams that have been in this spot before.

You guys are improving, as are we. You guys have never had players accomplish what Davies, David, and others have. We've never had players accomplish what Pulisic, McKennie, and others have, so the improvements from both nations are real. Don't see the need for the fighting between fans at this point. Neither of us are that good. Maybe when we play each other or go head to head to convince a player, but now we should be rooting each other on to help improve CONCACAF football.

"Trash talking" was mostly in jest.

I'm on the same page. I want football to do well in North America as the prevailing mindset abroad is we have a retirement league with amateurs here. CONCACAF really needs a nation to pull ahead and become a perennial threat going forward.

It has gotten better since my youth days where I got passed over from signing with an academy due to my North American connections (that was the rationale, no joke). Still need to see a lot of work at the lower levels to develop better defensive players in this part of the world. Youth football gameplans in Canada still revolves around the long-ball and chase formula strategy rather than strong possession and well structured formulations you see in Europe.

Fingers crossed we all show well in 2026.

Really hoping the CONCACAF nations can somehow get invited to Copa America more often. It would be a decent test and measuring stick instead of games against Bermuda and Curacao.

 

[Savant]

Or Costa Rica above Canada?

But the algorithm!

 

[JianYang]

Both sides are incomplete. Usa has more overall talent. Canada has what usa needs to become more complete.

 

[Hockey4Lyfe]

They have, but they aren't now, they should always. It should never even be in doubt at any time for sports like tennis. The tennis academies they have down there and everything else we have already brought up.


It shouldn't be in football either for that matter. About the only sports we should ever have a leg up in sometimes are some cold weather sports, and only sometimes.

The U.s just has too many advantages over us.

So an individualistic sport, you are telling me that one country should always be better than the other just because of population size?

Like one person from a small country could never overcome others from outside of his country just because the other country has more people in it?

That shit sounds so dumb.

 

[jj cale]

So an individualistic sport, you are telling me that one country should always be better than the other just because of population size?

Like one person from a small country could never overcome others from outside of his country just because the other country has more people in it?

That shit sounds so dumb.

Let's wait and see if this is a one off before saying anything about what is or is not in any particular sport such as tennis in our respective countries.

 

[Bringer of Jollity]

 

[Mobiandi]

The Americans had a less convincing tournament than Australia, who probably had one of the worst squads on paper.

I really hope the United States walks away from this tournament as confident as their fans because they'll go nowhere in 4 years time

 

[Karl Prime]

@jj cale @Hockey4Lyfe

The US has an edge in top 200 players on both the men's and women's tours, which makes sense considering the massive population difference and the fact that the US has had tennis infrastructure much much longer than Canada, who really started improving the program 10-15 years ago, which is seen now by the impacts of Andreescu, Fernandez, Auger-Aliassime, and Shapovalov, and Raonic and Pospisil before them. It was only 30 years ago that the US had Sampras, Agassi, Courier, and Chang at the top, and now they haven't had a men's major finalist in 13 years. I believe there are developmental reasons for such a drop off of elite players, but I won't go into that unless asked to.

While the elite level men have fallen off for the US, it hasn't on the women's side, even when you exclude Serena who accounts for most of the success they've had the last twenty years. I think ultimately the best young American boys, athletically speaking, gravitate towards playing football, basketball, baseball, or soccer over tennis. More money to be made being a high level pro in those top leagues than being on the ATP. In 2022 only 44 men made over a million in prize money, and that's eaten into by travel and coaches. On the women's side, tennis is the best opportunity to make great money, so if a young girl is equally great at tennis and basketball/soccer/hockey, they will likely choose tennis.

 

[bluesfan94]

The Americans had a less convincing tournament than Australia, who probably had one of the worst squads on paper.

I really hope the United States walks away from this tournament as confident as their fans because they'll go nowhere in 4 years time

The irony of a Canadian fan saying this.

 

[Cloned]

The better question is how good a combined US/Canada team could be?

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

The irony of a Canadian fan saying this.

It’s also not true. Australia played regressive football. They didn’t once have better than 42% possession.

We played good football in every game.

 

[robertmac43]

I think the USA is clearly the winner here, as much as that pains me to say. Canada have taken massive steps and we should be happy with where the program is going. To overtake the USA, we need to achieve better results in the upcoming Gold Cup, Copa America (if rumours are true and we are invited), and the 2026 World Cup. Until the results get better it's hard to argue Canada is a stronger program than the USA.

 

[luiginb]

But the algorithm!

I do see them as a lot worse than Canada, but they did beat Japan this WC, and lost to Germany and Spain... That's how you get higher in the FIFA Ratings.