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Posted by
Steve Bottjer,
March 22, 2013 |
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Email Steve Bottjer
Twitter @BottjerRNO |
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Canada 1 Japan 2
The Prelude to Battle
The Canadian Men’s National Team was back in action today, taking on Japan at Khalifa Stadium in Doha, Qatar.
With Japan scheduled to play a crucial World Cup qualifying match next week, Head Coach Alberto Zaccheroni fielded a first choice lineup that was full of quality and world class players, one that certain to provide a stern test for Tony Fonseca’s Canadian squad.
See also: Countdown: Canada v Japan
Canada lined up a its familiar 4-2-3-1 formation, with Marcus Haber and Randy Edwini-Bonsu earning their first starts at the senior team level.
Julian De Guzman wore the captains armband playing with national team veterans Atiba Hutchinson and Will Johnson in a strong Canadian midfield.
The Opening Half
Japan took the lead early in this one when forward Shinji Okazaki caught Canadian keeper Milan Borjan off his line in the 9th minute and buried the first goal.
The Japanese came close again four minutes later with some beautiful passing that ended with Ryōichi Maeda shooting over the crossbar on a chance in which he should have done better.
Japan came within inches of a second goal in the 20th minute when midfielder Yasuhito Endō delivered a well-placed free kick that hit the post and then deflected off Borjan out of bounds.
The Canadians had a decent scoring chance at the half hour mark when Hutchinson delivered a nice cross that was just inches out of the reach of Marcus Haber.
Canada’s best chance of the half came off a great effort by Will Johnson, in which he cut inside and shot from 25 yards out, with the ultimately dipping just over the bar.
The Second Half
Japan almost doubled their lead right of the gate in the second half. In the 48th minute substitute forward Mike Havenaar found himself in along on Borjan, but his attempt to chip the Canadian keeper went well wide.
Canada tied things up in the 58th minute when Johnson delivered a perfectly placed corner kick that Haber headed past Japanese keeper Eiji Kawashima.
Japan had a chance to regain their lead in the 65th minute when Borjan came out of his net and was caught in no man’s land. Midfielder Hiroki Sakai was unable to capitalize on the opportunity and hit the side netting with shot.
The Japanese team regained the lead in the 74th minute when an unmarked in the Canadian box Havenaar scuffed his shot but still managed to put it into the Canadian net off of the goal post.
Canada would push for an equalizer in an impressive fashion but were unable to find a breakthrough goal, with their best chance coming in the 80th minute on a well struck shot by Hutchinson that Kawashima was just able to deflect to safety.
The Final Word: Both positives and negatives for Canada in a lively performance.
It would be a stretch to say that the final score line flattered Canada. They played a decent but flawed at times game against a quality side. That said, the better team did win. However, if one sentence could describe this match for both teams it would be that sometimes it really is better to be lucky than good.
In terms of their possession, technical quality and ball movement, Japan were a pleasure to watch. They generated the majority of the chances and really should have been up by three or four goals by the end of the first half. Canada looked very shaky defensively at times and, in that sense, they were lucky to be in contention to come away with a positive result right until the final whistle.
That said, Japan were also lucky in a sense. While they were the better team they did not seize their scoring chances and only won on a very clumsy looking goal by Mike Havenaar. The big striker scuffed on his shot and the ball could have just as easily missed the target.
Overall, outside of finishing, Japan played the game the right way and they were rewarded for their positive approach and all-around game. As the Canadian team rebuilds with an eye towards the 2018 World Cup, Japan would not be a bad model for Canada in terms of both its national team and its long term player development strategies.
Ultimately, this performance was very much a mixed bag from Canada. There were positives and negatives. Canada’s defensive struggles were complimented by very long stretches in which the team was able to generate very little offensively from open play. At times, their passing looked clumsy and disjointed when compared to that of the Japanese. For Canadian National Team supporters, none of this was new or unprecedented.
On the bright side of things, there were also plenty of positives for Canada as well.
Atiba Hutchinson very active and energetic and looking especially motivated in the first half and at the tail end of the match. As is par for the course for him, he made a number of smart plays and was usually involved whenever Canada looked dangerous in open play.
Youngsters Kyle Bekker, Stefan Cebara, Marcus Haber and Randy Edwini-Bonsu all got experience against a quality side. Haber scored a nice goal – his first at the International level - off a well-placed corner kick from Will Johnson and delivered some nice play holding up the ball as the lone striker up top.
Edwini-Bonsu was Canada’s best player on the day and he showed plenty towards earning future call-ups for himself. The lightning quick forward delivered multiple nice runs that troubled the Japanese, as he showed that his pace could be a genuine weapon for Canada in future fixtures.
While Canada struggled defensively, David Edgar delivered some timely and sharp clearances and generally looked good in his return to the national team. The fact that he teamed up and got in minutes alongside Dejan Jakovic was important, as that could be an important pairing for Canada at the Gold Cup and beyond.
Ultimately, the most positive aspect of Canada’s performance was the manner in which the team finished the game. While they did not find an equalizer, they pushed for one and ended the match in a very positive fashion, making a real game of it against a perennial World Cup qualifier.
Canada Line-up
Milan Borjan
Nik Ledgerwood
David Edgar
Dejan Jakovic
Marcel De Jong
Julian de Guzman (c)
Will Johnson
Kyle Bekker
Atiba Hutchinson
Randy Edwini-Bonsu
Marcus Haber
Substitutions: (54) Hainault in for Ledgerwood; (67) Cebara in for Bekker; (78) Ricketts in for Edwini-Bonsu; (86) Nakajima-Farran in for Edgar.
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