Canada continues to be the grizzly bear in the minnow stream, downing Puerto Rico 3-0 on the road last night. Coupled with last week's 4-1 win over St. Lucia at BMO Field, Our Lads sit comfortably atop their World Cup qualifying group, likely unconcerned with whatever opposition will be put their way by St. Kitts and Nevis.
So why is there so much gnashing of hair and pulling of teeth amongst Canada fans?
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Well, we’re nervous, you see. The first half against St. Lucia wasn’t so hot, and last night dragged on and on with Canada clinging to a one-goal lead in the Caribbean, where it never takes much for everything to go snakeshit in the closing moments.
And it did, of course – but not for Canada. It was the home-standing Puerto Ricans who had to endure two late goals-against.
So even though got two clear wins and a +6 goal difference, there aren’t a lot of Voyageurs this morning leaping up and down in their cubicles and hollering “hooray!”
So let me see if I can make you feel better.
Blow-out wins (which the fans feel strongly that neither of these three-goal victories was) are (at this point and this level) baloney.
Let’s start with goal difference. In a group with three happy squads of ultimate-no-hope islanders, goal difference is utterly irrelevant. If enough calamity ensued that Canada actually needed goal difference to advance, they would simply not deserve to go through. By that point, they’d be so bad that Cuba, Honduras and Nicarpanama would skeletonize them in the next round anyway. It’s not worth thinking about, so let that be the final end of that conversation.
As to winning every game by lots and lots of goals – let’s think about that.
The Canadian men’s national soccer team, at any given moment, is a hands-on work in progress. It’s not exactly up on blocks in Stephen Hart’s driveway, but there is constant tuning – and replacing of parts – to be done.
There was a lot of anguish when Cuba slipped past Canada in the FIFA world rankings, forcing the Canucks to play these six extra matches against very small opposition. But it may have been a blessing in disguise. This essentially turns into a two-month pre-qualifying training camp, played in essentially the same conditions Canada will face when the real games start.
Okay, Bayamon ain’t Tegucigalpa, but that was a good old CONCACAF nail-chewer of a road game last night, and you want a few of those under the old belt before you look up and it’s Honduras away and it matters and rule 19, sub-paragraph 6 down there is that Canada Can’t Be Allowed To Win. (Ask Squizz. He’ll tell ya.)
So the real goal of these games isn’t to wax St. Lucia 9-0, however many happy pint glasses would be raised on King Street. Far more important is to build the team. No one’s particularly happy they were in tough for so long in Puerto Rico last night, but the team created chances, and eventually won 3-0.
Even against weak opposition, the simple fact that Canada gets to play an extra half dozen full internationals has to be good for the cohesion. They can readily afford to make mistakes now – assuming, of course, that they learn from them.
And there’s another rare luxury here, too. If Canada happens to get a couple of goals up, or a blow-out just seems to be taking shape anyhow, they can start test-running any particular fine points they might want to polish up before things get significantly tougher in the next round. Combinations of players, tactical give-and-goes, a piece here, a piece there – any of it could result in an utterly priceless goal much further down the qualifying road.
Canada will win this group going away. Puerto Rico away was the tough one, and that’s neatly and safely in the win column now. The lads won’t really learn anything by blowing out islanders. I’d certainly rather they not be even the least bit giddy or over-confident in Havana or Honduras.
If a blow-out win happens, hail and hallelujah. If not – so wot?
If your road to the 2014 World Cup has to include giving up a soggy, thirty-yard diagonal goal at home, do it against St. Lucia – in 2011.
For the next four games, it’s more important to build the team than it is to destroy the opponents.
Onward!