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After what can only feel like the requisite three months of mourning after the Canadian Men's National Team once again bowed out of World Cup Qualifying, the CSA has tried to avoid repeating the mistakes from the 2008 implosion and get to work building a side for the foreseeable future, even if 2014 is no longer the end goal.
With no head coach on board, Colin Miller of FC Edmonton has stepped in and will take charge of what is one of the greenest Senior Canadian Men's teams in recent memory. There are few veterans on board as this match does not fall under an international FIFA date, and the make-up is half the Canadians could still be part of the U23 set-up.
Colin Miller
Fortunately, Denmark are also comprised of a younger core as this is not their 'A' squad coming to the United States for a set of friendlies against Canada and Mexico. Both sides will likely be evaluating and looking for the players who will perform well enough to be considered for full strength senior team call ups, and this is good news for Canada as an inexperienced and likely not very cohesive side will be able to compete with Denmark without fear of what the final result will be.
Keep thinking
Even though there is still a World Cup Qualifying cycle yet to be complete, once again it’s a new beginning for the Men’s National Team as their most recent loss means there are four years until another critical match is played. In between, there will be two Gold Cups and if these friendlies, and the ones to come are any indication, plenty of opportunities to determine who will feature heading into 2018 Russia.
With Stephen Hart resigning post-Honduras loss, Colin Miller has stepped in for these two matches and for the purpose of these fixtures, is a sound choice to train the squad. Having already made it clear his mandate as a coach at FC Edmonton is developing young Canadian talent, that philosophy will serve the team well as the make-up of the squad is mostly composed of players 25-years of age or younger.
While the team is missing some of the bigger youth names in Samuel Piette and Lucas Cavellini, Canadians can hopefully look forward to seeing the likes of Genoa goalkeeper Roberto Stillo, Vancouver Whitecaps trialist Andreas Fresenga and recent Toronto FC top draft pick Kyle Bekker. Even though Denmark are an established top European footballing nation, Canada should be able to approach this game with little pressure as they too will not be fielding their top players.
Kyle Porter
Denmark will be suiting up their League XI National Team, which means no Daniel Agger, Christian Erikson, Jacob Poulsen or Nicklas Bendtner. Instead it is the top players competing in the Danish Super League, the majority of which, like Canada, are their youth players with a few veterans. Overall though, there are no players with over 10 caps for Denmark and this makes what would have initially looked like a mismatch on paper much closer in reality.
As noted, there are some reasons to be positive about the make-up of this friendly, despite the reality of it coming at the cost of progressing towards Brazil 2014. With the 2013 Gold Cup just around the corner, there are a handful of players who can become regular contributors to the National Team for the next decade. Russell Teibert, Ashtone Morgan and Doneil Henry are all promising talents, and Henry as well can use these games as important preparation for U20 World Cup Qualifying.
There should be little pressure for Canada going into this game and Miller’s only approach should be to get as many players a look as possible for the year to come. With that in mind, it might not be the prettiest game, but one that might provide flashes and glimpses of who we can expect to see in the coming year. Canada still does not look to have an established finisher in this squad, but a few options up front definitely can create with Dwayne De Rosario likely being the main threat. If Canada can get the midfield combination right from the start, they should be able to put in a good showing leading up to their next game against the United States.
In the End
Staying active needs to be the purpose of the Canadian Men’s National Team in what four years ago became a period of limbo and static. Two friendlies in January and a high-profile game against Japan in March are good signs that the team will hopefully use the next two years as an opportunity to get a head start on 2018. With Denmark missing their top international players, Canada should be able to keep this game respectable, despite the Danes having a much higher reputation and ranking in the world. Still fielding some good professionals and with little pressure to earn a result, Canada will be able to use this game as a chance to let their younger players stretch their legs and prove they deserve another look in coming months.
Prediction
Denmark 3 – 2 Canada
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