The 5-0 thrashing Canada suffered at the hands of Argentina in Buenos Aires in the spring of 2010 comes to mind. Oooh! How about repressed flashbacks to that 8-1 loss to Honduras? It’s frightening to ponder what Rademal Falcao and James Rodriguez may do to David Edgar and Doneil Henry over the course of 90 minutes.
So sure, we could all sit here and project all manner of doom and destruction. Or we could cautiously hope (perhaps with the assistance of recreational narcotics) things turn out not totally horrible for Canada. The Colombian press sees this roster as a retweaking of the successful World Cup side. Pending injuries, there are five new faces added to the mix. According to this piece in El Tiempo, Pekerman’s two primary objectives are finding a replacement for legendary 38-year-old defender Mario Yepes and scaring out different options when attacking down the flanks. Perhaps that’s why the Colombian FA chose relatively weak opponents. Target practice. Hell, it's still more dignified reasoning from a Canadian perspective than facing Argentina for the sole purpose of providing a guaranteed walkover for the World Cup send-off party.
Speaking ahead of the El Salvador match, Pekerman confirms he plans to provide playing time to as many players as possible, and that both Falcao and Martinez are carrying minor injuries. Okay, so that's slightly less terrifying. Two domestic-based midfielders -- Yimmi Chará of Tolima and Edwin Cardona of Nacional -- arrive for the first time to the Colombian senior side and its likely Pekerman will give them a run out in the wider midfield roles. Goalkeeper Camilo Vargas of Independiente Santa Fe will also earn his first minutes in the national team, another lineup choice Canadian supporters could theoretically be optimistic about.
Pekerman wants to experiment. Beyond official Fifa dates in November and next March this might be his only other time to truly do so before the 2015 Copa America. He'll test some fresh-faced midfielders or central defenders, as well as an internationally green ‘keeper. Falcao, Rodrieguez and Jackson Martinez probably won't play the full match and there's going to be all sorts of substitutions by both sides. And we'll know a bit more about what to expect after Colombia's match versus El Salvador Friday evening. So there you go, it might not be so bad.
Who are we kidding? Canada is doomed. Let's just hope it's not one of the all-time bad ones.