Well, that’s a wrap for us advancing… I didn’t expect us to. I felt like we played well, but I’m not sure we were as good as the first time we played Argentina.
Yet again, our lack of clinical finishing hurt us. We seem to be daunted at shooting and faff about too much with the ball in the box when I feel we should be shooting. We seem to be too shy at shooting the ball and almost star struck when the opportunities are there. It’s clear this is an issue that needs improving against top 20 teams in the world going forward to when we co-host the World Cup in 2026.
I knew we’d have to be near perfect to beat the Argies and they punished us when we made mistakes from a team of their quality. We started well but look less composed once Argentina scored in the first half. I’m stating the obvious, but you can’t give an inch to teams of this quality.
The upside? We’re not done yet. We have an opportunity to play either Colombia or Uruguay for third place. Out of the six teams from CONCACAF invited, we were the only one to get to the semi-finals - including the USA and Mexico who didn’t even get out of their groups. The tides are changing with who are the kings of CONCACAF. This also bodes well in getting friendlies against top teams in the lead up to 2026. No more Canada vs. Mauritiana friendlies.
We’re still very young. I feel like some of our players based in the MLS will be getting chances to move to Europe as a result of their performances in this tournament. We’re co-hosting the biggest tournament in the world in 2026 and the opportunity to grow and improve is huge. I hope we sieze that opportunity.
Allez les Rouges! Bring on Saturday against Colombia or Uruguay.
