Canada’s loss at World Cup provides lesson

Canadian coach John Herdman says his men’s squad will go into Saturday’s Gold Cup quarter-final against Haiti with a fresh reminder at how thin the margins can be after watching their female counterparts fall at the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Herdman said his team watched Canada’s heartbreaking 1-0 loss to Sweden on Monday in a round of 16 clash in which they missed a late penalty.

“It just reminds you the margins are so slim,” said Herdman, who took over as coach in January 2018 after leading the Canadian women’s team to consecutive Olympic bronze medals. “A penalty save, shots, crosses that could’ve, should’ve been converted.

“This game for us, it will be no different. The margins as you get to these knockout quarter-final type stages are very slim and that level of concentration is going to be crucial.”

Haiti used an impressive display of attacking soccer to rally from a first-half deficit to beat Costa Rica 2-1 and finish atop a Gold Cup group for the first time in seven appearances.

“They have so much athleticism and it’s the speed at which they can send numbers forward,” Herdman said.

“For Canada, it’s definitely a red flag that we may possess quite a lot in this game but in those moments we lose the ball, we’ll have to be on guard.”

After years of relative underachievement, this Canadian team is equal parts optimistic and determined to change that perception.

“These players are very clear on what their mission is: to bring respect to our flag in the football world and to really step forward with a talented group,” said Herdman.

“The pressure is already on in terms of internally what they want to achieve ... very clear we have to step forward in this tournament as an opportunity to raise our flag higher.”