For about 10 glorious minutes, it looked as though Canada really was capable of pulling off another stunning Saturday-night upset in the Olympic qualifying tournament.
The energetic Canadians pressured their heavily-favoured Mexican opponents early on, nearly claiming the opening goal (foiled only by a goal-line clearance). It seemed, for those 10 minutes, that anything was possible, that we could be on the verge of witnessing a truly transcendent moment for the game in this country.
Then, the Mexicans managed to settle in. Given not only the benefit of supreme skills, but also a massive advantage in terms of resources and preparation time, Mexico broke down the Canadian side, and claimed a deserved spot in the London Games.
But this was no blowout. No "typical" Canadian loss. In this tournament, a young Canadian squad -- assembled for the first time less than two weeks before play began -- fought hard, beat the Americans and put a real scare into a Mexican squad that has lots of Copa America experience.
The next transcendent moment in Canadian soccer didn't come on Saturday night; but we saw that such a moment might be much closer than many of us had dared to expect.
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For your own mental health, it might be best to avoid reading the comments sections of mainstream media stories about the game, lest you burst blood vessels in rage at the same-old, same-old trolling from the sorts of people who take utterly incomprehensible delight in intermittently telling us how bad Canadian soccer is, and how irrelevant it is (if you don't care about it, why comment about it? Ah, trolls don't have internal logic systems, why am I bothering to ask?)
But those who truly support this program, and this nation, could see the sparks of potential during this tournament. Despite the team's relative lack of experience playing together, there was a surprising level of cohesion on display. Whether that was due to efforts by head coach Tony Fonseca, or a fortuitous combination of easily-meshing personalities amongst the players, or some combination of the two, it was encouraging to see.
Michal Misiewicz was a revelation in goal, providing some solace to men's national team supporters who've had angsty times since the retirement of Craig Forrest. Lucas Cavallini and Andres Fresenga showcased the skills they've picked up playing in Uruguay -- skills that will be handy against Canada's opponents in CONCACAF. Samuel Piette, still just 17, turned heads when he got a call-up for the men's national team in February, and turned even more heads with his performances in Olympic qualifying.
Those names were largely unfamiliar even to most Canadian fans prior to the tournament ... not anymore.
Then, of course, you have the contributions from some more familiar faces: Doneil Henry, the first-ever graduate of the Toronto FC Academy, and original Red Nana Attakora; current Vancouver Whitecap Russell Teibert and criminally-underused ex-Whitecap Philippe Davies; and Montreal Impact draft pick Evan James.
Not all of these players will make significant contributions with the men's national team. For some of these youngsters, the victory over the U.S. will prove to be the apex of their national-team careers. But it's difficult to deny that amongst this group, there is cause for optimism.
The call will now come, of course, for some of the team's standouts to instantly become regulars with the senior men's national team, for whom World Cup qualifying resumes in a few months' time. This simply won't happen. And if Canada fails to qualify for Brazil 2014, many will forget the positivity shown by this U-23 squad, presuming that yet another generation of Canadian talent has been squandered. The trolls will be out in full force to remind us that the win over the U.S. was a fluke, that Canada will eternally be an also-ran in world soccer, that we should simply give up.
But they'll be wrong.
Is one win over an ultimately-disappointing U.S. team, and a hot start against Mexico, enough to declare that these are the boys that will lead Canada to Russia 2018? Of course not. That, even I'll admit, is ridiculous.
But this truly seemed to be a team that desperately wanted to play, and wanted to win, for each other, and for the country. And the fan support, feverishly whipped up following the U.S. win, seemed to have a more positive tinge than the response usually reserved for the senior men's national team. Many of these boys will suit up for the CanMNT in the not-too-distant future; will they take such attitudes along with them? We can only hope.
At the start of the tournament, most Canadian fans probably would have expected a semifinal loss to Mexico to be Canada's final destination. But the roller-coaster ride that this ragtag bunch managed to take us on, in the course of just over a week, rightly ignited some passion, pride and belief both on and off the field.
That's what these kids were able to do after being quickly cobbled together, with many of them barely knowing one another.
Imagine what they could being doing a few years from now.
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