Good Monday morning Caps fans. Hope you had a lovely weekend and are gearing up for the week ahead.
Well, all good things must end, and it was a disappointing end to Canada’s World Cup campaign. The scoreline in the 3-0 loss to Morocco looks somewhat worse than it actually was. But, truth be told, it was not a good performance from Canada.
The Canadians started brightly and seemed to rattle Morocco, who resorted to what can charitably be described as physical play. But this momentum never really went anywhere. Morocco didn’t create a ton (their first two goals came off of top-class finishes), but Canada just could not pull the trigger on finding the goal they needed.
It was not a great match from Jonathan David, and none of the attacking subs made their mark on the game. The backline was little better, with Morocco able to impose itself in the second half on Luc de Fougerolles and Moise Bombito. Stephen Eustaquio remained the best player for Canada, but even he couldn’t help them get across the finish line.
While the exit will likely leave a bitter taste in the mouths of supporters, it is still remarkable how far this national team program has come in a decade. To be profoundly frustrated after going toe to toe with Morocco, a mainstay of elite African football, in a World Cup knockout match is a big step up from being unable to beat even middling CONCACAF teams. The future is bright for this Canadian side, even if the final performance was not.
We do have one bit of Caps-related news to digest, with the club and Sebastian Schonlau mutually agreeing to part ways. The move was a pragmatic one that makes sense for both parties. The Caps were paying Schonlau a lot to be a fifth-choice centerback, and Schonlau now gets to move to Holstein Kiel, where he will presumably not be a fifth-choice centerback.
Schonlau was unlucky that his tenure in Vancouver was marred by injuries (though he indirectly got us Ralph Priso as a centerback, which is a big win in and of itself). He seems like a consummate professional, and I wish him well back in Germany.
All of the Caps’ moves to date point the way forward towards someone coming in over the summer transfer window. What that looks like remains to be seen — maybe one of the visiting World Cup stars took a liking to Vancouver and wants to stay. More likely, it will be a depth piece to further bolster a strong squad. In any event, reinforcements are welcome, and it will be interesting to see what parts of the squad are bolstered.
Best of the Rest
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