This past week, Canada’s national men’s soccer team played powerhouse Columbia in an international friendly at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey. The stands were filled with a vast array of patriotic fans decked out in Columbia’s colours, hoping to see their world class stars put on an elegant display that would once again extend their rise from the recent World Cup and support their 3rd place FIFA ranking.
Canada, on the other hand, was just hoping to survive. Games against Central and South American opponents can have a tendency to not just end in disaster, but feel like disaster the whole way through.
Canadian National Men’s Team Lose to Columbia in International Friendly
While James Rodriguez and Radamel Falcao and company were true to their billing and put on a dominant display of possession and creative attack, the result was not as expected, as Canada held them to an unexpected 1 – 0 win. Canada actually created some opportunity to score, albeit sporadic. The earliest threat came just barely after the opening whistle as Canadian attacker, Tossaint Ricketts was knocked down in the box while attempting to pick up a lovely forward ball. In any other situation, this would have most likely been a penalty.
Canada held on for dear life as times as Columbia created several nice chances. It looked like Columbia would open the scoring as the game approached the twenty minute mark. Falcao scored off a nice combination play that included a backheel and a nice pass from near the left corner. The goal was called back however, as the final pass was delivered from an offside position. Columbia threatened several times more through the half and looked to be closest in the 41st minute when Rodriguez took a nice shot on a free kick from just outside the penalty area. The ball veered to the right and looked to be quite dangerous, but Canada’s goalkeeper Milan Borjan managed to make contact and deflect it wide.
While most people expected a one-sided onslaught from Columbia, the periods of dominance they did have were punctuated by shifts in momentum that saw Canada fight hard and win possession from a defensive position and often in midfield. Canada was also able to retain possession for a number of combinations and move the ball forward far more often than anyone had expected.
Columbia had several good chances through the early part of the second half, but Canada managed to hold them off. Milan Borjan made several key saves in contributing to the effort. The expected strike came in the 74th minute when James Rodriguez finally scored on a nifty quick take on a free kick awarded from a foul. He delivered a quick shot that found the right side high and the Columbian celebration was on.
Canada’s coach Benito Floro stuck with a fairly experienced side for most of the game. While missing forwards Atiba Hutchinson and Simeon Jackson, leadership from Julian de Guzman was quite evident, and a key piece of the Canadian effort. David Edgar, Pedro Pacheco, and Nick Ledgerwood were all solid for Canada as well. As the second half wore on, Floro was true to his commitment to youth and sent in the allowable 5 substitutes. Toronto FC’s Jordan Hamilton and Manny Aparicio were subbed on as were Karl Ouimette and Jeremy Gagnon-Lapare of the Montreal Impact. Striker Cyle Larin of the University of Connecticut also saw action.
By all accounts, this result has to be seen as progress for Canada. For the better part of the last decade, the men’s soccer program has been in a constant state of rebuilding and resetting. A limited number of professional players have been available, and most of those play on second or third level teams in European divisions. Homegrown professional talent has been a rarity and the only avenue for that is the recently available MLS system. Only a few players, such as Dwayne DeRosario have been able to find a way into MLS even before it came to Canada. With the 2007 arrival of expansion Toronto FC, and later Montreal and Vancouver, professionally sponsored youth academies have been developed by these franchises. This may account for the emergence of a wider base of promising young players.
This national men’s team entered 2014 on the end of a string of losses and flat performances. The acquisition of coach Benito Floro, halfway through 2013, is only now bringing some stability to the program, and with it a new focus of forward tactical movement as opposed to a conservative “weather the storm and hope for the best” approach. Perhaps it was this newly adopted style that enabled the team to see some progress against Columbia and leave the game with heads held high. The team Canada of a few months ago would have easily conceded 5 to 10 goals against opposition of this quality, even if it were merely a Colombian B team. Perhaps a new chapter in Canadian soccer is unfolding. As they progress into 2015, only time will tell.
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