Canada's Stephen Eustáquio was a second-half substitution on Wednesday, but brought his usual energy to the game when he did get in.Agustin Marcarian/Reuters
Coming out for the second half of Wednesday’s game against Switzerland, Canada could claim to have played a faultless opening round of this World Cup. It wasn’t perfect, but it had been under control. Then it wasn’t. And then it really wasn’t.
Canada wanted a World Cup. It just got the World Cup right in the face.
It’s hard to say exactly what went wrong. As play resumed, I guess everybody in the room heard the whistle, except the guys in white. The Swiss carved through the Canadians like they were standing still, because that’s what they were doing.
The goal scorer lurking at the end of this farcical move, Rubén Vargas, was so undefended that it seemed like a fully clothed streaker had just leapt a barrier. The next Swiss goal was somehow worse.
Canada pulled one back, but Switzerland won the game (2-1), the group and the momentum. The Swiss will be the ones getting a nice, long rest and then facing Algeria (probably) in more than a week’s time at BC Place. I hope you didn’t blow the rent money on those tickets.
Canada has to leave the country like it’s fleeing. They’ll play South Africa in Los Angeles on Sunday. If they win it, the likely next team up would be Netherlands.
Cathal Kelly: The tension on the FOX Sports set is a reflection of our political climate
The sunny side argument here is that if you’d offered most Canadian soccer observers a winnable match in the knockout rounds of a World Cup beforehand, they’d have been ecstatic. If you’d made the same offer 10 years ago, they’d have urged you to seek emergency medical assistance.
The realistic argument is that Canada blew it. There are no easy paths in a World Cup, but there are in this one. Canada had one of those booked. All it needed was a draw.
In the first half, Canada stuck to a plan – annoy, confuse and, where possible, physically assault. In the second, it crumbled for 10 disastrous minutes. That Canada had a bunch of untaken chances in the final minutes of the game makes the whole thing worse, not better.
Switzerland's Rubén Vargas (17) took advantage of an open Canadian defence to score the match's first goal on Wednesday. The Swiss went on to a 2-1 win.Kaleb Tatum/The Associated Press
It’s still too early for blame. If Canada wins in L.A., this was a stumble, not a faceplant. The score-settling always comes after the elimination. But if you’re handicapping who’s most likely to get it in the neck, the early favourite is Canadian head coach Jesse Marsch.
Already missing midfield quarterback Ismaël Koné, Marsch did not start his experienced counterpart, Stephen Eustáquio. When Eustáquio finally did come in, after nearly an hour, he did more alone that the two players tasked with replacing him had managed together. Why didn’t they start Eustáquio?
“Look, Stef, we wanted to start,” said Marsch. “But he didn’t feel like he was ready to go.”
I guess that doesn’t clear that up.
Meet Greg Bay, the medical expert who calmed the chaos when Ismaël Koné was hurt
What about missing star Alphonso Davies? Marsch had said beforehand that he would play at some point. He didn’t play at all. What was that about?
“To be honest, Alphonso wasn’t ready yet. So we were using him as a bit of a decoy.”
“To be honest” is an odd way to describe not being honest.
When Marsch was pressed about that deception later, he explained that he “wanted the Swiss to have to think about [Davies].”
The follow-up – do you think that worked? Marsch always has a fully formed answer. Not in this instance. For a second, he looked as if he’d been slapped.
He recovered, noting that the Swiss had faced three Davies questions in their pre-game press conference. I guess that’s just as good as three Davies shots on goal, but I’m not sure they keep a stat for it.
Canada coach Jesse Marsch said Alphonso Davies would play in Wednesday's third and final group match, but the Edmonton-raised star didn't see the field in the 2-1 loss to Switzerland.ETHAN CAIRNS/The Canadian Press
In an odd way, this collapse marks Canada’s entry in the ranks of World Cup veterans. In this tournament, there are no congratulations for that staple of childhood – the failed great effort. That’s where Canada had been stuck for decades. Don’t cry. You’ll get ‘em next time. Great effort.
Canada has graduated beyond that in the last 12 days. As such, the pressure to avoid small mistakes is heavier, and the critiques you’ll face when you fail in that undertaking more pointed.
Every decent team begins with a rough target of where they stand in the great World Cup pecking order, and where they should finish. Everyone who follows the team has the same general idea. If you make it that far, or further, it’s a celebration of excellence. If you don’t, it’s a disaster.
At the half on Wednesday, the Canadians had a good idea of how this was going to go. They’d hold off the Swiss, spend a week basking in the national glow, pot the biggest ever soccer win on home soil next week and go into the round of 16 feeling like champions. They’d done it.
Now they will be struggling to prove that the game against Qatar wasn’t a fluke and that they aren’t flakes.
Canada made it easier for World Cup fans to cross the border, but they did not come
One supposes Marsch thought he was going to Pep Guardiola his way through this tournament. Use his Jedi mind tricks to so unsettle a continental power that they’d be singing his name in the Alps for many Edelweiss-picking seasons to come. Instead, he outsmarted his team and himself. Say this much, it’s an ambitious approach. His reward is getting raked in America for singing along to O Canada.
Once that’s done, the mission is simple. Unless there’s a really good reason to do otherwise, Eustáquio must start, Davies must appear at some point and no clocking in late after your break.
Canada may end up getting outplayed in L.A. That happens at this level, and there’s no shame in it. But they can’t be out-maneuvered again, especially by themselves.