Canada shot itself in the foot. Then he didn’t have time to analyze his wound and shot himself in the other foot. The Canadians suffered a tough 4-1 defeat against the Japanese on Friday in Niigata, in a friendly match that quickly turned into a thaw.
It’s certainly not the opening that Canada’s interim head coach, Mauro Biello, would have wanted for his first audition. The Impact legend wants to become the permanent coach of the maple leaf.
At first, we could blame nervousness. Japan opened the scoring after 80 seconds of play, while the Reds were guilty of a real defensive muddle in front of Milan Borjan’s net.
Were they dazzled by these Japanese stars? The Blue Samurai are the team of the hour in international soccer. Before this match, Japan had scored 18 goals in 4 matches, leaving Turkey and Germany looking for new head coaches. This shows how difficult the organization of this friendly match was for Canada, whose players also had to travel to the other side of the world to play it.
Canada then managed to calm things down a bit. Alphonso Davies even managed to win a penalty in the 19th minute. Jonathan David, however, came up against goalkeeper Osako Keisuke, and was unable to convert.
Then the meager hopes were dashed in quick succession, in the 39th and 42nd. Davies scored a crazy own goal, and Alistair Johnston was easily beaten in defense in front of his zone, a sequence which ultimately allowed Keito Nakamura to make it 3-0.
The reorganization of the half did not have the desired effect, and Canada was this time beaten by a lethal Japanese attack, who scored their 22nd goal in 5 games in the 49th minute.
Junior Hoilett managed to somewhat save the honor of the Canadians in the 89th, by scoring 4-1 while Japan had slowed down.
For CF Montreal fans, some good news still came out of this match: Mathieu Choinière came on in the 62nd minute, and thus played his first minutes with the senior team.
The aura around the Canadian team has faded since qualifying for the men’s World Cup. Matches like this demonstrate the gulf that separates it from the best selections. But you have to play them, these matches, to be convinced.
Now, Biello has a month to draw the right conclusions, and arrive at the two November meetings prepared. Yes, he will play in Canada’s qualification for next summer’s Copa América. But he will also play his position there.
