It was a festive day in Vancouver, tempered only slightly by a 2-1 Swiss win. Canada has still qualified out of the FIFA World Cup group stage for the first time in team history.
On the day, it was disappointment for Team Canada. But in the end, it was mission accomplished, as they advanced past the group stage at a FIFA World Cup for the first time in team history.
They did, however, get a reminder from Switzerland Wednesday about what it’s like to play against a top tier team in a high-pressure match, with the Swiss claiming a 2-1 win at BC Place stadium to lock up first place Group B of the tournament.
“We’re still developing an understanding of what the best games are like against the best opponents [in] the most meaningful games,” Canada head coach Jesse Marsch said after the match. “Switzerland is a very good team, a very experienced team, a very intelligent team, and I think that showed today. We need to continue to understand how to handle those kinds of opponents, how to handle those kinds of games.”
It’s been a tournament of firsts for the Canadians at home in Toronto and Vancouver.
June 12 saw Canada claim its first ever FIFA World Cup point, in a draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto. June 18, in Vancouver, saw Canada score their first ever World Cup win with an incredible, emotional 6-0 thumping of Qatar.
Wednesday in Vancouver was a chance for another milestone: the first time for the team to advance out of the group stage, with the added opportunity to win their group. Canada needed a win or a tie against Switzerland to finish first in their group and guarantee a playoff game at BC Place. They got neither of those.
“We so desperately wanted to continue being here and continue the momentum that has been built around the team and around the tournament in the country,” said Marsch.
With the loss, however, Canada will now need to go on the road to Los Angeles to continue their World Cup quest as the second-place team in the group.
“We’re going to be in the knockout phase, which is exactly where we wanted to be,” said Marsch. “We wanted to be here in Vancouver, but we still have a massive opportunity ahead of us to find a way to push for the next match and find a way to still electrify the nation, even though it will be from Los Angeles.”
Canada’s downfall came during a 15-minute stretch to start the second half. The opening goal came just a minute into the frame, with a cross by man-of-the-match Johan Manzambi bouncing through Canada’s crease onto the foot of Rubén Vargas, who calmly controlled before firing a low and hard shot in off the left post.
The second goal came in the 57th minute, with Manzambi notching one for himself, breaking in alone and firing a low shot that caught Canadian goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau under the arm and rolled into the back of the net.
Down by two, the Canadians responded, going on the attack for the final 30 minutes. Their pressure was rewarded in the 76th minute when Promise David scored just one minute after subbing into the match. The powerful striker stretched out his right foot to knock home a delicate cross from Nathan Saliba, injecting some life into the home crowd.
Canada continued to attack the Swiss net right through the final whistle, but couldn’t find the decisive touch to tie the match and claim the group.
The eventful second half followed a first half that saw the teams trade good chances with no glory. In the 11th minute Swiss star Breel Embolo found himself in one-on-one against Crepeau, with the Canadian keeper bravely charging him down and taking the shot off his chest. The rebound fell to Manzambi and his blast was blocked equally bravely by defender Derek Cornelius with an empty net yawning behind him.
Just two minutes later it was Canada that crafted a breakaway, but striker Cyle Larin’s attempt to dribble the goalkeeper was thwarted and he didn’t get a shot off.
The final 15 minutes of the first half saw Canada on the attack with several good chances. In the 33rd minute Jonathan David set up Larin on a run into the box, with the big striker firing a quick shot to force a save from Switzerland keeper Gregor Kobel. In the final 10 minutes of the first half Alistair Johnston and Jonathan David shot high and wide, respectively, on solid chances, while Richie Laryea fired a low shot from the left wing that was parried wide by Kobel.
“I’m obviously disappointed that we [went down] two goals – I didn’t think the start to either half was good – but then I thought in the first half, after the water break, we got ourselves going and started to find ourselves in the game,” said Marsch. “And then obviously at 2-0, we pushed hard. And maybe on another day, we’re able to get the equalizer.”
Up next will be a round of 32 game against either Korea, Czechia or South Africa in Los Angeles on Sunday. Marsch said that Canadian star Alphonso Davies will be available to play in that game. He said the same thing before Wednesday’s match, but admitted after the game that that was a “decoy” and Davies wasn’t ready to go.
Star midfielder Stephen Eustáquio also started on the bench for Canada Wednesday due to “muscle tightness,” with Marsch saying that Eustáquio told him before the match that he could only play 30 minutes rather than the full 90. Eustáquio’s insertion into the game in the second half coincided with Canada’s best stretch of sustained pressure.
Canadian star Ismaël Koné was also in the house, although his contributions came while on crutches or sitting in a wheelchair as he recovers from a gruesome broken leg suffered in the game against Qatar.
The road hasn’t been as smooth as Team Canada wanted it, but they’re still on the journey.
“We have to give our team a lot of credit,” said Marsch. “We’ve had a lot of adversity, we’ve had a lot of injuries, we’ve had to manage a lot of different situations… It was just a matter of fine margins but we got ourselves into position to be second in the group, go down to L.A. and compete to continue on in this tournament. We’re going to take advantage of that and make sure that we put our best effort forward.”