It was fun while it lasted but Canada is out of the Copa América.
Argentina was always going to be a tough task. Let’s face it, the odds of Canada beating Argentina were as high as My Chemical Romance’s reunion; low but possible. However, MCR did get back together in 2019.
But Canada wasn’t supposed to come this far. Many had them getting knocked out of the group stage or losing to Venezuela in the quarterfinals. But they reached the semi-finals. For soccer fans unfamiliar with Canada’s game, it was like seeing a polar bear in Arlington Texas to them.
The ride has come to an end. Hopefully, this isn’t the end, but only the beginning. Canada went the furthest out of the CONCACAF teams. They were also the first debutants to reach the semi-finals of the Copa América since Honduras in 2001.
Canadian soccer fans should feel pride for the men’s national team. The Copa América was a challenging test and it is fair to say they passed. Not with flying colours, but they exceeded expectations. It wasn’t perfect but it was fun.
Match musings
- From kickoff, Canada proved they wanted to put up a good fight. Argentina were playing it safe with their transitions. The build-up was promising, especially from Alphonso Davies, Jacob Shaffelburg, Ismael Kone and Stephen Eustaqio. However, the final pass and final touch were just not there and that was a theme throughout the match.
- The attack was like Simon Cooper’s car in The Inbetweeners: Disappointing, ugly and not flashy.
- Canada was caught napping on the first goal and in particular, Moise Bombito. He lost Julian Alvarez for one second and the Manchester City man beat Maxime Crépeau through the legs. Another theme of the match and the tournament is that they switched off for a few seconds and things went bad.
- Despite the defensive lapses, there were some good tackles and recoveries by Bombito, Derek Cornelius, Davies, Alistair Johnston and Kone. Alvarez, Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria were dangerous but Canada stayed with them.
- I have stated this before but I really mean it this time. The Jonathan David and Cyle Larin striker partnership has to end. It’s just not working. Once again, Larin looked isolated. When he did have the ball, he kept losing it, with a poor pass or poor touch. His link-up play was severely lacking. Sure, he is the all-time leading scorer for the men, but maybe he needs a reset.
- David was very disappointing. David’s touches and passes were very poor and he was hardly creating chances for himself or others. Since the World Cup, he hasn’t been as good when he puts on the Canadian jersey. He’ll eventually figure it out and hopefully that is soon.
- It felt like the entire team wasn’t getting any shots off and they couldn’t hang onto the ball for more than five seconds. The giveaways were killing Canada and it was like the ball was a hot potato.
- The officiating was once again awful. Canada head coach Jesse Marsch was very animated on the sidelines throughout the game. Shaffelburg took the ball out of bounds when he clearly didn’t. Eustaqio got a yellow card thanks to Rodrigo De Paul thinking the pitch was a swimming pool. (It kind of felt that way because it looked wet on TV) Gonzalo Montiel didn’t even get a foul for his hard tackle on Davies who had to leave the game injured. There were a few others but the Copa America has been full of horrific calls and non-calls.
- Speaking of Davies’ injury, it seems it isn’t as serious as suspected.
- One positive is the play of Kone. After not starting against Venezuela, it looked like he had his best game of the Copa América. Maybe the fact his move to Olympique Marseille was official and he got his head back in the game. Kone was great with his ball recoveries and creativity. With Roberto De Zerbi and his free-flowing possession-based system also coming to Marseille, Kone’s career could take off the new heights.
Stat of the match
Shots were 11-9 in favour of Argentina but they managed three on target. Canada only managed two and were not really threatening to Emi Martinez either.
What was said
“I took this job seven l weeks ago,” said Marsch after the game per Ben Steiner of CBC, MLS and the Northern Fútbol podcast. “I couldn’t have imagined that I’d be right here right now…I’m really happy with the team and really happy with the progress.”
“I’ve been saying that it’ll be hard when we’re all done to say goodbye because I’ve really enjoyed the process with this team, and I think we’ve made a lot of progress together.”
Eustaqio spoke to TSN after the match.
“I’m proud of the boys… to get here, a top four team at Copa America is a very good achievement,” said Canada’s vice-captain. “We still have one game to go and we’re gonna push for third place.”
He also spoke about the importance of player development ahead of the 2026 World Cup, particularly from the Canadian Premier League.
Best of Twitter
Best I ever had
Drake bet $300,000 on Canada beating Argentina. The Drake curse strikes again. Drake should have learned his lesson from his numerous failed bets including losing $500,000 thanks to the Edmonton Oilers losing the Stanley Cup Final. But the amount of money is chump change for him and he probably still hasn’t fully recovered from being obliterated by Kendrick Lamar.
Best Canadian way
Why is Stuart Skinner in net? He probably would’ve given up two or three.
Best No David
I wonder if this lessens interest for David from top European clubs. Hopefully, it doesn’t because he needs to leave Lille. Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham and West Ham United have been linked recently. David won’t go for much but you have to think his Copa América performances are making teams have doubts.
Best Ali Ahmed fan
He didn’t play much in the Copa América but Ali Ahmed looked decent coming off the bench. Against Argentina, he displayed his pace and creativity. Surely, the Vancouver Whitecaps man will get more opportunities to represent his country.
Best Olympic Diver
De Paul might as well go to Paris to represent Argentina’s diving team. He was diving all over the place and acted like he was in Saving Private Ryan. Perhaps De Paul should get an Oscar too. Kone pretty much represented how every non-Agentinian fan felt about De Paul’s antics. It was silly to do but we’ll let it slide.
Wrap-up
Canada’s Copa América journey isn’t technically quite over. They still have to play the third-place match. That takes place on Saturday and kickoff is at 5:00 pm Pacific. Canada will take on the loser of Wednesday’s match between Uruguay and Colombia.
Canada made great strides in this tournament. Marsch has put belief back in this team and fans across the country. They proved they can compete with the world’s best and aren’t going to back down from a challenge. The players should be proud of what they accomplished as well. Most of them have had their stocks rise, proved they belonged and a few of them could be destined to move to bigger clubs sooner or later. Kone got his move and don’t be surprised if Bombito, Cornelius and Shaffelburg move soon.
The wins over Peru and Venezuela will live long in the memories of Canadian soccer fans and so will the entire tournament. Canada has come a long way since being thrashed by Honduras 8-1 in 2012.
But we also learned that there is still work to be done. Yes, there is the attack for example. But Canada has proven they are a soccer nation but it is up to them to prove they can go from a scrappy soccer nation to a good soccer nation. 2026 will be here sooner than you think.
For a federation that has been in financial ruin, this is great to see. The men’s national team have once again captured the hearts of the nation and hopefully, the women can do the same at the upcoming Olympics in Paris.
One way to keep moving forward and building on this Copa América run is to keep developing talent. Millions of children and teenagers play soccer across Canada and some are already playing in college, semi-pro or professionally.
As Eustaqio said, it is important to keep growing players in the CPL. If there is a CPL team near you, try to support it. You never know, you could be watching a future Team Canada player.
Support your local soccer clubs whether that is the CPL, MLS, MLS NEXT Pro, League1 BC, League 1 Ontario, League 1 Quebec or USports. This country has talent but they need the support so they can develop and hopefully play for Canada one day.
It is time for Canada to ascend. Time to build off this Copa América run.
Climb every mountain,
Ford every stream,
Follow every rainbow,
‘Till you find your dream.
One challenge has been passed and more challenges await. It is a great time to be a Canadian soccer fan and hopefully, more success is on the way above after every mountain, stream and rainbow up ahead.
Allez Les Rouges!