Canada puts themselves behind the 8-ball

It's been a bit since my last post; the end of August proved to be a busy time in both my life and the world of football.

Canada has put themselves in quite a predicament, after poor displays against both Jamaica in Toronto and, most recently, Honduras in Montreal. Against Jamaica, a moment of madness from veteran keeper Paul Dolan cost them points, while on Saturday the game plan started to crumble after winger Tomasz Radzinski sliced his hand open on the advertising boards.

Both matches (I was at the Jamaica game and only caught Saturday's game on the telly) showed that while Canada has more attacking potential than perhaps any time in the past, they still need that bit of quality when it comes to finishing. Canada had more scoring chances than their opponents in each match, but failed to convert chances into goals. Honduras on the other hand, had but maybe four good chances on goal and took two of them.

The other criticism I have of Canada's play, especially against Honduras, was the way the team slipped back into a fruitless, direct style of play after Radzinski went off. Before that moment, Canada controlled possession, was pushing the ball down the wings and creating chances. Afterwards, some fifteen minutes into the match and with a deserved 1-0 lead, they sat deeper and were content to hoof the ball up to striker Rob Friend, who seemed to operate without support. This allowed the Hondurans back into the game and effectively squashed Canada's chances once they went behind 2-1.

If Canada play like they did Saturday against the Mexicans on Wednesday night, their World Cup campaign will come to a screeching halt with three games remaining. If they use the talents of Julian De Guzman, Dwayne De Rosario and Atiba Hutchinson to control play, coming away with a point would save them from another four years of regret.

Don't get me wrong. With only one point from their first two home matches Canada will not be favoured to move on in the competition. Effectively, they need to aim for a pair of draws or an unlikely win in Edmonton against Mexico, plus a win in Honduras and again away to Jamaica.

That's a tall order, but CONCACAF is not a confederation where there's a unassailable gulf of talent between these teams. Canada, on their day, can beat any of the teams in their region, just as Trinidad and Tobago or Cuba or Guatemala can show up and play against the likes of the U.S. or Costa Rica. This ain't over for Canada yet, they've just made it a lot harder on themselves.