November 27th Edition

It has been about a week since Canada’s utterly humbling loss to Jamaica and it still likely has all of us feeling some type of way.

Thankfully, the footy world moves on, and there are plenty of more positive Canadian stories to discuss this week. Canadians were balling out across the continent and the CanWNT announced their squad for the GOAT’s final camp.

But that loss is still gonna sting for a while, so it is time for a bit of a CanMNT vibe check. All that and more in this week’s edition of The Northern Pitch.

How? 

Of all the many questions stemming from the Canadian men’s national team’s 3-2 loss (4-4 on aggregate, Jamaica advances on away goals) to the Reggae Boyz at BMO Field this past Tuesday in Concacaf Nations League Quarter-finals most of them more or less boil down to this same simple premise.

A 3-1 lead on aggregate, at home, where they had never lost to Jamaica and had barely lost in general over the past decade. It was in the bag until it wasn’t.

Milan Borjan juggling, the Eustáquio giveaway, the Koné giveaway, the penalty — it all happened so fast. A horror sequence that is now imprinted in national team fan’s minds.

It was a masterclass in poor game management. But more than anything this was the kind of performance that national team fans had hoped they would never see again.

The new Canada, after all, had gone into the Estadio Azteca and earned a point. They had defeated the US men’s national team for the first time in decades, same with Mexico. They had qualified for a World Cup for the first time in 36 years.

Making this even more confusing is the fact that Canada added to that impressive list with a bit of history in the first leg: their first win in Jamaica in over 35 years. A first-ever Copa qualification, and another shot at the Nations League finals, seemed like the logical next step.

At the end of the day, Jamaica are a very good team and showed that during the second half at BMO. But it still feels like Canada cost themselves what would have been a monumental moment for the program.

What comes next is inarguably one of the most important matches in Canadian soccer history. On March 23, in Frisco, Texas, Canada take on Trinidad and Tobago for a spot at the 2024 Copa America. There’s no more redos, this is must win territory.

No tournament between now and the World Cup will replace the experience that a Copa America could bring — world class opponents playing for something meaningful in a tournament setting is legitimately perfect prep for 2026.

March will be a madness. 

The Canadian women’s national team dropped a squad this week for their upcoming pair of friendlies in British Columbia against the Australian women’s national team, and for the last time ever it included ‘Forward- Christine Sinclair | USA / Portland Thorns FC’.

That’s right, this is the last dance for the greatest of all time as she plays her final two matches for her country. Both will be played in her home province, as the Burnaby, BC native says goodbye.

On December 1, CanWNT play in front of a sold-out crowd on Vancouver Island at Starlight Stadium, home of Pacific FC, before Sinclair’s final match at BC Place in Vancouver. There are still tickets available for that game, even with over 35,000 already sold, and we highly suggest you take in a Canadian heritage moment.

Also set to be honoured against Australia are star goalkeeper Erin Mcleod, who announced her retirement in January, and suprise callup Sophie Schmidt who will also play her finally match for Canada on December 5, having previously retired following this summer’s World Cup.

Otherwise, it is mostly the top Canada team as Bev Priestman looks to narrow down the group that will rep the country in Paris. Desiree Scott and Janine Beckie, meanwhile, have been called up to train with the group as both recover from injuries that kept them out of the 2023 World Cup.

👀 Canada linked to Panama Head Coach Thomas Christiansen. With Herdman gone, many names have been thrown into the hat for the potential Canada job. One name in particular jumped out this week: Thomas Christiansen. As per reports, Canada Soccer has ten candidates in mind for the job, and the Danish manager is supposedly among them. In the summer of 2020, Panama hired Thomas Christiansen to coach the Concacaf side. His main task was to qualify for Qatar. Unfortunately, that did not happen. However, Panama’s domestic influence has been growing. They finished runners-up in the 2023 Gold Cup and have qualified for 2024 Copa America. Since taking over he has taken them from 77th in the World to 44th (and ahead of Canada - who are 46th) all which playing some tasty football. Not bad. These facts indicate that Thomas Christiansen is a manager who can build a team and bring them to another level. In the post-Herdman era, Christiansen may be the coach that Canada would need. This is a rumour that many would like to be real. A full bio of his background can be found here in French. Put that Google Translate or ChatGPT to work.

🪽 Vanessa Gilles to return to LA after Lyon. Angel City FC have released their november 2023 roster update with Vanessa Gilles still featured in the squad. Angel City have stated that Gilles plans on returning to the NWSL once her loan spell expires. In May, the Canadian international has recently extended her loan at Lyon until June 2024.

🐎 Daan Klomp wants to leave Cavalry FC. Another CPL is ready to leave. Would MLS be the destination? If so, does Montreal want to claim a monopoly on all CPL exports finally? The CPL Player of the Year is looking for a new challenge in a different league. Undoubtedly, he’ll become an asset in whatever club he finds himself in. Canadian MLS clubs are reportedly courting the Dutch defender. However, one team needing his service the most is Toronto FC. With John Herdman as coach, TFC will overhaul the team, and Daan Klomp could be a pivotal piece in that rebuild. 

⚽️ Cyle Larin was given an unexpected opportunity. It has been a slow start at Mallorca for the Canadian international. Since joining Real Mallorca, he has yet to score a goal in La Liga but registered a goal and an assist in Copa del Rey. With Real Mallorca’s starting striker Verdat Muriqi out injured, Cyle Larin will be their main striker. This is his opportunity to shine and to bang on his goals. Club gaffer Javier Aguirre reportedly told the Brampton striker: “This is your moment, prove it.” Unfortunately, they played Atletico Madrid and lost 1-0.

🤕 Evelyne Viens and Julia Grosso picked up injuries. As Canada get’s ready to play their friendlies against Australia, Bev Priestman will have to make do without two key players, Evelyne Viens and Julia Grosso. The former picked up an injury against Ajax during the UWCL game. The latter was substituted off with an injury against Napoli. It is reported that Grosso sprained her ankle but a closer evaluation will be performed. We pray for a speedy recovery for both players.

🇫🇷 Jonathan David scores and captains for Lille against Olympique Lyon. JD, back from international duty, was given the armband against OL. After a goalless three months, David finally ends his drought with a cool finish. He now has three Ligue1 goals. It was a good day for the Ottawan as he scored in a big game and was given the armband in a 2-0 W for Lille—major points on fantasy.

🇧🇪 Tajon Buchanan picked up another assist with Club Brugge. TJ assisted in the only goal game in Club Brugge’s win over OH Leuven. He also had a FotMob rating of 8.0, the highest in the match. Atleti and Inter better be paying attention.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Ike Ugbo scores a stoppage-time winner against Liam Millar and Preston North End. Cardiff City played away at PNE. The home team led 1-0 in the second half but conceded a red card later. Cardiff City scored an equalizer in the 90+6 minute, and Ike Ugbo solidified a win with a header in the 90+9 minute. Maybe he would’ve done the same at BMO against Jamaica.

⚽️ Scott Kennedy and Jayden Nelson scored over the weekend. Kennedy scored his first goal for Wolfsberger AC’s win over Austria Wien. The Canadian CB earned Man of the Match for his performance. Jayden Nelson scored a penalty for Rosenborg. Unfortunately, Rosenborg were defeated 3-1 against Strømsgodset. On the bright side, the TFC graduate now has four goals and three assists in Norway.

⚜️ Montrealers Wilfried Nancy and Mo Farsi are off to the East Coast conference final. CF MTL must be watching Columbus Crew with regret. Wilfried Nancy has become the league’s most exciting coach, while Mo Farsi has proven to be a serious Montreal talent that CFM never seemed interested in signing. Saturday night, the Columbus Crew defeated Orlando 2-0 in Florida to earn their spot in the conference final. Further proving something everyone knows; Nancy’s brand of football is changing the league. Farsi played all 120 minutes of the game and was influential on Columbus’ wing. Former Montreal defender Rudy Camacho was a one-man wall on defence, and Aidan Morris was a workhorse, registering an assist. If Wilfried Nancy had one more season in MTL, retaining the same players, CFM would be where Columbus is now. If only. Montreal’s biggest loss was never the players; it has always been Wilfried Nancy.

🏟️ Once again, it’s UEFA Women Champions League week! Every Canadian that has featured in the competition this week went home with dubs. Not only did they win, they all balled out as starters for their respective clubs. What’s European football without Northern ballers?

🇫🇷 French heavyweight Olympique Lyonnais hosted the Austrian club St. Pölten. Vanessa Gilles started at CB for the French club but was subbed off in the 58th minute. Regardless of the sub, Gilles can say she went home with a dub, a clean sheet and no yellow cards. It was a perfect day for the defender as Lyon defeated St. Pölten 2-0.

🇵🇹 Marie-Yasmine Alidou and Benfica earned three points at home. The Montrealer was again featured in Benfica’s starting eleven against the Swedish side Rosengard. They needed a win after the battering Benfica received last week against Barcelona. A dub is what they got as they defeated the Rosengard 1-0 at home. Alidou balled out this game, shooting bangers and exerting her presence in the midfield. 

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Ashley Lawrence, Kadeisha Buchanan and Jessie Fleming started for Chelsea’s win over Paris FC. Chelsea dispatched the Parisian club in a 4-1 win at home. Chelsea balled out as they normally do, but Sam Kerr was the player that balled out the hardest. The Australian forward registered a hattrick against Paris FC, scoring two poacher goals in the box and a ridiculous chip outside the box. If you have tickets to Canada versus Australia, expect masterclass performance from all the Chelsea players. Ballers.

🇮🇹 AS Roma took on Ajax last Thursday with Evelyne Viens in the starting lineup. Last week, Evelyne Viens scored a brace away at Bayern Munich. This week, Viens did not score; however, she was still a threat off the ball with her positioning and speed. In bad news, Viens was subbed off in the 75th minute after landing on her ankle. It didn’t look good. On the bright side, Roma walked away with a 3-0 win over Ajax.

Gisoo is a writer and editor of the Northern Pitch and DARBY Magazine. Despite sporting an AC Milan kit, Gisoo is a passionate CF Montréal and Liverpool supporter. He also has a podcast called “Soccer Pilgrim” where he talks about places in football as sacred spaces and the people who play it as the lay. If you’re visiting Montreal and want good recommendations, hit him up.

📚 What to read

Right now, I am between two books, “Bring the Noise: The Jurgen Klopp Story” by goated German journalist Raphael Honigstein, and if you’re a Klopp and Liverpool fan, this book is sacred. Also a fun and engaging read. If you don’t love Klopp, this book will convert you. Outside of football, I am also reading “Black Elk Speaks” by John G. Neihardt It’s a deep book translated by a Euro-American who interviewed a Lakota medicine man before the creation of reservations. It’s deeply layered and gives the perspective of the world through the eyes of an indigenous person at a specific time in history.

📺 What to watch

I strongly recommend watching “Next Goal Wins” documentary from 2014. (Not the movie version by Taika Waititi.) The movie is apparently meh and tries hard to imitate Ted Lasso. The documentary is a beautiful story. American Samoa was the worst-ranked FIFA team in the world until they hired a Dutch coach, Thomas Rongen, whose goal was to qualify for the 2014 World Cup. An engaging story that makes you give a damn about the people in the documentary.

🎧 What to listen to

The world is heavy now, and I love to unplug with a comedy podcast. A comedian that has been the only representation of Korean-Americans is Bobby Lee. His podcast “Tiger Belly” is my go-to show to unwind and have a good time. I have loved Bobby Lee since MadTV, and for the longest time, the only person who represented someone like me. He’s also an Arsenal fan. Yuck. At least he’s not a Toronto FC fan.

✅ Who to follow

@Nivelcrack. Is this surprising? Of course not. If you somehow don’t know, have no fear. They are a streetwear brand out of Korea, making drip unique in football fashion. Everything they do is incredible.