Good Friday morning Caps fans. Hope you all are having a great week and that you have big plans for your weekend ahead.
It turns out Vancouver suits the Canadian Men’s National Team better than Toronto (I don’t make the rules). BC Place and the 50,000-plus who packed it bore witness to a dominant display on Thursday, with Canada booking their spot in the next round with a 6-0 rout of Qatar.
Even before the first Qatar red card, it was one way traffic in favor of Canada. After Homam Ahmed was sent off for the denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity, it was a certified pounding. Jonathan David scored Canada’s first-ever World Cup hat trick, Nathan Saliba scored a fantastic free kick, and the rout was on.
The black mark on the occasion was of course Ismael Koné’s broken leg, truly one of the more gruesome injuries I’ve seen on a sports field in some time. While I feel for Assim Madibo, who did not seem to be trying to hurt Koné, it was still a dangerous challenge and he was rightly sent off. It was good to see Koné applauding the fans as he exited and we wish him a speedy recovery.
For Canada, the blowout means any sort of result against Switzerland will see them through, draw or win. And it effectively guarantees them passage into the next round, barring a miracle for Bosnia. But the result wasn’t just about the back of napkin math for advancing to the next round. Particularly for a team that has struggled to score, putting six past the opposition will be a huge lift. Thursday was a watershed moment in Canadian soccer, one years in the making, and an important momentum builder for the games ahead.
We also got a bit of club news this week, with confirmation that AZ Jackson’s loan would not be extended and he will return to his parent club in Poland.
Axel Schuster’s comments in the press release indicate that this was always the plan, meaning that AZ’s loan was a move born out of opportunity and Ryan Gauld’s injury luck.
With Gauld on the mend and the rise of Bruno Caicedo, the Caps did find themselves with one too many wingers and AZ was the odd man out. He certainly had his moments, including the goal on the opening day, but couldn’t quite find the consistency needed to get on the pitch by the end. His decision making in the final third left something to be desired as well.
When the Caps signed AZ, fans in Minnesota, St. Louis and Columbus said that he would delight and frustrate in equal measure, trying to convert his raw talent into end product. That seems like an accurate enough representation of his time in Vancouver as well. Fair thee well AZ — thanks for a good half season, your professionalism, and your elite hair.
Best of the Rest
A late goal from Yuma Tsuji gave the Whitecaps 2 side their first win since April on Wednesday.
Alphonso Davies didn’t feature in the Qatar rout but his injury outlook is looking up.
Could Canada be the country to see a transformative lift from this World Cup (like the U.S. did in 1994)?
A late equalizer denied the Vancouver Rise a win Thursday in Halifax.