The Pan Am Games campaign of the Canadian men’s team mercifully came to an end on Monday night following a 2-0 loss to Peru in Hamilton.
The setback meant the Reds finished last in their group—behind Brazil, Panama and Peru—following a lackadaisical group stage that saw the team collect just one point and only score a single goal.
Here are my thoughts on Monday’s match.
Flat effort from Canada
Canada was eliminated from contention for the knockout round before a ball was even kicked on Monday evening. Earlier in the day, Brazil led Panama 3-0—a score that if it held up would’ve given Canada a life line going into its match vs. Peru. But Panama came back and earned a 3-3 draw to book its place in the semifinals at Canada’s expense.
As a result the evening encounter was a meaningless match between two nations who were already eliminated. All that was left to play for was pride. This would be a character test for them—how would they play with nothing on the line other than a chance to salvage a bit of dignity in what has been a terribly disappointing tournament?
Sadly, they didn’t answer the call or play with much conviction, especially in a dire opening 45 minutes that saw the Canadians create very little in the final third. Molham Babouli and Hanson Boakai showed flashes of brilliance at times in the first two games. Tonight, they were pedestrians, unable to influence proceedings in any meaningful way. Caleb Clarke worked his socks off to try to conjure something for Canada’s attack, but he simply didn’t have the support to do it.
Canada’s play was disjointed, and lacked imagination, and the Reds never really got into a rhythm. Only after Keven Aleman (more on him in a minute) came on as a late substitute in the second half did Canada ask questions of Peru’s back line. Too little, and far too late.
Why no Aleman?
Midfielder Keven Aleman is one of Canadian soccer’s brightest prospects, and one of the few players on this Pan Am roster who has experience with the Canadian senior team. He’s also quite creative and inventive, two qualities the Reds were desperately missing during this competition.
Aleman breathed a bit of life into the limp Canadian attack for the first time when he entered the game as a substitute in the 71st minute. Canada looked far more dangerous going forward following Aleman’s introduction.
One wonders, then, why coach Antonio Floro didn’t use Aleman at all in the first two games, and only brought him in late in Monday’s game with his team already down 2-0? Surely, he deserved more than a meagre 19 minutes of playing time?
Like his father Benito, Floro junior seems to be shy about using his best attacking players to try to force the issue. Instead of being aggressive, he’s cautious. What was there to gain from being conservative in a game like this?
A bit of hope for the future
Although he didn’t necessarily show it vs. Peru, Hanson Boakai proved to be a lively player for Canada at this tournament—exactly the type of attacking talent the senior team badly needs. He gained valuable experience at the Pan Am Games, and will gain even more experience during the CONCACAF qualifying tournament in October for the 2016 Brazil Olympics.
Caleb Clarke also had a strong campaign, as did Molham Babouli. They’re not ready to walk into the senior team, but they’ll be key figures for Canada at the Olympic qualifying tournament.
That may sound like faint hope when it comes to the long-term future of the men’s senior team. Canada is rebuilding, and player development in this country is still a major work in progress. It’s going to take time to get this right. Patience is required. It’s easy to look at results like this and say there’s no hope. But hope, be it ever so faint, is all we have right now.
Pan Am Games on Sportsnet: Watch all of Canada’s games (both men and women) and the entire knockout round live on Sportsnet. Consult our broadcast schedule by CLICKING HERE.