Early goals by Kyle Larrain and Jonathan David led Canada to a 2-0 loss to World Cup hosts Qatar in a friendly match on Friday.
Canada dominated most of the match, going 2-0 up after just 13 minutes in front of the mostly empty stands at the Generali Arena, home of FK Austria Vienna.
Qatar, which took 48th place in the world rankings and ceded five places to Canada, did not offer any real opposition to the representatives of the maple leaf.
“We knew the first 20 minutes would be tough because Qatar is so organized and disciplined,” Canada coach John Herdman explained. But I think our players rose to the challenge tonight. »
The Canadians, who will face the Qataris for the first time, will meet tougher rivals on Tuesday when they take on world number 13 Uruguay in Bratislava, Slovakia.
“It’s going to be a tough test,” Herdman admitted. But this is what we dream about. We played against CONCACAF opponents for four years. All the players dreamed of playing against countries like Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina during their international career. This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for.
“For us, this is equivalent to a league match against Uruguay, just like the match between Belgium and Croatia (Canada’s Group F opponents in the World Cup). We are feverish. But we must avoid drifting too far, keep our feet on the ground and our shoulders on the wheel. over the next three days.”
Canada’s pre-season final match for the World Cup is November 17th against Japan No. 24 in Dubai.
The Canadians held their breath in the second half when Alfonso Davies called up a coach after tangling with Ismail Mohamed in the 57th minute. The Bayern Munich star managed to leave the field under his power, limping, and made way for a reserve player.
“It will be OK. He sits on the bench and has fun with his teammates. Everything will be OK,” Herdman assured Davis.
Several CF Montreal players participated in this meeting: Alistair Johnston, Samuel Peet, Kamal Miller and Ismail Kony. Joel Waterman remained on the bench.
The Maple Leaf representatives will begin their World Cup journey on November 23 against Belgium (No. 2), in Group F.
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Natalie Sinclair is a contributor at Vaughantoday.ca, covering a wide range of topics including local news, politics, business, technology, sports, entertainment, and lifestyle. She focuses on delivering clear, accurate reporting and useful information that helps readers stay informed about current events and issues that matter to their communities. Her work highlights timely developments, relevant stories, and practical insights in a professional and reader-friendly manner.