During the evening of September 9th, Canada’s national men’s soccer team took to the field in an international friendly against Jamaica. Held at BMO Field in Toronto, this was the first match played at home by the national squad since a 3 – 0 victory against Cuba on October 12th, 2012 in a 2014 World Cup qualifier. In what can only be seen as a breath of fresh air by any follower, Canada put on a relatively spirited and commanding display en route to a 3 – 1 victory.
Long Awaited Victory for Canadian Men’s National Team
The backstory to this piece of good news is one riddled with disappointment. Going back to October of 2012, Canada’s follow-up to beating Cuba was a game against Honduras at San Pedro Sula. In a match that Canada only needed to tie to move on to the next round of qualification, the wheels came off in style. Canada opened the score early but succumbed quickly to a high paced and merciless onslaught courtesy of Honduras. The nightmare of San Pedro Sula continued as coach Steven Hart resigned immediately following. A team that had played steadily and relied more on defence than firepower, the loss to Honduras was bitter, leaving the national men’s program in disarray.
We’ll into 2013, the team relied on interim coaches, until the hiring of Benito Floro, in July. Floro comes with a deep history of management in Spain, most recently as Director of Football with Real Madrid. Floro joined in the midst of a series of friendlies that were not going well. In fact, the win against Jamaica marked Canada’s first win in 16 games, including a scoreless stretch that exceeded nine hundred minutes.
On the bright side, Canada entered the match with a favourable head-to-head 7 – 4 – 4 record against Jamaica. Perhaps the stars were aligned for a positive result; a veteran line-up, a young Jamaican squad, and home field advantage.
Canada’s lineup was composed of mostly veterans who were actually a part of the Brazil 2014 qualification campaign, but was also sprinkled with a mix of youth. Toronto FC’s Doniel Henry and Kyle Bekker were available, along with longstanding notables Julian de Guzman, Dwayne DeRosario, and Atiba Hutchison. Patrice Bernier started in his 50th cap.
Canada opened with a surprisingly organized and strong possession game and an apparent will to dictate the pace; something uncharacteristic of Canadian teams of the past. David Edgar held great position and strength at the back. With Jamaica opening the scoring on a free kick at the 29th minute, it was Edgar who scored off a volley from a delivered cross a minute later. For most observers this was surprising as Canadian national men’s teams of the past have been hard pressed to come back from early, momentum shifting strikes. Canada continue to attack through the first half. Service from Marcel de Jong and Julian de Guzman tried to find Atiba Hutchinson, Tosaint Ricketts, and Randy Edwini-Bonsu running deep. Even Doneil Henry, used as a right back in this game, attempted to run patterns deep right. Given the presence of a well paced Issey Nakajima-Farran, Henry may have been better used in his regular central defending role.
Canada showed strength in utilizing a 4 – 3 – 3 formation that handled a fast Jamaican counter and kept their back line busy. Communication between the Canadian back line and midfield was noticeably smooth. Keeping sufficient bodies behind the ball was characteristically consistent, at least in the opening half. Canada’s ability to find room and move the ball through the midfield was also comparatively impressive. Canada has not been strong in this component throughout the past and as a team that has long been reliant on hopeful balls lofted over opposing midfields, this was progress to say the least.
A similar pattern continued in the second half as Canada upped the pace and pressed Jamaica. The resulting chances from Randy Edwini-Bonsu, among others were nice to see, but fell short in accuracy. More concerning, the high pressure resulted in Jamaican counters that were dangerous to say the least. Left on numerous occasions with Jamaican forwards all alone in front of him, Canadian goalkeeper Milan Borjan had to make several desperation saves in keeping the Jamaicans from getting back in. A man of the match performance from Borjan kept Canada alive. A nicely placed free kick by Marcel de Jong put Canada ahead in the 68th minute and a gift 4 minutes later when Jamaican goalkeeper Andre Blake bobbled a Simeon Jackson shot, allowed Tossaint Ricketts to seal the deal.
One wonders if this is truly an improved and renewed squad that can get results at a higher level. At the very least, new management and coaching have delivered a style that is unlike many of the highly cautious and conservative groups Canada has fielded throughout the past. A string of ties and extremely low scoring affairs since Floro has taken over should give comfort that at least greater composure and organization have been found.
Looking forward, supporters would hope that this trend continues. The absence of Will Johnson and Jonathan Osorio would lead to the conclusion that this team can and will get better. The majority of the squad comes from second division level (and lower) throughout Europe. This is by no means a negative point given that many successful World Cup qualifying teams have employed similar quality in their campaigns. The added positive feature is that Canada is continuing to develop professional players through Major League Soccer. Will Johnson and Dwayne deRosario have had prolific MLS careers, and Andre Hainault and Dejan Jakovic have developed quite nicely prior to moving overseas. The real difference however, may well be the emergence of academies in Canadian MLS cities. Youngsters such as Doneil Henry, Kyle Bekker, Ashtone Morgan, Russell Teibert, and Anthony Jackson-Hamel, may very well represent a newer and ultimately deeper pool of talent that can mark the emergence of a more competitive Canadian men’s national soccer program. Canada may no longer need to rely on the decisions of prospective talents such as Asmir Begovic, David Hoilett, or Jonathan de Guzman to improve international stature.
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Main Photo via THE CANADIAN PRESS/Peter Power
