Episode 589 - The AFTN Soccer Show (Gardyloo)

We’re back with another AFTN Soccer Show packed full of Vancouver Whitecaps, Major League Soccer, and Canadian national team chat.

It's not been a great year for the Canadian national teams. There's been some highs, but ultimately a lot of lows on the international stage with the building upon winning an Olympic gold on the women's side and the first World Cup appearance in 32 years on the men's side simply not coming to fruition. We look at the reasons why, the lack of success on the youth side, why the country seems to have fallen behind up and coming nations, and are there any easy solutions to fix the situation? Plus we delve into one of the things that's triggered this whole discussion, Canada's Nations League loss to Jamaica.

At least the women's team have two feelgood matches coming up as the legend Christine Sinclair hangs up her boots on the international stage. We hear from head coach Bev Priestman about balancing the emotions of the matches with preparing for a big 2024 and chat to her about development pathways in the women's game in Canada.

Our feature interview this episode is with one of the top Canadian prospects who's just had her first call-up to the senior national team - Whitecaps midfielder Jeneva Hernandez-Gray. We chat with Jeneva about her rise, her career so far, and her hopes for the future.

And there's still time to hand out the second batch of our 2023 End of Season Awards. We continue with some more Whitecaps ones as we look at the Game of the Year, Goal of the Year, Save of the Year, and the Biggest Disappointment. Plus we cast our eyes over the weekend's controversial MLS playoff conference semi-finals.

Here’s the rundown for the main segments from the episode:

01.05: Intro - fog, medieval toilet habits, FIFA U17 WC
07.25: Canada v Jamaica - WTF happened?
40.29: Who should be the next CMNT manager?
51.15: Why has Canadian football fallen behind others in the world and how do you fix it?
77.05: CWNT balancing emotion and preparation with Australia games
87.10: Jeneva Hernandez-Gray interview
96.10: Canadian women developmental discussion with Bev Priestman
106.20: AFTN 2023 awards Part 2 - Game, Goal, Save, and Biggest Disappointment of year
129.55: Controversy reign in MLS playoffs
150.25: Wavelength - The Curls - Daphne Van Domselaar