Herdman: "CanMNT will take care of business this weekend to qualify for World Cup"

Perhaps it was tough to believe, heading into it, that this game might be Canada’s most difficult of the Oct, but in many senses it looked like it. Playing in the loudest and most hostile opposing stadium they’d seen in months against an experienced team desperate for a result, there was plenty stacked against the visiting team in this game.

Canada have, of course, faced adversity in this qualifying cycle, especially away from home. Still, they haven’t quite had as many things go wrong for them on the pitch as they did in this first half. From the get-go, it was clear Costa Rica had a lot of energy, and they were not going to make it easy for the visitors in what began as a very physical affair. Much more than they have in other major tests of this campaign, Canada looked somewhat nervous in the opening stages and they — or more specifically, Mark-Anthony Kaye — paid dearly for being a little sloppy out of the gates.

After Kaye took his first yellow card 15 minutes in, he was clearly shaken by the early caution and pulled out of a few challenges he might otherwise have made, which allowed Costa Rica to play through midfield a little more easily. Then, of course, he unnecessarily bumped into an opposing player to earn his second yellow — a dive, certainly, but nonetheless a mistake on Kaye’s part to give his opponent that opportunity.

The goal followed shortly after, pulling more wind from Canada’s sails. Set-pieces are well-known as a key part of Costa Rica’s game, but some miscommunication and dropped assignments in the box put Celso Borges in plenty of space to score.

Tested once again, in a way they hadn’t really been in this cycle, Canada responded. As one might expect judging by what they’ve shown previously, they put the pedal down after falling behind — in some ways, similar to the Honduras draw at home in September. John Herdman’s second-half substitutions were aggressive and positive, adding fresh attacking talent to the game as Canada continued to chase a goal as if their qualification hopes depended on it — which, thankfully they did not.

“It’s a tough loss tonight,” Herdman told OneSoccer after the match. “We would love to have put this team in Qatar, but we’ll save it. We’ll save it for when we’re back to our hometown and our own country.”

According to the coach, it just wasn’t meant to be for his side on this occasion. After the chips had fallen their way so many times, perhaps Canada were overdue for a bit of bad luck.

“This is football,” Herdman said. “We went 17 games where we had the football gods with us; they weren’t with us tonight, and it’s made us hungry.”

Gutsy second half sees Canada dominate, but goal doesn’t come

It’s not often you see a team play on the front foot when down a man, and it’s even rarer to see them dominate to the extent Canada did in the second half. Despite playing a full hour of the contest on 10 men, Canada finished with 68% possession, and outshot the Costa Ricans 18-11 (10-5 in the second frame).

After scoring, Costa Rica backed off significantly from the press they’d shown in the first phase of the game, ceding much more space to Canada and sitting back to invite pressure in hopes of a counter-attacking opportunity. The Canadians were happy to play into that block, though; with Atiba Hutchinson playing almost as a quarterback from the centre of defence, he helped direct the ball to wide areas as Canada tried to get men in behind the clogged-up backline of the hosts.

Canada were even able to stretch the game out somewhat despite the bunkering opponent, with the likes of Tajon Buchanan and Richie Laryea helping improve the tempo with their individual runs (more on that in a moment). That said, some of the balls into the box were a little ambitious, particularly against a team with the set-piece might and aerial ability of Costa Rica — Stephen Eustáquio in particular seemed frustrated by his crosses failing to find Canadian targets in dangerous areas. Canada’s off-ball movement in the final third was good, although on at least a couple of occasions a player with the ball couldn’t spot a good run in behind to attempt a through ball.

That said, the only chance Canada will truly want back is Buchanan’s volley over the bar around the 70th minute after a mad goalmouth scramble. Jonathan David hit the right goalpost and sent another strike just fizzing past the other one, but both attempts were inches from finding the net and neither was a poor effort. Herdman admitted postmatch that, really, it just wasn’t Canada’s night in the goalscoring department.

“We could’ve stayed till two in the morning and that goal wasn’t gonna wilt, you could sense it,” he said on OneSoccer. “After the first 20 minutes we felt their intensity and then we took control of the game. I felt like, yes this is where we need it to be. We got through the toughest part, and then the card came. But after that the response was amazing. These players did their country proud tonight, all that we missed was that final effort, that goal. I think we did everything to take it.”

If Canada can hold the ball at home against Jamaica (with 11 men, to boot) as well as they did on the road against Costa Rica, they should have nothing to worry about for Sunday’s contest, needing just a point to clinch their spot.

Individual brilliance on the run adds spark

Although this match saw a few poor individual moments, a handful of Canadians stood out for positive reasons. No player was more lively in this game than Richie Laryea, who — despite not playing any minutes recently for his club Nottingham Forest — put in an exhilarating performance playing away from his usual position at left-back. He went the full 90 minutes, winning 13 of his team-high 18 duels, constantly looking to take players on in one-on-one battles.

Laryea made a few runs from the left side that were almost reminiscent of Alphonso Davies doing likewise on that flank, such was his ability to slice between defenders with blistering pace. The final ball still eluded him (although he nearly scored one himself with a long-range strike that nearly caught Keylor Navas off guard), but nonetheless Laryea was a serious threat to the Costa Rican right side on his own. Eustáquio often drifted toward Laryea’s flank to shift the ball up to him and allow him to venture upfield, and Laryea usually left at least two opposing players behind him, which was surely key to Canada’s strategy for breaking down the low block.

Across the pitch from Laryea, Tajon Buchanan had a strong night as well, similarly running at defenders with pace and trying to break open the well-organized Costa Rica. A few of his touches went awry and caused some of Canada’s bright attacking moves to sputter, but generally Buchanan was able to dance through from the touchline into midfield with the ball.

Then, of course, there were the substitutes. Junior Hoilett, ever the reliable soldier for Canada, delivered 20 excellent minutes off the bench despite nursing an injury, and he helped set up some of Canada’s best chances with his technical footwork, especially in tight spaces in the penalty area. The same can be said of Jonathan David in the box; he’s not necessarily thought of as the provider rather than the finisher, but David managed to turn at least a few broken moves into a fresh scoring chance by digging the ball out of congested areas.

Lastly, credit must be given to 19-year-old Ismaël Koné, who looked astonishingly comfortable in his 10-plus minutes despite this being his first ever appearance with the national team. With Canada truly throwing the kitchen sink at the Costa Rican goal in those dying moments, Koné was extremely composed standing at the top of the penalty area, helping Atiba Hutchinson collect balls that came out of the attacking third and steering them back forward to the more dangerous spots as quickly as possible. If the CF Montréal youngster continues to show that kind of maturity, Canada’s excellent midfield depth will be even more formidable.