Canada left the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup after being unable to score once in 270 minutes of play, drawing two games and losing one, to end up 4th in Group B and exit the competition with a feeling of disappointment that hopefully, will not go all the way through into the World Cup 2018 Qualifiers that lie ahead.
Canada was held to a scoreless tie against the weaker side of the group, El Salvador, in a game that started to raise some questions about Benito Floro's coaching decisions. Cyle Larin missing an empty netter in the 36th minute is an example of how hard it is for this Canadian team to capitalize the few chances that they create.
Vicente Cantatore said once "Soccer, if you don't actually score, becomes much more difficult to play".
Canada held a higher possession, but yet, shot less than El Salvador, who started up with a lot of pressure against the Canadian defense, and ended up controlling the major part of the game in the second half, but without really creating clear chances. If anything, Canada had the best chances, but yet, remained unable to score once.
Floro finally got Osorio and Teilbert into the pitch, but only with less than 10 minutes less. He failed to understand that, right now, those two guys are probably the best players in the squad, and yet, as if he underestimated El Salvador, none of them started the game. Even worse is that it took him 83 minutes of play to finally realize that he was wrong. Placing Akindele as a winger was just the icing in the cake of his mistakes. He needs to play as a striker, otherwise his talent is lost and we are facilitating the job of the opponent defense.
Things got even worse in the second game, against Jamaica. Despite having the ball for longer than the Reagge Boyz, Canada was largely surpassed in number of shots by the most physical Jamaican team (21-7). Austin's goal in the 91st minute ended Canada's clean sheet record and, to be honest, put a more fair end to a game where Jamaica played better in general terms. And guess what, Akindele was playing as a winger yet once more, Teilbert played barely 19 minutes and Osorio didn't even step in the game.
Game 3 against Costa Rica was yet another offensive dissapointment, yet the team presented some improvements. Osorio was a starter, Teilbert not, but the played after and finally Floro understood that Larin was not adding anything to the team, so he placed Haber as a striker. Every ball he touched, he did something good. So far I think that Akindele should be starting in that position (something that Floro has yet to understand), but if the MLS Rookie of the year is not to play the game, Haber is the better option over Larin. He moves well, he has body enough to keep the ball while the wingers take positions and he plays it smart. He knows what he can and what he cannot do, and he acts accordingly. I really liked his participation in the game, even though Canada could not get the goal that would end the horrible scoreless strike and send them to the quarterfinals. It was the first game where Canada did not hold the possession of the ball more than the opponent, but that was expected against Costa Rica.
In the end, with the final whistle, Canada was eliminated, scoreless and clueless about what the style of the team should be. That is quite worrying if we think about the 2018 Qualifiers. The third round will be a serious test for the National team. A home and away game is a very dangerous thing if you are not able to score.
Proof that the team is still trying to find its identity is that Floro passed from a 4-3-3 formation against El Salvador to a 4-1-4-1 in the two next games. However, if the core of your midfield is in a 4-1-4-1 are the three players in the middle, you are clearly telling your opposition that you will play defense when 2 out of those 3 guys are stoppers (Straith and De Guzman).
That formation works much better when the guy playing between the midfield and defense is a stopper, but the two guys playing in front of him are more creative. There are thousands of examples that come to mind.
Claude Makelele was sweeping behind Zinedine Zidane in Real Madrid and France team, and it worked wonders in both cases. One was focused on stopping, the other one in creating.
Sergio Busquets took care of everything behind Xavi and Xabi Alonso for Spain between 2008-2012, when the Spanish team won the Triple crown.
Obviously and sadly, Canada do not have players that can compare with those, but if the main problem of your team is the offense, at least try to put a stronger attacking team in the pitch.
In any case Canada has to figure things out before August 31st, when the Qualifiers for Russia 2018 are resumed.
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