Basically, it’s mission accomplished. By canceling 0-0 against the Chileans on Saturday evening in Orlando, the Canadians qualified for the next round of the Copa América. This is the first time that the men’s team has reached the quarter-finals of a major non-Concacaf tournament. Congratulations.
And about the form?
Yeah. It was far from convincing. It was even worrying.
The Canadiens should have won this game easily. They took advantage of a power play that lasted more than an hour, the result of a foul by defenseman Gabriel Suazo on Richie Laryea at the end of a long race for the ball.
Laryea cut Suazo off at the last moment, like a driver who has to cross two lanes to not miss his exit on the highway. The Chilean drove into the Canadian. Boom. The referee made his decision. Red card.
Except that at 11 against 10, the Canadians were unable to impose their rhythm. The game was disjointed. Physical, too. The body checks and yellow cards kept coming one after the other. The tackled players stayed on the ground for a long time. Their teammates were constantly asking the referee for help, as if he were a teacher with a box of popsicles in a classroom without air conditioning on a scorching day. A nice concentration of everything that soccer detractors hate. You will have understood that this game will not be on the DVD of the greatest matches in the history of Canadian soccer.
Canada had two great chances to score late in the game. One came from substitute Tajon Buchanan, who sent a laser through the legs of goalkeeper Gabriel Arias. The other came from Tani Oluwayesi, also fresh off the field. The Minnesota United forward pushed the ball into the back of the net, but he was offside.
PHOTO GREGG NEWTON, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Jacob Shaffelburg and Igor Lichnovsky battle for possession.
The Canadians therefore end the group phase with only one goal in three games, that of Jonathan David, in a power play, in the 1-0 victory against the Peruvians. It is disappointing, considering that the Reds have played so far more than 90 minutes with one more man than their opponents.
That’s it for the pot.
Flowers now.
Maxime Crépeau deserves the most beautiful bouquet of orchids. The Quebec goalie once again established himself as the rock of his team on Saturday night.
Twice in the second half he saved his team from disaster. First in the 74th minutee minute, stopping in extremis a deflected shot from Alexis Sánchez. Then at the end of the match, he made a great leap to recover a floating ball that was looking for the head of a Chilean player.
Crépeau finished the group stage with two shutouts and 14 saves. His work is impeccable. Even in the 2-0 defeat against the Argentines, in the curtain-raiser, he was the best of his team, blocking seven shots on target.
PHOTO GREGG NEWTON, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Maxime Crépeau distinguished himself in stoppage time to maintain equality.
The big goalie shines under pressure. He will obviously be his country’s key player for the rest of the tournament. But next time, the Canadians won’t be able to settle for a draw. It will be a knockout match against the winners of Group B – probably the Venezuelans.
It’s going to take at least one goal, even if it goes to a shootout. “We’ve got to go in the video room and figure out ways to get better,” captain Alphonso Davies told TSN after the game. “We’re playing well, but we’ve got to score goals.”
I insist: by reaching the quarter-finals, the Canadians have just achieved a historic result. That deserves to be applauded. But we also know that they have the potential to reach an even higher level, and that this requires a more creative and incisive attack.