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Canada 1 - 3 Mexico
Unfortunately, the Olympic dream for the Canadian Men’s U23 team has come to an end, as a strong Mexican squad showed their quality in front of an overwhelmingly pro Mexican crowd at Livestrong Sporting Park in Kansas City, Missouri. Mexico’s 3-1 victory over Canada sees them join a Honduras squad that won the first match of the night 3-2 over El Salvador in extra time as CONCACAF’s representatives at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
Coach Tony Fonseca named four changes from the team that played Cuba in the last match of the group stages, as Nana Attakora, Andres Fresenga, Philippe Davies and Kyle Bekker replaced Drew Beckie, Matt Stinson, Shaun Saiko and Carl Haworth.
Philippe Davies
The First 45
With both sides playing in a fluid system, Canada looked to be playing primarily in a 4-1-4-1 formation when in attack, with both forwards Evan James and Lucas Cavallini supporting Marcus Haber, who was playing as a lone forward at times with the main role of holding up the ball and chasing defenders. As for the Mexicans they looked to be in a 4-2-3-1, with the main focal points in the central areas being forward Alan Pulido and midfielder Marco Fabian.
Andres Fresenga
The Canadians got the first chance of the night through Evan James. The Montreal Impact player shot from distance in the 3rd minute but Mexican keeper Liboro Sanchez made the save.
The Canadians then got a few chances via corner kicks, with the most dangerous falling to defender Doneil Henry off of the delivery from Philippe Davies. Henry’s header was cleared off the line by a Mexican defender after a poor punch by Sanchez.
Mexico’s first scoring chance came off some very quick ball movement in the 12th minute, but star forward Alan Pulido miskicked the ball and Canada dealt with the danger.
Canada was then put under siege by El Tricolor through the likes of midfielder Javier Aquino, David Cabrera and Hector Herrera, as the pressure eventually ended in the first goal of the match by midfielder Marco Fabian in the 19th minute. After a simple one-two touch combination between Pulido and Herrera, the playmaking midfielder delivered a cutting ball through the Canadian backline and it was finished off by Fabian.
Evan James
Canada seemed to have calmed down after the goal and began to get into the game; this resulted in a goal through Marcus Haber via header in the 32nd minute from a right sided delivery from the aforementioned Davies.
However, it took Mexico less than a minute to restore the advantage, as a wide cross from right back Israel Jimenez and a quick one-two touch between Fabian and Pulido gave the forward his 5th goal of the tournament in the 33rd minute. The rest of the half ended with Mexico overrunning the Canadians in midfield, with the likes of Cabrera, Herrera and Aquino using angles, finding space and creating pockets within the midfield.
The Second 45
The Mexicans continued where they left off in the first half and created good opportunities within the first few moments, with the first being a header from Darvin Chavez over the bar and the second a square ball from Miguel Ponce to Aquino who forced a diving save from Canadian keeper Michal Misciewicz.
The pressure only continued to come down on Canada and it ultimately lead to the third goal conceded on the night. Stemming from a free kick that hit the cross bar by David Cabrera, the play ultimately lead to the insurance goal from Ponce, who showed great close control before shooting the ball in the top corner with enough pace that the Canadian keepers fingertip save had no effect.
Marcus Haber
The rest of the match was played in relative comfort for the Mexicans, with the Mexican supporters chanting “Ole” after every completed pass. Any chance of a fight back was extinguished when Canadian defender Doneil Henry received a second yellow and saw Canada go down to ten men.
Even though the Canadian side didn’t accomplish their ultimate goal, this was still a very successful tournament in the grand scheme of things, as Canadian supporters learned a lot about this group of players and just how promising the future is for Canadian soccer.
The fact that three players (Doneil Henry, Samuel Piette and Bryce Alderson) are all eligible for the next Olympic Qualifying tournament is a big cause for optimism. Combine that with the new names of Michal Misiewicz, Andres Fresenga and Lucas Cavallini and it appears the Canadian soccer community has much to be excited about.
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