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  Kyle Larin celebrates his goal in Haiti.  Photo: Canada Soccer Herdman’s men are laser-focused on their mission: “take us to the octagon” as the Canucks host Haiti in Chicago for the final leg of the second round. Canada’s pursuit of a World Cup berth continues when they take on 83rd-ranked Haiti, the 11th strongest team in CONCACAF. The two sides squared off in Port-au-Prince on Saturday, where Canada put on quite the professional performance defeating the host 1-0 courtesy of Kyle Larin's tap-in goal on 14 minutes. The Reds could have doubled their lead shortly after taking the lead with Larin and late in the second half with Jonathan David whose attempts were well stopped by Haiti's shotstopper Placide. Canada ran a few risks themselves, particularly in the second half but Bojan responded well. The Red Star Belgrade man had to come up big when a Pierrot bicycle kick forced him to a fingertip save. Canada, however, was able to soak up the pressure by the home side and run...

Photo Credit: AP Photo / Mike Wyke The Canadian men’s national team’s long route to the next World Cup takes a decisive turn as the Canucks square off against Haiti in a key home-and-away encounter. We examine how they got there, and what’s next as Canada’s quest for Qatar 2022 continues. After missing out on the top five-ranked teams who were seeded in CONCACAF’s world cup qualifying group of eight (known as "the octagon"), Canada knew that it was destined for the long road to World Cup 2022 that will take place Qatar. Canada is pursuing the world’s biggest tournament through a first round (organized through round robin groups) and eventually a second knockout round to the tournament. Under this format, the remaining 29 CONCACAF associations were placed in groups, the winners of which move on to the knockout round. Canada’s group stage performance saw the 70th ranked association thump 168th ranked Bermuda 5-1, destroy 194th ranked Cayman Islands 11-0, dominate 205th ranked A...

Juventus stutter in Portugal, symptomatic of a poor period.   On the heels of a match in which nothing went right, Juventus collects a 2-1 loss and is sent home packing in an irritating (is there another way to characterize it?) display at the O Dragão stadium in Porto.  Rodrigo Bentancur's unfortunate miscalculation sixty-three seconds after kick off opened the dances to what may be a key passage of Juve's 2020-21 Champions League. That notwithstanding, it's too easy to blame Bentancur. This match is the offspring of a performance that evidenced a particular period of this 2020-21 Juventus: lacking in will, confidence, determination, character, ideas, and identity. Sure, bad luck had its place: lack of form of key players like Morata, Ronaldo, Chiellini, Arthur and McKennie; the aforementioned unfortunate touch by Bentancur, Dybala being a non-entity the entire season, and a clear penalty denied at the death. This does not excuse, however, Juventus' poor p...

Credit: Kevin Sousa-USA TODAY Sports Greg Vanney leaves Toronto FC as the club's most victorious and longest-serving coach. Rocco Fasano explores the American's legacy over the course of 7 seasons that started with a losing record but decorated with silverware throughout. "I'm a builder. I like to build things and I like projects and I like big things," an emotional Greg Vanney told reporters in his final press conference as Toronto FC coach. "And this club is in a really, really good place. There's not a lot of building to do. It is an incredible club that is positioned, from where we started to where we are, to be great". These parting words hint at Greg Vanney's motivation for a decision that shocked many Toronto FC fans. A week earlier, the Reds had just lost their playoff quarter final match in what they had hoped would be a long ride. It wasn't. Greg Vanney joined the Toronto outfit in 2014, inheriting a 9-9-6 record and finishing the ...

Dybala scores the momentary go ahead goal against Genoa (Credit: Juventus.com) As Paulo Dybala’s contract renewal remains suspended, Rocco Fasano looks at recent developments, the power struggle between the Argentine and club brass, and scenarios that may be afoot to bring this matter to a conclusion - happy or... other.  The Situation Fallen-from-grace Argentine striker Paulo Dybala added some spice to his ongoing contract row with Juventus on Sunday, after the Bianconeri 's victory over Genoa's Grifoni by three goals to one. The attacker, hours after scoring his first Serie A goal in 5 months went on to criticize media about allegedly inflaming his contract situation, and bemoaned his club's inaction on the matter. "M y agent stayed in Turin for a long time but was never called. There's talk of numbers [regarding his renewal], but none of them are true. This is how fans are turned against me, I do few interviews, when they let me talk I do it and I always try to ...

McKennie celebrates Juventus second goal (Photo Credit: Juventus.com) Juventus dominate Barcelona at the Camp Nou and overturn the two goal deficit suffered in Turin to win the group in emphatic fashion. Our Rocco Fasano examines some of the factors that made this reverse fixture so different. Ninety-third minute of regulation. Ronaldo crosses the ball in the heart of the Juventus box. A whistle. Pandemonium. Match official Michael Oliver sees a push by Benatia on Vazquez. Penalty. Buffon is expelled. Ronaldo steps up and the rest is history.  These are the images that Juventus fans had seared in their retinae of Juventus' last attempted remuntada, or comeback, in Spanish territory. With pride in their hearts and tears in their eyes, Juventus and their fans saw a historic comeback crumble in added time at the hands of an officiating decision.  For intellectual honesty, it was the right decision. A few fans - not yours truly, a perennial pessimist (I say, realist ) - ...

Photo Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports Toronto FC is defeated in their first game of the 2020 MLS Playoffs. One of the tournament favourites bows out early at the hands of a capable Nashville SC who advances in the competition thanks to an overtime goal by supersub Rios. Toronto FC took on Nashville SC in its "home" field of Pratt and Whitney Stadium  in East Hartford, Connecticut as the favourite to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinal.  Strong of a successful regular season that saw the Reds missing the Supporters Shield by a handful of points, Toronto FC was hopeful to make a splash in the MLS Playoffs.   The two sides lined up mirroring one another's tactical formation, a 4-2-3-1. TFC coach Greg Vanney, played the best eleven available to him, including Jozy Altidore, despite his questionable health in 2020. The match got off to a trying start for TFC, under a bad sign: on 13 minutes, Jhonder Cadiz puts the away side ahead with a header, but i...