Canada’s growing confidence on display in first Copa America win

26/06/2024

Peru coach Jorge Fossati didn’t mince words in the buildup to his team’s Copa América encounter against Canada earlier this week.

“I know my team, and they won’t back down, even if it means using their fists,” Fossati warned.

Not the most technically gifted or star-studded nation in South American football, Peru makes up for it with a physical style of play and a street-smart savviness that allows it to frustrate opponents and get under their skin.

But Fossati’s veiled threat came back to haunt Peru in a 1-0 loss to Canada at Kansas City’s Children’s Mercy Park on Tuesday evening as forward Jonathan David delivered the knockout blow with his 27th goal in 50 international appearances.

Peru escaped being reduced to 10 men late in the first half when Marcos López’s head butt of Canadian defender Alistair Johnston in the face in an off-the-ball incident went unnoticed by referee Mario Escobar and unpunished by the VAR booth. The South Americans’ luck ran out in the 59th minute after Miguel Araujo was sent off following a VAR review for an ugly tackle that dropped Canadian winger Jacob Shaffelburg to the pitch in a crumpled heap.

Peru dominated proceedings up until Araujo’s horror challenge on Shaffelburg, keeping the CONCACAF upstarts in check with their physicality and disruptive play that crossed the line at times. But the red card tipped the game in favour of Canada who defended in numbers after David’s goal to preserve the win.

“We talked about wanting to make a big statement, wanting to make history, and wanting to show we were ready for bigger challenges,” Canadian coach Jesse Marsch told reporters after the win.

Indeed, the promise of much bigger challenges is within reach for Canada. This gutsy victory over Peru puts Canada in pole position to advance from Group A, as a draw against Chile on Saturday in Orlando would guarantee it a berth in the quarterfinals where it would rub shoulders with South America’s elite nations. Imagine another encounter against Lionel Messi and World Cup champions Argentina, or mighty Brazil, or Uruguay, or Colombia. It could happen. And those are exactly the types of opponents Canada needs to test itself against on a regular basis if it’s going to take the next step in its evolution and be a competitive force when it co-hosts the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

But reaching the knockout round of the Copa isn’t a foregone conclusion for Canada because Chile, like Peru, is not a shrinking violet and will be a very tough nut to crack.

Still, there are reasons to be optimistic. Canada has shown positive signs in the four games since Marsch took over the coaching reins with distinct partnerships being forged on the pitch under his watch. In particular, centre backs Moïse Bombito and Derek Cornelius have held things together in the middle of defence. Liam Millar and Alphonso Davies have effectively linked up in attack down the left side, while David and fellow forward Cyle Larin acting as the first line of defence have eased some of the pressure off the central midfield duo of Ismaël Koné and Stephen Eustáquio.

What was especially impressive about Canada’s performance on Tuesday was the poise and maturity it showed. Past Canadian teams would’ve got sucked into a physical battle with the cynical Peruvians and let the game degenerate into pure chaos. But this team kept its cool and didn’t lose its head, even after López escaped being sent off for his crude attack on Johnston. The Canadians remained focused on the task at hand and didn’t waver from playing their game.

Marsch continues to prove he is not the intractable tactician that he’s been portrayed as in some quarters, nor the die-hard devotee of Ralf Rangnick’s “Red Bull” philosophy who knows no other way of doing things. We’ve only seen remnants of the high-intensity pressing game that Marsch learnt while serving as an assistant to Rangnick and has favoured for most of his career as a head coach since he was hired by Canada Soccer.

Against Peru, like he did in Canada’s games against Argentina and France, Marsch had his team slow things down and play at a more deliberate pace. There were moments of pressing from Canada, to be sure. But they came at more calculated times and were part of a more systematic approach as orchestrated by Marsch.

The American coach’s continued use of Jacob Shaffelburg off the bench has also proven to be a masterstroke. The Nova Scotia native gave Canada’s attack a shot in the arm when he came on in the second half of last week’s brave 2-0 loss to Argentina. Shaffelburg gave the World Cup champions plenty of fits with his speed and direct play down the left flank, and many of Canada’s best moments were initiated by the Nashville SC attacker.

Shaffelburg’s introduction at the start of the second half in the 46th minute helped Canada get more of a foothold into the game. His probing runs and dynamic play down the left wing unbalanced Peru’s weary and tired defenders, and it was his one-touch centering pass for David that released the forward in on goal before netting the game-winner with a cool finish past goalkeeper Pedro Gallese.

Was this a perfect performance from Canada? No. Far from it. Goals remain at a premium as they’ve only found the back of the net once in the four games under Marsch. Creating scoring chances is also an issue – David’s goal in the 74th minute came on Canada’s first shot on target, and it only put one more attempt on frame the rest of the way.

Maxime Crépeau has had to make 13 saves across the Canadians’ opening two group-stage matches, including a stunning one-handed stop on Christian Cueva’s volley in injury time on Tuesday. He’s been kept far too busy than he should be, and Canada has to do a better job of snuffing out their opponents before it can get a decent look on goal.

But Canada continues to grow and develop with each passing game under Marsch, while at the same time gaining confidence that it can run with the big boys of international soccer.

John Molinaro is one of the leading soccer journalists in Canada, having covered the game for over 20 years for several media outlets, including Sportsnet, CBC Sports and Sun Media. He is currently the editor-in-chief of TFC Republic, a website dedicated to in-depth coverage of Toronto FC and Canadian soccer. TFC Republic can be found here.