So Canada put up a fight, but the end result was a 2-0 win for Argentina. All commentary seems to agree that Canada are able to compete at this level.
Once again we played a pretty solid first half and let it fall apart a bit in the second.
The good… Maxime Crépeau - our keeper - had a hell of a game and stopped Messi cold three times. Our centreback Derek Cornelius showed his mettle as well. I also felt Liam Millar played a hell of a game and hopefully he’ll get a shot at a bigger team than Preston North End. Jacob Shaffelburg came on to replace a rather invisible Tajon Buchanon and immediately started wrecking havoc on the right side of the pitch. I hope he has a chance to play in Europe if he continues playing like he has for us. Argentina genuinely struggled with our pace and high press. We had a decent number of chances to score.
The bad… Clinical finishing has been problematic. We’ve played three games against three of top teams in the world and can’t seem to score - despite us having one of the best attacking players in the COPA with Jonathan David. Obviously that’s a problem. We had multiple shots last night and they were either straight at the keeper or just wide of goal. Stephen Estaquio had a great opportunity to score and headed it straight at the keeper. Cyle Larin put a header above the crossbar when completely unmarked that felt like it should have gone in if it had been from a better striker. I’m stating the obvious, but if we want to get out of the group and beat Chile and Peru, we need to score.
Our back line - whilst improving - is still the biggest question mark. Several times we were caught out and paid the price as a result. Ismaël Koné had a couple of critical errors that lead to a wide open opportunity for Argentina. Moïse Bombito looked a little stunned at centreback a few times and was caught out of position. More than once Maxime Crépeau had to step up and save our bacon. Argentina were able to rip our back line apart at key moments and prove why they’re the reigning COPA America and World Cup champions. We need to be better and someone needs to step up and be more vocal who should be where and when. It felt like communication was lacking at times.
Alphonso Davies has had several ho-hum games the past three matches, and this was one of them. He needs to be better and play like he plays for one of the best club teams in the world.
I remain hopeful that we’ll get out of the group. Chile and Peru are beatable. We had quite a few flashes of brilliance, but our inexperience by some of our younger players showed at key moments.
