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Four Takeaways from Canada vs. United States friendly ahead of World Cup qualifier in Mexico

Four Takeaways from Canada vs. United States friendly ahead of World Cup qualifier in Mexico

Canada continued their preparations for the next round of World Cup qualifying against Mexico with a 1-0 loss to the United States in a friendly at StubHub Center in Carson, California on Friday night.

The Americans created the bulk of the chances but the performance and the result should not be indicative of what to expect next month as both sides didn’t field their top lineups and both sides had North American based players just at the start of their seasons.

That said, here are few observations from last night:

1.Maxime Crepeau has a bright future in goal for club and country

Crepeau hasn’t played a game in MLS for the Montreal Impact and is third in the pecking order behind Evan Bush and Eric Kronberg. But Crepeau, who was recently Canada’s starter at Olympic qualifying for Canada last October and started at the U-17 World Cup in 2011 before tearing an ACL, looks like he may step up to take on more responsibility at the club level and the future may be sooner rather than later as he looked great in goal for Canada. He made quality saves and didn’t look overawed by the American pressure, and was in control of his penalty area and with the ball at his feet. He’s still behind both Milan Borjan and Kenny Stamatopoulos but Benito Floro said post game that Crepeau is someone who could challenge as the frontrunner for the generation of up-and-coming players. He also merits at least consideration for a few starts on the first team in Montreal this season.

2. Altidore will be under pressure to perform for TFC this season

Jozy Altidore’s 13 goals for Toronto FC were impressive upon his return to Major League Soccer after a less than stellar stint at Sunderland in the English Premier League. And there’s no denying that he’s a very good player in MLS but he’s making a lot of money as a designated player. While the DP money doesn’t factor in the grand scheme of things in the salary cap and pales in comparison to other contracts in the MLSE stable of sports franchises, Altidore will have to match his scoring output from last season to stave off questions about his value. He had plenty of chances against Canada on Friday night and missed a lot before finally getting a goal at the end of the game. He’ll be under pressure to perform this season and provide that second scoring punch alongside Giovinco as any lack of finish will bring out the questions of whether that DP slot could be better used on someone else.

3. Canada will be a different team in 7 weeks

Putting aside the players that weren’t on the roster for Canada, the team was ultimately undone when the U.S. took advantage of a few tired legs at the end of the game to get their goal. Canada didn’t really look like scoring but frustrated the American attack for large periods of time. Both head coach Benito Floro and midfielder Will Johnson said Canada faded a bit at the end and that’s when Altidore struck. That will change as North American teams are in preseason camps and will find match sharpness over the coming weeks and into their first few games of MLS/NASL seasons. The players in this camp combined with the additions of the players in mid-season for their European clubs means fitness won’t be a factor for in March. They should be in top shape for the first game at BC Place and it will be interesting to see how they’ll handle the altitude in Mexico City, which can make for some very tired legs, indeed.

4. Where are the names?

Friday night’s game was broadcast across the country on the odd numbered TSN networks. Yet any new fans hoping to start to identify Canadian players were out of luck as Canada went without names on the back of their jerseys. I know the crest on the front is what matters but Canada isn’t the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox (who don’t wear names on jerseys as a matter of principle) and the players aren’t household names for the most part in Canada. Canada may be the only country in the world where members of the women’s team are more known than the men’s. That’s not a bad thing, mind you, but if the Canadian Soccer Association wants to grow the men’s program to be as recognized as the women’s results and progress will help, but helping fans connect with the individuals who represent the country is also important. Make it easier to put faces to names. When Canada goes to play friendlies abroad which aren’t televised back home, they can do as they please but hopefully whenever a game is given wide play be it friendly or competitive game, the players should have their names on the back of their jerseys.

 

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