CHAMPIONS LEAGUE CLASH

FANS WERE GREETED WITH THREE MATCHES IN A TEN DAY SPAN.

8.) JONATHAN DAVID AND CYLE LARIN LIKE TO SCORE. A LOT. For Canada to advance, they were going to have to fi nd some consistent goalscorers. While the side has had many notable goalscorers through the years, they have always lacked that fi nishing touch in the key moments. After years of scouting and development, they found two in this window in David and Larin. Of the two, Larin is perhaps the biggest surprise story. After a rocky start at Besiktas, the former Orlando City SC striker found his form through the National Team, scoring 13 goals during qualifi cation. David, meanwhile has been on a tear for both club and country, scoring 9 goals for Canada and 13 for Lille. 7.) SNOW QUALIFIERS ARE GREAT… One of the biggest moments of World Cup Qualifi cation was the Canada-Mexico match in Edmonton, Alberta. Taking place during a snowstorm in November, the match at the time was the biggest in Canadian men’s soccer for quite some time. The rowdy Edmonton crowd made the match downright di cult for El Tri. Larin’s brace and subsequent snow angel will live in the minds of Canadian soccer fans for generations.

6.)...BUT PLAYING IN SUBARCTIC TEMPERATURES PROBABLY ISN’T A GREAT IDEA This World Cup Qualifi cation cycle was unique in that as opposed to the typical ‘two games per international window’ fans were greeted with three matches in a ten day span. That condensed schedule caused matches to be played in late November, January, and February. That led to some rather frigid games in the single digits, including a USA-Honudras match in Minnesota that was in the single digits. While this isn’t the fi rst time that a CONCACAF World Cup Qualifi er was played in miserable temperatures, that multiple players su ered from frostbite showed how dangerous the match truly was. CONCACAF has to put a stop to the weather shenanigans or someone might get hurt. 5.) NEVER COUNT OUT THE TICAS About midway through the Qualifi cation window, it looked like Costa Rica might be done. The generation of Keylor Navas, Bryan Ruiz, Celso Borges, and Joel Campbell had led the side for so many years to the highest of highs, but in a region that was becoming increasingly younger, they seemed to be out of place. But the side won six of their fi nal seven matches to earn the fourth spot and a chance to qualify for Qatar in an intercontinental playo against New Zealand.

ABOVE: Canada's starting eleven in Orlando, on March 25th, 2022

RIGHT: The Qualifi er between Canada and Mexico was played with alot of snow, and alot of cold fans

LEFT: Cyle Larin has been scoring alot of goals for Canada for quite some time now

4.) OCHOA IS STILL EL TRI’S BEST GOALKEEPER At the start of this World Cup Qualifi cation cycle, many in the Mexican press were asking if Guillermo Ochoa was perhaps past his prime and it was time for Tata Martino to look elsewhere. Shaky performances against the United States and Canada in November that both resulted in losses certainly didn’t do him any favors. But the 36 year old goalkeeper turned things around in 2022, earning six clean sheets and helping El Tri secure their eighth consecutive World Cup appearance.

3.) THAT CHRISTIAN PULISIC IS THE USMNT’S MOST IMPORTANT PLAYER One of the misconceptions about football is that a team’s most important player is always their best player. Christian Pulisic is a perfect example of this. While Pulisic started the Qualifi cation cycle as the United States Men’s National Team’s wonderkid, over the last two years the US have been blessed with many more young talented players than the Chelsea midfi elder. But when it came down to it, time and time again the 22 year old was asked to stand up and deliver for his country. Whether it was the goal o of the bench against Mexico in November or the hat trick against Panama, Pulisic showed that when it came to the big moments he was ready. 2.) THE REGION IS GETTING YOUNGER Outside of Costa Rica and a bit of Mexico, this qualifi cation cycle was marked by the emergence of young, exciting new talent across the region. While Canada (Larin, David, Alphonso Davies, Tajon Buchanan) and the United States (Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie, Giovanni Reyna, Brendan Aaronson) will get the most publicity players such as Leon Bailey (Jamaica), Diego Lainez (Mexico) and Alex Roldan (El Salvador) all emerged as leaders of their sides during a wild six months.

1)IT TAKES A LOT TO UNDO BAD Performances…But It Is That Much Sweeter To qualify for this year’s World Cup, both Canada and the United States had to confront some old ghosts and fi gure out who they were. That is much easier said than done. For Canada, it was erasing thirty years of stops and starts, heartache, and rocky performances (especially on the road). As for the U.S., their demons were much more recent. The 2018 performance, or lack thereof, shook the game to its core and forced a complete overhaul of the roster and in U.S. Soccer. Neither team was guaranteed a spot in Qatar 2022 and both had a few nervy moments (moreso the United States) but in the end they both made it. Now the fun part begins.

ABOVE: Ochoa has been Mexico's ace through many di erent World Cup qualifi cations

ABOVE (SMALL): Mexico celebrate after winning a match during qualifi ers

BELOW: Tajon Buchanan is a young gun that will prove vital to Canada's success

THIS QUALIFICATION CYCLE WAS MARKED BY THE EMERGENCE OF YOUNG, EXCITING NEW TALENT ACROSS THE REGION TOP SERIE A CANADA PICKS TOP SCORERS

CYLE LARIN 13 GOALS JONATHAN DAVID 9 GOALS ALPHONSO DAVIES 5 GOALS LUCAS CAVALLINI 5 GOALS TAJON BUCHANAN 3 GOALS JUNIOR HOILETT 3 GOALS MARK-ANTHONY KAYE 2 GOALS ATIBA HUTCHINSON 2 GOALS

JONATHAN DAVID

TOP SERIE A USA PICKS TOP SCORERS

CHRISTIAN PULISIC 5 GOALS RICARDO PEPI 3 GOALS ANTONEE ROBINSON 2 GOALS BRENDEN AARONSON 2 GOALS WESTON MCKENNIE 2 GOALS WALKER ZIMMERMAN 1 GOALS TIMOTHY WEAH 1 GOALS SERGINO DEST 1 GOALS

RICARDO PEPI

TOP SERIE A CONCACAF PICKS FINAL TABLE

CANADA 8 WINS 28 POINTS MEXICO 8 WINS 28 POINTS USA 7 WINS 25 POINTS COSTA RICA 7 WINS 25 POINTS PANAMA 6 WINS 21 POINTS JAMAICA 2 WINS 11 POINTS EL SALVADOR 2 WINS 10 POINTS HONDURAS 0 WINS 4 POINTS

ENGLAND & SPAIN dominance

KARIM BENZEMA’S GOALS HAVE MADE THE DIFFERENCE IN REAL MADRID'S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RUN

LEFT: Benzema about to walk out of the tunnel during a Champions League game

BELOW: Benzema celebrating one of his many goals this Champions League tournament.

A After 120 games, the Champions League has come down to two ties pitting England against Spain. The football hotbeds of Manchester, Liverpool and Madrid are joined by a relative minnow in the form of Villarreal. But all four sides left in the competition will believe that they have what it takes to play three more games and lift the most iconic of trophies. Manchester City will get a chance to beat the most decorated club in the tournament’s history when they take on Real Madrid, while Liverpool will have to deal with a Villarreal team that has already upset the supposed natural order of things by dumping Juventus and Bayern Munich out of the competition. Pep Guardiola will return to face another Madrid team in the last four, but not before Manchester City host Real at the Etihad Stadium in the first leg. It goes without saying that a good result for the Premier League club is vital there, but Guardiola certainly has the players capable of hurting the La Liga champions-elect. Real Madrid have looked very impressive going forward, with the pace of Vinícius Júnior supplying the seemingly timeless Karim Benzema with the opportunities to accentuate his goal-scoring legend status. It is a mixture of youth and experience that has worked for them so far, although whether City will give

2022 DATES TO KNOW

SEMI FINALS: April 26 - May 4

FINALS: May 28

SEMI FINALS: April 28 - May 5

FINALS: May 18

SEMI FINALS: April 28 - May 5

FINALS: May 25

ABOVE: Unai Emery’s tactical wizardry has inspired Villarreal’s unexpected run to the last four

TOP RIGHT: Eintracht Frankfurt defeated Barcelona to reach the semi-fi nals of the Europa League

RIGHT: Villarreal’s Etienne Capoue (C) in action during the UEFA Champions League round of 16, second leg soccer match Juventus FC vs Villarreal FC

BOTTOM RIGHT: FC Barcelona´s Ronald Araujo reacts during the UEFA Europa League quarter fi nal

‘UNAI EMERY'S VILLARREAL QUICKLY BECAME THE SURPRISE OF THE TOURNAMENT ’

the older heads a chance to breathe remains to be seen. After three consecutive seasons departing the Champions League at the quarter-fi nal stage, City managed to make it all the way to the big showpiece last year before losing to the familiar foes of Chelsea. Guardiola, the players, the fans and - above all -the club’s wealthy owners, will not want to go through all that pain to fi nish runners up again. In the other semi-fi nal Liverpool have been treated to what, on paper, looks like the kindest draw. After a potentially tricky group stage - and a round of 16 tie against Inter Jurgen Klopp’s side dealt with Benfi ca without too much trouble and now get to face the latest neutrals’ favourite, Villarreal. Klopp was able to rest the majority of his usual starting XI for the second leg at Anfi eld after a convincing 3-1 victory in the fi rst leg in Lisbon the week before. With Liverpool gunning for trophies on multiple fronts, some downtime for the likes of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Sadio Mané was much appreciated. But now Liverpool will need to be wary of Villarreal and the tactical genius of Unai Emery.

EUROPA LEAGUE SUPREMACY

Dan Roberts looks at the last four of the Europa League and how that competition is shaping up

This season’s Europa League continues to enthral, with some big names exiting the competition at the quarter-fi nal stage. After rejuvenating Barcelona’s dreams of success this year, Xavi was unable to oversee a predicted second leg victory over Eintracht Frankfurt at the Camp Nou. Thousands of German fans had descended on the Catalan city for the game and cheered their side on to a win that sets the Bundesliga club against West Ham United in the semi-fi nal. That fi xture will be a repeat of the last time West Ham made it to the last four of a European competition. The Hammers went on to lose to Anderlecht in the 1976 European Cup Winners’ Cup but will now be one of the favourites to win the Europa League this year after dumping Lyon out. The other semi-fi nal will be played between Red Bull Leipzig and Rangers. Leipzig are aiming to become the ninth club to go and win the Europa League after transferring in from a third-placed fi nish in the Champions League group stage. There has not always seemed the appetite for this competition shown by sides that have dropped down, but the Bundesliga team have now beaten Real Sociedad and Atalanta to reach the fi nal four. Rangers kept the hope of an all United Kingdom fi nal alive by eventually overcoming Braga in Glasgow. This was the only quarter-fi nal that went to extra time but the Portuguese team were reduced to nine men by the end and narrowly lost out on a semi-fi nal berth. The two semi-fi nals look set to be just as exciting as what has gone before, with some battling UK teams facing Bundesliga opposition. An all-German fi nal is also a distinct possibility, of course - and that hasn’t happened since 1980 when Eintracht Frankfurt last won the trophy against Borussia Monchengladbach.