VAN DIEST: Trip a success for Canada despite loss heading into FIFA World Cup

VIENNA, Austria — Canada head coach John Herdman can consider the final international window before the 2022 FIFA World Cup a success.

Herdman saw what he needed in the final two exhibition games before needing to name his squad for the World Cup in Qatar in November. It will be the first time Canada has competed at a men’s World Cup since 1986.

Canada defeated Qatar 2-0, here in its opening game of the window on Friday, and lost 2-0 to Uruguay in Bratislava, Slovakia on Tuesday. The players have returned to their respective club teams and will reconvene in November for an exhibition game against Japan in Dubai, UAE on Nov. 17. Canada opens the 32-team World Cup tournament on Sept. 23 against Belgium in Al Rayyan, Qatar.

Going into the game against Uruguay, Herdman wanted to see the deficiencies in his team’s game and hopes to close them by the time Canada steps on the field at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium against Belgium.

“I don’t think we’ll be closing too many gaps, because the players are back at their clubs,” Herdman said following the game. “It’s an individual commitment now to stay at the same level; I think that’s a clear part of this work.

“I think when you look at our work in the attacking quarter (against Uruguay), I just felt we were slow; we were slow in that final phase, where we were wanting that extra pass, that extra touch. There were times we could have crossed with good numbers in the box and then we needed that killer instinct.”

Canada had good spells of possession against Uruguay, but were unable to make the most of the few chances they created. Uruguay was quick to close down space in its defensive zone and forced Canada to make quicker decisions than used to, playing teams in Concacaf.

“I thought defending collectively, we were able to control elements of the game, but the final product offensively wasn’t there,” Herdman said. “We had moments. We lived on that razor’s edge. There were some moments where we were a little bit wide and open, and when you’re playing against a $70-million striker, the fastest in the premier league we, maybe, gave him a bit too much space.”

Nicolas De La Cruz and Darwin Nunez scored first-half goals for Uruguay in the victory. De La Cruz, who plays for River Plate in Argentia, bent a free kick into the top corner of the net past Canada goalkeeper Milan Borjan, while Liverpool striker Nunez, hammered home a header off a perfect cross from forward Luis Suarez.

The two goals were the only two shots on target for Uruguay who will also play at the World Cup, grouped with Portugal, Ghana and South Korea.

Canada had 56 per cent of the possession, three shots on target and 11 efforts on goal to six for Uruguay. Outside of the two moments of brilliance from De La Cruz and Nunez, Uruguay was not able to create much offensively, and at the other end, seem to have its hands full with Canada’s three-pronged attack consisting of Alphonso Davies, Jonathan David and Cyle Larin.

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“Obviously, we can play at this level; we wouldn’t be here if couldn’t,” Borjan said. “But it does give us a lot of confidence, we showed (Tuesday), especially in that second half, that we can play with these teams. Uruguay didn’t have a shot on goal, we showed that we can dominate and as John said, it’s those last touches, those extra touches that we need to work on.”

Herdman will have to name a 26-player roster for Qatar from the nearly 40 he called up to the team for the arduous qualifying road in Concacaf.

Captain Atiba Hutchinson was not at the camp, nursing an injury sustained in the preseason with his club team in Turkey. Hutchinson, 39, is the veteran leader of the team and will be in Qatar if healthy.

“That’s in front of our minds now, our staff are on their way to check in on Atiba,” Herdman said. “His presence is missed. He just has one of those presences that is calming, and as a coach, he’s a good ally to talk to about where the group is going into games like this. He has great experiences that he’s willing to share. I look forward to getting him back and from what we heard, his recovery has gone well, he’s ahead of schedule, so we’re not putting too much pressure on him.”

Also missing was TFC midfielder Jonathan Osorio, who sustained a head injury in a collision with an opponent on July 13 against the Chicago Fire. If healthy. Osorio, 30, is also expected to be part of the World Cup squad.

“Jonathan, he made a big decision not to come, I felt for him, he’s got a lot going on with his injury and some of the things behind the scenes,” Herdman said. “He’s the last person to miss a camp and I think he’ll be fine. He’s a dedicated lad and he’ll put the work in. He’s another one that I’ll miss, he’s a guy that I lean on pretty much every camp in this four-year journey.”

A lot can happen in the next six weeks leading up to the World Cup, but having finished first in the final Concacaf qualifying group and proved they can play with some of the best South America offers, Canada feels confident heading towards the tournament. It will need to finish among the top two in a group also featured 2018 finalist Croatia, and Morocco.

“The guys are confident,” Borjan said. “It was one loss (against Uruguay), it’s a friendly match, but we got a lot out of it. We’re going to analyze the whole game and see where we made mistakes and what we need to do to make things better, and prepare for the World Cup.”

Email: dvandiest@postmedia.com

On Twitter: @DerekVanDiest

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