Early goals from Cyle Larin and Jonathan David earned Canada a 2-0 shutout against World Cup host Qatar in a friendly on Friday.
Canada controlled most of the game, and built a 2-0 lead after just 13 minutes in front of mostly empty stands at the Generali Arena, home of FK Austria Vienna.
Qatar, 48th in the world rankings and conceding five places to Canada, offered no real opposition to the representatives of the maple leaf.
“We knew the first 20 minutes would be difficult because Qatar is structured and disciplined,” explained Canada head coach John Herdman. But I think our players rose to the challenge tonight. »
The Canadians, who would face the Qataris for the first time, will face tougher opponents on Tuesday when they take on world No. 13 Uruguay in Bratislava, Slovakia.
“It’s going to be a tough test,” admitted Herdman. But that’s what we dream of. We played against Concacaf opponents for four years. All players have dreamed of playing against countries such as Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina during their international career. This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for.
“For us, it’s the equivalent of a league game against Uruguay, much like it will be against Belgium and Croatia (opponents of Canada in Group F of the World Cup). We are feverish. But we must avoid getting carried away, keep both feet on the ground and put our shoulders to the wheel over the next three days. »
Canada’s final preseason game for the World Cup is Nov. 17 against No. 24 Japan in Dubai.
The Canadians held their breath in the second half when Alphonso Davies called for a trainer after getting tangled up with Ismail Mohammad in the 57th minute. The Bayern Munich star player was able to leave the pitch under his own power, limping, and gave way to a reserve player.
” It’ll be OK. He sat on the bench and had fun with his teammates. Everything will be fine,” Herdman assured of Davies.
Several CF Montreal players took part in this meeting: Alistair Johnston, Samuel Piette, Kamal Miller and Ismaël Koné. Joel Waterman remained on the bench.
The representatives of the maple leaf will begin their journey at the World Cup on November 23 against Belgium (No. 2), in Group F.