Thursday, March 31, 2011

What Do YOU Want to Watch on Opening Weekend?

SATURDAY
Opening Ceremonies 1:00 Will they be long? Probably. Will they be boring? Most likely. But c'mon, it's the Opening Ceremonies for the 2011 WCP Cup. The very first day of Saskatchewan's best soccer tournament. I'm excited to get this thing going, and you should be too. There will be tons of people there, and you'll get a taste of the awesome atmosphere.
*Note: The World Curling Championships start on Saturday(great timing).

What else might pique your interest?

Laos vs. Sudan 2:00 What's not to like? We get to see the defending champions back in action, and we get our first look at the brand-new team of Sudan. It's the first game of the tournament, and it'll be a good one.

Timeframe From 3 - 6 Get to see the top-notch Ukraine Women's team take on Poland, and some Youth Boys and Girls games. Chance to watch the players of the future perhaps.

Ireland vs. Sierra Leone 6:00 Top team Ireland takes on the other brand-new team, Sierra Leone. It's unfortunate that the two new teams have to be subjected to playing the top 2 teams in their first game of the tournament. Everyone wants to see how these teams play though.

Women's Germany vs. Women's Ireland 7:00 At this point, the tournament should be behind schedule by 30 minutes or so. Take that into account. But Germany will be Ukraine's main competition for the Women's Championship, so take a look.

France vs. Botswana 8:00 Top contender France plays their first game against the always exciting Botswana. France's first real game in a long time, against a Botswana team that will be itching to pull off the upset.

Canada vs. Jamaica 9:00 The main event of the evening. The two teams that many expect to make it out of the incredibly tough Group D. This game will go a long way in determining the group, and it's only the first day. Will all of Canada's players be ready and healthy enough? Will Jamaica's Saskatoon players make it down? It's the perfect timing for a great matchup between two long-time rivals. One of the best games of the tournament.

El Salvador vs. Northern Ireland 10:00 To cap off the day, we get our first look at the El Salvador team, looking to take their group away from Laos. If there are any upsets in this group, Northern Ireland is likely to be the team to do it. We'll see if their team can actually be taken seriously.

SUNDAY
The Sunday games aren't as exciting as the Saturday games. If you can only make one day, make it Saturday.

2 Youth Games, Women's Canada vs. Women's England, Women's Austria vs. Women's Chile, Portugal vs. Serbia, Scotland vs. Ukraine, England vs. Norway 1:00 to 8:00 There will be some good games in here for sure. I'll be there watching most of them. I want to see if Women's England is still a contender, if Women's Chile can get back to their former glory, if Portugal has the potential to be top team again, if Scotland can upset Ukraine, and see exactly how good Norway is. There's some storylines in this bunch.

Germany vs. Poland 8:00 This is the game you want to be there for. Every Group D will be great, and this is your first look at Germany and Poland. Will Germany gel together on the pitch? Will Poland find enough offence to keep up with them? Both teams will be ready to crush the other one. Be there for this game.

Nigeria vs. Greece 9:00 Can Greece shoot down Nigeria's hopes of contending for first in the group? Last game of the night.

It'll be great weekend. What game are you most excited about this weekend?

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

SO stoked that the tournament is finally here!

as for the exciting games, I would put that Nigeria/Greece game on par with the Scotland/Ukraine game. I'm not sure that either will be overly exciting from a high skill level standpoint, but it could set the tone for who the spoilers of the tournament could be in their repsective pools. Does Ukraine come out stronger than expected? Does Scotland catch Ukraine off guard with a closer than expected game? That game is the battle of the spoilers, so I'm sure it will be interesting to see if either team can do something or if they both turn out to be complete busts battling for the bottom.

I think the top 3 games of the weekend will be Canada/Jamaica (M), Germany/Poland (M). That Scotland/Germany youth game might be a good one to watch. Germany look pretty good in a game against England boys the other night..kicked the tar out of them like 5-0 or something...could be a good one against the defending champs.

Anonymous said...

I look forward to France/Botswana game...should be interesting.

Anonymous said...

Hey CC, have you heard anything about the new team called Sierra Leone? I'm just wondering if you have heard who they have or any players to watch for?

Anonymous said...

wow Laos looked really bad on the opening day didnt even look like they are the champions, Sudan are going to be one of my teams to support they proved that they have a good to team and should have took something out of this game but wish them luck, shoot next time coz thats how they will score goals instead of walking the ball in the net, great game Sudan so unlucky

Anonymous said...

Sudan sent a big message out today, wow that was a game and half, Laos workde hard for their 2-1 win otherwise it was a 50/50 win game.

K.B

Anonymous said...

I totally agree with you guys! Laos only won that game because of a Sudan own goal. They were outplayed at every aspect of the game. They are lucky to get away with a win. Sudan sent a huge message, they came to win! Laos should be taking Evan out after keeping them in that game!!

Anonymous said...

Sudan did amazing. I'm shocked they didn't come out with the win. They have some very skilled tall and fast players. They literally won all the balls in the air. Their keeper wasn't really tested either, which shows a solid defensive line. So Sudan. I think they may be the underdogs who go through to the next round this year.

Also, I don't know how many people agree with me, but did you guys that watched the Sudan vs. Laos think the ref. Hanz was a little biased and unfair. He kept yelling at the Sudan players. I was a bit upset cause some calls were terrible, like when Evan, the keeper for Laos fell down when he was bairly touched and a yellow was given.

Another note, I would like to make is about the Sierra Leone game. The team looked not bad in the second half, but they really need to get some defense. I feel sorry for the Sierra Leone keeper. From what people around me were saying, he's a pretty good keeper here in the city. Poor guy. Maybe there next game will be better?

Anonymous said...

After day one with really only won close game, do you think that this trend will continue or will there be any close games? What the heck happened to Jamaica?? ES v Sudan should be an exciting fast game!!

Anonymous said...

What do you guys think about the youth boys game Scotland vs. Germany? Wasn't it a great come back for Scotland? And what about that number 9?

Anonymous said...

what did you guys think about Scotland and Germany youth boys? And also that number 9 on Scotland scoring 2 tieng goals that was amazing!!

Clock Cleaner said...

I'm thinking that you're number 9.

Anonymous said...

I heard Sierra Leone is still missing some really good players from out of town. I guess we will see if the rumor is true when they play on Saturday. Hopefully a better game for them. I like seeing underdog (new teams) do well.

Anonymous said...

The ref for Laos - Sudan game was very biased. I was impressed with Sudan's game. They may go through to the next round, but it's just the first game.

Anonymous said...

so there national anthem is Diamonds are Forever by Kanye right?