Canada faces tricky test against Chile as team aims to advance in Copa América

Now, Canadian men's soccer made history this week. Canada had their very first ever victory at Copa America and that is South and North America's premier soccer tournament played every four years. This weekend, they will face Chile in an attempt to advance beyond the group stage of the tournament. And joining us now is Peter Shad. He is the host of the Holy Trinity Show, which is a soccer podcast and a former play by play commentator for the Vancouver Whitecaps. Hello to you, Peter. Good morning, Steven. Thanks for having me on. Oh, thanks for taking the time with us. This is such an exciting time for for Canadian soccer. How did it feel to see soccer history made after the way they started the game in sweltering and humid Kansas City, where I've called games from before. And I can tell you it's a different kind of heat there. Quite remarkable, you know, And this is, this is international soccer now. You get so few chances at times and games, if you don't make the most of them, then you come away with nothing. And when you think about who Canada's played just in this short tenure of Jesse Marsh, you start with the Netherlands, then France and then Argentina, I mean, three of the top teams in the world and you actually come through relatively unscathed in my opinion. And then they go on and they beat a very streetwise Peru team, in part because of lack of discipline on their part, actually could have been a whole lot worse. So as a long-suffering and long term Canadian soccer observer, it was really quite something to take those three points in Kansas City and now to set up the opportunity of actually advancing in this competition. And Canada takes on Chile tomorrow. What do they need to do here to advance past this group stage? They need to be prepared for a street fight. I mean, you know, these these nations are so mature in the sport and it is so meaningful to all of those countries. It's incredible how well they travel with their support as well. And so both clubs with a chance to advance, Chile is going to want to be there. Of course, in the end, this is a really important tournament for them, even though it's being played on American soil. And I think that actually helps give Canada a little bit of of an advantage. But you saw how they managed to bounce back after a very disjointed first half, collect themselves and win the game. So it's there to play for, it has to be said. Peru, you describe them as streetwise as well. I mean, is there a similar style of play between Peru and Chile? I mean, do they need to do more of what they did against Peru? There is, yeah, it's it will be physical. It will be at times heated. And I think, you know, this is where you have to maintain your emotions. And the Americans found that out the hard way yesterday. And and it's something that I'm sure that will have been brought up. The inconsistency of refereeing in this tournament at times. I mean, how Peru wasn't out of 10 men for the head butt is absolutely incredibly shocking to me. It was a scandalous decision. I mean, it was so obvious on the replay. I don't know what the video assistant referee was looking for. And credit to Alistair Johnson for not being theatrical on that. By the same token, Richie Larrea also in that first half did kick out at an opponent while he was on a yellow card. So maybe he was a bit fortunate to not get sent off. And these are the kind of things that Jesse Marsh and his staff will have told his players. You know, you, you've got to stay mentally, mentally switch on. Do not get dragged into the nonsense and certainly do not retaliate because there will be that attempt made to get under the skin of the Canadians. And we have seen Vancouver Whitecaps player Ali Ahmed called up for Team Coppa. Has he seen any action he hasn't of yet? And there's times actually where you know the game is crying out for somebody like him. But it's going to be very difficult if he plays as an attacking left sided player to get past Jacob Shaffelberg, who has been a revelation and who set up the Jonathan David gold. But I I've heard the name, I've seen him play often. I know of his story a little bit, but he really impacted that game. And yes, there was a bit more space in the game, but the way he broke past players was especially in that heat. And now he is fresh legged. And he was on the side of the field that had the shade in Kansas City. And he he brought that up. But this is the quintessential super sub that Canada has. So it'll be tough for Ali to get into this team, but the experience nonetheless, I think will be really valuable for him. And how far do you think Canada can go in this tournament? That's the big question in all these types of events because it's now, it's now knockout football, basically. You know, you win that game or you get to draw even tomorrow, then Canada's through. And then really it just comes down to holding your nerve and whether that means extra time penalties or if you managed to conjure up a goal. I think the biggest thing for Jesse Marsh will be that he finds the right formula because, you know, in both the games, it's apparent as most other coaches have found that it's difficult to play Kyle Lahren and Jonathan David together. They're both the same type of player. They're a #9 lone striker and they like to be the focal point both in and out of possession and when you put the two of them together it is a bit square peg, round hole type situation. So he's got to figure that out and find his best 11. And I think he'll get a better game out of Ismael Kone, who just got signed to Olympic Marseille from Watford, which is a huge move, which does actually explain why he might have been a little bit out of sorts against Peru, because that's a big move and a leap for him. New country, new environment. So congratulations, what a a fabulous move for him. But I can understand how that might affect his performance. They need him to be top, top in this next game along with all the others. But he has to find a, a formula that, you know, that he's comfortable with the players that can play the the way in the system that he wants to play. I'm trying to keep my eye on the bouncing ball here with all of the tournaments going on between this and EUR 24 and Copa and just the Whitecaps regular season and then the Whitecaps friendly against Wrexham. It's going to be, I mean, it's just so all soccer all the time. And, and I'm loving it. Yeah, it's, it's pretty neat when you get up in the morning and you watch two games and then you have Copa in the afternoon, you watch two games. I watched two Cpl. games yesterday, Vancouver and Pacific played on the Island. So if you love the game it is a great time. I do have a bit of a concern on the international front that there just is too much soccer. I mean, you know, these players at the very highest level are playing over 50 games. And although people aren't going to feel sorry for the amount of money they make, it does affect the games. And I've noticed that in the EUR and to a lesser extended Copa because these are demanding games, especially in the American heat too. So I I sometimes worry we are trying to make too much money off the sport, have too many events and it's stressing the athletes. But again, I'm not complaining when you have almost round the clock games to watch. Peter, great to hear you. Thank you so much. Thanks for having me on Steven, Take care. That's Peter Shad, the host of the Holy Trinity Show, a soccer podcast and a former Play by play commentator for the Vancouver Whitecaps.