AL THUMAMA, Qatar – Football, be it the American variety or otherwise, is a game of inches.
The Canadian men’s national team learned that the hard way on Thursday, as it has in all three World Cup games.
The 2-1 defeat to Morocco at Al Thumama Stadium really stuck out in that regard. Two headers from Atiba Hutchinson (off the crossbar) and Alistair Johnston (narrowly over the bar), was all that separated Canada between a sixth consecutive World Cup defeat and its first-ever point.
“Two inches,” said a lamented Canada coach John Herdman in his post-match press conference. “Two inches from getting our first result.”
Ultimately, sports are a results-based business and in due time, there will be enough discourse to fill a book on the men’s national team’s outlook for the 2026 World Cup after its first tournament in 36 years.
For now, though, here’s what we learned from a fascinating and entertaining 2-1 loss.
2022 FIFA World Cup
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BORJAN EXPOSED AGAIN
Mark this game down with the 2019 Gold Cup quarterfinal versus Haiti as a match that Milan Borjan may never forget for all the wrong reasons.
Four minutes in, Steven Vitoria hit an undercooked pass that casually rolled toward Borjan as the defender attempted to evade pressure from Youssef En-Nesyri. With the Moroccan striker closing in on Borjan, the Canadian No. 1 compounded the error with a half-hearted pass right to the foot of Hakim Ziyech, who chipped the ball into an open goal.
Just under 20 minutes later, a lofted ball over the top of Canada’s defence – arguably its major weakness – landed at En-Nesyri’s feet and he doubled Morocco’s lead.
Normally, goalkeepers will position themselves just outside the top of their box, sometimes even further up the pitch, when the ball is in the opposition’s half. Then, if a long pass is attempted and a defender can’t deal with it in the air, the goalkeeper will sweep it away.
Unfortunately for Canada, Borjan was nowhere to be found. Potentially due to the early error, he opted to retreat to his goal, allowing En-Nesyri to latch onto the ball and double the lead.
Borjan isn’t the only one to blame, of course. It was Vitoria who was uncomfortable under pressure when he had the ball. He also could’ve dealt with the long pass. Ditto for Kamal Miller, whose lack of pace on the turn cost him on the second goal. But this is where an alert and adventurous goalkeeper comes in handy if those frailties are exploited.
For all the talk of “traditional goalkeeping” at this World Cup, today’s game sometimes calls for more modern methods.
If Borjan eventually steps aside, Maxime Crepeau and Dayne St. Clair are capable of fulfilling these tasks. They certainly could’ve used them on Thursday in those situations.
DOUBLE PIVOT ISSUES
Herdman has leaned on a double pivot, usually with Junior Hoilett or one of the defenders providing extra cover in certain situations.
Hutchinson’s load management and Stephen Eustaquio’s hamstring injury meant that the go-to options were not capable of starting the match. Couple that with the obvious attacking quality, and the method makes sense from Herdman’s perspective.
“We’re always trying to get as many wide players deployed,” Herdman explained when asked why he didn’t start with a trio to match up with Morocco’s midfield. “[With] players that can play inside with double width, it’s difficult to play that extra midfielder and when I look at the quality around my team, you always see our quality in areas where we’re trying to ensure we’re on the front foot.”
However, the decision to start a rusty Mark-Anthony Kaye with Toronto FC teammate Jonathan Osorio wasn’t without its issues. For starters, they were getting stretched off the ball. Plus, in order to release the full-backs and wingers into space, they needed to shuffle across and play off those players.
In order to utilize a successful double pivot, the midfielders need to be incredibly active and fast to cover all that ground. Osorio’s distribution was solid but ask him to play box-to-box in a pivot, and there’ll be trouble.
Both players started in similar roles versus the United States in World Cup Qualifying last January and were below average. The U.S. just failed to capitalize on all the open space in transition.
Eventually, changes arrived in the form of Atiba Hutchinson and Ismael Kone. Hutchinson shielded the defence, Kone played more advanced, and in an effort to enable fellow substitute Richie Laryea to bomb forward, Johnston tucked inside as an inverted full-back for added midfield cover.
“We were planning to adapt after the first 20 [minutes] into that 5-3-2,” Herdman said. “I think it sort of made a difference.”
It was far more impactful in the second half once Kone, who has the dynamism and vision to handle the rigours of playing in an end-to-end match. To the 20-year-old’s credit, he was excellent while Hutchinson orchestrated beautifully from the back.
INVERTED WINGERS
From the outset, Tajon Buchanan and Alphonso Davies were playing inverted, with Buchanan on the left and Davies on the right.
It wasn’t paying off too much, but there was a method to the madness.
“Buchanan’s work as a wingback at Club Brugge is more of a two-way of playing,” Herdman said.
That would ideally enable Buchanan to provide some defensive cover for Sam Adekugbe against Ziyech and Achraf Hakimi but that didn’t really happen based on the average positioning (Buchanan is No. 11).
As for Davies, Morocco’s pattern of conceding goals meant Davies could’ve been a useful weapon on the right wing.
“We wanted to have that right foot coming in off the line if you look at the goals Morocco concede,” said Herdman. “We knew that work on the byline would be difficult so there was something about trying to get [Davies] released on the inside on his left foot coming inside to be able to take opportunities at the top of the box.”
Ultimately, the goal was created via Adekugbe down the left flank with Buchanan positioned nearby for quick flick-ons, so the strategy, while understandable, didn’t exactly pay off.
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings signed forward Lucas Raymond to an eight-year, $64.6 million contract Monday, completing a deal with one of their best young players less than 72 hours before training camp begins.
Raymond will count $8.075 million against the salary cap through 2032. The 22-year-old was a restricted free agent without a contract for the upcoming NHL season and was coming off setting career highs with 31 goals, 41 assists and 72 points.
The Red Wings have another one of those in defenceman Moritz Seider, who won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2021-22.
Detroit is looking to end an eight-year playoff drought dating to the Original Six franchise’s last appearance in 2016.
Raymond, a Swede who was the fourth pick in 2020, has 174 points in 238 games since breaking into the league.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kirk Cousins led a flawless last-minute drive for Atlanta and connected with Drake London for a 7-yard touchdown with 34 seconds left to give the Falcons a 22-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night.
Saquon Barkley dropped a short pass that stopped the clock with 1:46 left and forced the Eagles to settle for a field goal instead of a game-sealing first down. That was plenty of time for Cousins — especially against an Eagles defense playing soft coverage with a nonexistent pass rush.
The 36-year-old veteran, playing his second game since tearing his Achilles tendon last Oct. 29 while playing for Minnesota, shook off an uneven effort and hit Darnell Mooney for 21 and 26 yards on consecutive plays during the decisive drive.
Cousins found London on a short pass to his right for the tying score, and Younghoe Koo put Atlanta (1-1) on top with a 48-yard extra point after London was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. The go-ahead drive took just 65 seconds.
Jalen Hurts had his final pass intercepted by Jessie Bates III to seal Atlanta’s win and set off a wild celebration on the sideline.
The Eagles (1-1) went ahead on Hurts’ 1-yard tush push score with 6:47 left. Barkley finished with 95 yards on 22 carries in his home debut for Philadelphia, but his drop provided the Falcons with some hope.
And then Cousins started playing like the QB Atlanta thought it was getting when it signed him to a four-year, $180 million contract.
Cousins finished 20 of 29 for 241 yards and two touchdowns. Atlanta’s first TD was a 41-yarder from Cousins to Mooney, who finished with three catches for 88 yards.
Hurts was 23 of 30 for 183 yards, including a touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith. With No. 1 receiver A.J. Brown out with a hamstring injury, Smith led the Eagles with seven catches for 76 yards and a score.
Jake Elliott kicked two field goals for the Eagles. His 28-yarder with 1:39 left made it 21-15.
Atlanta kept stalling in the red zone, getting three field goals from Koo, before Cousins fired over the middle to Mooney, who shook loose from C.J. Gardner-Johnson and left him on the turf before he somersaulted into the end zone with 1:21 left in the third quarter for a 15-10 lead. Cousins failed on the 2-point conversion pass.
Hurts had some juice in his step during a second-quarter TD drive, running with abandon for big plays much like he did in the 2022 season. He spiked the ball in a rare, raw show of emotion on a 23-yard run, earning a delay-of-game penalty. He shrugged off the 5-yard setback and scrambled for 9 yards and 15 yards to move the Eagles to Atlanta’s 19.
With comedian Shane Gillis and actor Bradley Cooper among the fans cheering on the Eagles, Hurts connected with Smith in the back of the end zone for a 7-yard TD that made it 7-3.
Under new defensive coordinator Vince Fangio, the Eagles have established an early knack for allowing long drives that end with three points instead of seven. Koo kicked field goals of 39, 22 and 34 yards, the last one enough for a 9-7 lead in the third quarter. In their opener, the Eagles held the Packers to just three field goals when they drove inside the 20.
Questionable call
Rather than take a chip-shot field goal from Elliott, the Eagles’ fourth-and-4 gamble at Atlanta’s 9-yard line in the first quarter failed when Hurts threw an incomplete pass.
Elliott kicked a 29-yarder with 4:31 left in the third quarter for a 10-9 lead.
Running wild
Bijan Robinson ran for 97 yards for the Falcons. The Eagles stuffed him late on fourth-and-1 at the Atlanta 39.
Barkley was quiet until the go-ahead drive, a week after he rushed for 109 yards and scored three touchdowns against Green Bay. Eagles fans booed when the opening drive of the game ended without Barkley touching the ball. They went wild when he had consecutive 9-yard runs to open the second drive. Barkley had 40 yards rushing in the first half.
Foles honored
Former Eagles QB Nick Foles, who led the franchise to its only Super Bowl title, served as an honorary captain and led the crowd in a rendition of “Fly, Eagles, Fly.”
Injuries
The Falcons played without LB Nate Landman (calf, quad).
Up next
Atlanta hosts Super Bowl champion Kansas City on Sunday.
TORONTO – Singles star Leylah Fernandez and doubles specialist Gabriela Dabrowski will anchor Canada’s five-player lineup when the team tries to defend its Billie Jean King Cup title in mid-November.
The 26th-ranked Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open finalist from Laval, Que., is the lone Canadian in the top 100 of the WTA Tour’s singles rankings.
Dabrowski, from Ottawa, is ranked fourth on the doubles list. The 2023 U.S. Open women’s doubles champion won mixed doubles bronze with Felix Auger-Aliassime at the recent Paris Olympics.
Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., returns after a breakout performance last year, capped by her singles win in Canada’s 2-0 victory over Italy in the final. Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino is also back and Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion from Mississauga, Ont., returns to the squad for the first time since 2022.
“Winning the Billie Jean King Cup in 2023 was a dream come true for us, and not only that, but I feel like we made a statement to the world about the strength of this nation when it comes to tennis,” Canada captain Heidi El Tabakh said Monday in a release. “Once again, we have a very strong team this year with Bianca joining Leylah, Gaby, Rebecca and Marina, making it an extremely powerful team that is more than capable of going all the way.
“At the end of the day, our goal is to make Canada proud, and we’ll do our best to bring the same level of effort and excitement that we had in last year’s finals.”
Fernandez, who beat Jasmine Paolini to clinch Canada’s first-ever title at the competition, is ranked No. 42 in doubles.
Canada, which received an automatic berth as defending champion, will play the winner of the first-round tie between Great Britain and Germany on Nov. 17 at Malaga’s Martin Carpena Arena.
Australia, Italy and wild-card entry Czechia also received first-round byes. The tournament, which continues through Nov. 20, also includes host Spain, Slovakia, the United States, Poland, Japan and Romania.
Stakusic is up 27 spots to No. 128 in the latest world singles rankings. Marino is at No. 134 and Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, is ranked 167th.
Canada will look to become the first team since Czechia in 2016 to successfully defend its Billie Jean King Cup title.
Malaga will also host the Nov. 19-24 Davis Cup Final 8. The Canadian men qualified over the weekend with a 2-1 victory over Great Britain in Manchester.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
