Friendly: Japan vs Canada - Friday, October 13th - 6:35am Eastern / 3:35am Pacific - Niigata, Japan

[Unnamed Trialist]

Tunísia lost to South Korea 4-0. Is that an equivalence? Is traveling halfway around the world and losing that unusual?

We had a goal against early, then they sat back, we were deserving of tying it. It was an unfortunate narrative and maybe not as bad as it felt. We even dominated possession.

[HochelagaFC]

1 hour ago, El Diego said:

Giving Biello the interim tag makes sense, except we should be in a transition phase and he is fighting for the permanent job with crucial Nations League matches coming up meaning that the status quo remains. There were zero new ideas in this first camp which is delaying the next phase, and that next phase needs to happen sooner rather than later. Out there he is simply Herdman without charisma and Tenllado, which is to say not much.

Completely agree with this. For a guy that seemed really motivated to prove he is the man for the job that he « worked for all his life », he didn’t bring anything different that proved he deserved it. 
 

That game was Biello in a nutshell. Unable to demonstrate what he brings to the table.

[BearcatSA]

One Soccer doesn't have the replay of the match up yet and I don't have Fubo for on demand,  so is there any other way to watch this game, or do I just have to wait for One Soccer to do get it in their replay queue?

[Kadenge]

No question that Japan is a top  side especially on current form, but if travel and jet lag is such an issue to the point that we can't play to our best ability, was it the right match-up/test?  Beggers can't be choosers and I have no idea if there were other options on the table?

[JamboAl]

16 minutes ago, Kadenge said:

No question that Japan is a top  side especially on current form, but if travel and jet lag is such an issue to the point that we can't play to our best ability, was it the right match-up/test?  Beggers can't be choosers and I have no idea if there were other options on the table?

Couldn’t play a South American team (WC Qualifying), a European team (Euro 2024 Qualifying) or a CONCACAF team (other than US, Mexico or Costa Rica).  

So all you are left are Africa and Asia.

[BearcatSA]

3 minutes ago, JamboAl said:

Couldn’t play a South American team (WC Qualifying), a European team (Euro 2024 Qualifying) or a CONCACAF team (other than US, Mexico or Costa Rica).  

So all you are left are Africa and Asia.

This reminds me of the South Africa match during Mitchell's tenure.  It was also a long ways to go for one match and we looked pretty poor in that one, too.

I like the European neutral site friendlies, purely from a logistical sense for both distance challenged countries, playing an African side at a London area stadium, for instance.

I'm just glad that we got a match here, after having zilch in September.

[kacbru]

Given the ridiculous reaction to Zator's unfortunate own goal, I was expecting some calls for Davies tenure on the team to be over. 

[phresh]

10 minutes ago, kacbru said:

Given the ridiculous reaction to Zator's unfortunate own goal, I was expecting some calls for Davies tenure on the team to be over. 

People love to overdramatize, saw the guy Javier calling Davies' play today amateurish, that was hilarious. And then some people are trying to convince me Kone's been poor for club and country the last few months, when that is not true at all. It's easy to lose perspective when the team isn't performing at its best

[Ally McCoist]

I set my alarm to wake up to watch the game but I had somehow slept through it. I woke up at 7:15 and saw we were down 2-0 before half (just before we conceded the third goal it seems). Literally tossed my phone away and went back to sleep. 

Looks like I missed nothing.

[An Observer]

7 hours ago, Kadenge said:

so what's happened to our vaunted speed that we had in the past? Is it me or does Laryea look a step or two slower?  Still think that Davies is our only real top level attacking threat and the only one who can put real pressure on defenders with his speed.

Japan is a very fast team so they neutralized it.  We were at our best when we bullied them as we did the US in Hamilton for qualifying

[CanadaFan123]

Davies needs to really improve his set pieces. Like it or not he’s often times the only left footed options in the lineup most matches. 
 

I actually wanted him to take that penalty he earned. Maybe there are designated takers now under Biello. 

[Stoppage Time]

3 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Tunísia lost to South Korea 4-0. Is that an equivalence? Is traveling halfway around the world and losing that unusual?

We had a goal against early, then they sat back, we were deserving of tying it. It was an unfortunate narrative and maybe not as bad as it felt. We even dominated possession.

New to today's conversation. Did we lose primarily due to brutal mistakes, or were we thoroughly outplayed and outmatched?

 

[Stoppage Time]

3 hours ago, Bison44 said:

 I think we all drank the coolaid during WCQ, the guys were super motivated and we pulled a couple of really good results against the usual bullies in CONCACAF that have our number and somehow we thought that would carry on with success against the Belgiums, Croatias and Japans of the world.    It didnt.  Hopefully Biello (and the players) learned something and we all move on.  

If Canada is at its best and the players are healthy, fit,  and motivated such as during WCQ, how much more do we compete against these tops nations? And, what gets us back to that pre - WC level? We are in a slump at the moment.

[eramosat]

1 hour ago, Stoppage Time said:

New to today's conversation. Did we lose primarily due to brutal mistakes, or were we thoroughly outplayed and outmatched?

 

Both your points stand.  Japan's goals...maybe all 4?  Could be traced directly back to failry big Canada miscues.  Besides that...Japan was also able to stifle Canada's offense very effectively, and in every section of the pitch.  Plus their own offense was firing on all cylinders.  Canada hasn't been dominated this thoroughly for a few years IMHO.

Could have been a 2-2 draw if Canada got some bounces/normal play (according to some), but by the same token could also have been an 8-0 loss, with practically the exact same play taking place.

[Watchmen]

5 hours ago, Bison44 said:

I think we all drank the coolaid during WCQ, the guys were super motivated and we pulled a couple of really good results against the usual bullies in CONCACAF that have our number and somehow we thought that would carry on with success against the Belgiums, Croatias and Japans of the world.    It didnt.  Hopefully Biello (and the players) learned something and we all move on.  

I think people did the same thing the US and Mexico frequently do: we have certain measuring sticks (the US, Mexico, away trips to Central America) and when the team performed well (through a combined of things) there was an expectation it would carry over to a bigger stage. It didn't. And now when some of those things are sliding, it's a bit hard to reconcile.

They aren't as bad as they were today. They probably aren't as good as we'd like them to be.

[GasPed]

5 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Tunísia lost to South Korea 4-0. Is that an equivalence? Is traveling halfway around the world and losing that unusual?

We had a goal against early, then they sat back, we were deserving of tying it. It was an unfortunate narrative and maybe not as bad as it felt. We even dominated possession.

Just to clarify, Germany (twice) and Turkey and Spain (81% to 19%!) all dominated possession, and lost to Japan.  Japan wants you to take possession, think you’re doing ok, then immediately pounce on your miscue and counter.  They have zero problem playing without the ball - in fact it’s their Plan A game plan.

[Ally McCoist]

If we don't qualify for Copa America that will set this program back 5 years.

[Stoppage Time]

And, we have missed at least two friendly opportunities in the past month while Japan has played Germany an Turkey. Which team is working well as a unit right now? The CSA needs to hurry up and figure out the friendly issue. I feel like we are slipping back toward 2018 WCQ quality.

[CanadaFan123]

2 hours ago, eramosat said:

Both your points stand.  Japan's goals...maybe all 4?  Could be traced directly back to failry big Canada miscues.  Besides that...Japan was also able to stifle Canada's offense very effectively, and in every section of the pitch.  Plus their own offense was firing on all cylinders.  Canada hasn't been dominated this thoroughly for a few years IMHO.

Could have been a 2-2 draw if Canada got some bounces/normal play (according to some), but by the same token could also have been an 8-0 loss, with practically the exact same play taking place.

Croatia beat us worse and was clearly a better test for us. 

[eramosat]

2 hours ago, GasPed said:

Just to clarify, Germany (twice) and Turkey and Spain (81% to 19%!) all dominated possession, and lost to Japan.  Japan wants you to take possession, think you’re doing ok, then immediately pounce on your miscue and counter.  They have zero problem playing without the ball - in fact it’s their Plan A game plan.

I remember the days when Canada also used that approach to their great advantage.  No shame in it.

Also, UT is probably just crying wolf.  They don't really believe the Canada v Japan possession win is anything to indicate anything positive.  Likely more related to another argument they're trying to win on style points.

[RojitoTO]

No shame in it, especially on the road. That first goal we scored against Croatia was a great example of how we could execute on a quick break. 

[BearcatSA]

The thing about playing an in-form, smart tactical opponent is that they can really expose your mistakes and other weaknesses and punish you for it, and that's a big takeaway  I saw from (finally) seeing this match.  That's the big difference in the bigger time opponents we have faced since the final prep for the World Cup and beyond:  Uruguay, our three WC group opponents, even the US in the NL final, and this opponent today.  But hey, if you are not maximizing your playing opportunities against these types of opponents in international windows, what do you expect?

If this was the first time I had seen Johnston play and had no prior knowledge of him, you'd be hard pressed to tell me he was of international calibre based on his performance today.  Wow, it was bad (and that before and after the third goal stripping).  David is clearly off song in his open play possession maintaining part of his game, the positional play of the central midfield was dodgy, and Davies is Davies in a recent NT shirt as opposed to what you see with a far better club supporting cast around him:  too many touches too far from goal.  Kone looks to have regressed.  The rest had moments but too many shades of mediocrity in what they provided on the day.  

I don't take much out of sub performances against a team cruising with a 4-0 lead but I really liked Millar's direct run at goal on the dribble, creating geniune problems with it, so good on him. 

I don't think anyone got hurt.  Johnston's best play of the match was the foul that took the dangerous Nakamura out of the game.  The Japanese weren't quite the same after he departed from the left wing.  

 

[PegCityCam]

I'm sure this has been said ad nauseum but Eustaquio is absolutely massive for this squad. Against higher comp our midfield MLS journeymen like Piette, Laryea, Kaye and Oso (I think his concussion may have slowed him some) are simply not going to cut it. Is it time to incorporate our "hopefulls"? Guys like Saliba, Ahmed even Nelson (can he play mid?). I like Choiniere and the Foie Gras kid is nice but we need more now and looking forward no?

[Fullback]

A lot more reasonable thoughts on here than I thought there would be on here.

Japan has been playing like a well oiled machine lately and has a lot of very, very talented players.

There were times we played well and times we didn’t but what do we expect when the team hasn’t played together in months, is playing under a new coach, and played on the road.

Way it goes

[Addona]

3 hours ago, PegCityCam said:

I'm sure this has been said ad nauseum but Eustaquio is absolutely massive for this squad. Against higher comp our midfield MLS journeymen like Piette, Laryea, Kaye and Oso (I think his concussion may have slowed him some) are simply not going to cut it. Is it time to incorporate our "hopefulls"? Guys like Saliba, Ahmed even Nelson (can he play mid?). I like Choiniere and the Foie Gras kid is nice but we need more now and looking forward no?

I think the hope was Kone would be the future along with Eustaquio, but yes, I agree with your general point, and Kone hasn’t had the season we were hoping for so far which makes it all more glaring.