1
Cristian Nunez doesn't get the press that goes to some of his more heralded teammates on the Canadian under-20 soccer team.
But the youngster was one of the few bright spots in Canada's opening 3-0 loss to Chile at the FIFA U-20 World Cup. Playing alongside holding midfielder Jonathan Beaulieu-Bourgault, Nunez did his job in the centre of the park. An economical player who operates without flash, he won the ball and distributed it.
"I was working hard," he said Tuesday from Edmonton. "I did OK."
Still he wasn't happy with his showing, saying he didn't help the team win.
"I was very, very upset about the result," he said. "It's a team sport, right? I'm kind of disappointed but we have two more games and hopefully we can do better. And I think the guys are very motivated right now."
Canada plays Austria on Thursday and Congo on Sunday. Those two teams tied 1-1 Monday night in Edmonton with the Austrians flubbing a late chance for the go-ahead goal.
The top two teams in each of the six first-round groups, plus the four best third-place finishers will advance to the knockout round of 16.
Nunez says fans will see a different Canadian team Thursday.
"It's not only the loss, it's the way we lost. The guys are very very, very upset about that and right now we are very pumped about the next game."
Coach Dale Mitchell usually keeps his emotions and thoughts to himself, but he was clearly not happy with his team's showing against Chile.
"Yeah, sometimes he doesn't show emotion but we kind of know him because we've been with him for a long time," Nunez said. "We know when he doesn't like things and he lets us know too."
So did Mitchell make his feelings known after the Chile debacle?
"He was very disappointed," said Nunez.
"But he has trust in us, he has faith in us," he added. "He knows we can do better and we're going to do better."
Nunez, who turns 19 on Saturday, is currently playing for the Toronto FC reserves. He earned a three-year contract with FC Lyn Olso in Norway last summer but had to come home when he was unable to secure a work permit.
Given his druthers, Nunez would rather play a more offensive game.
"I'll do anything to help the team, but I feel more comfortable going offensively."
But Mitchell's system calls for wingers Jaime Peters and Simeon Jackson to attack from the flanks with Will Johnson creating in the hole behind target man Andrea Lombardo.
When the system works — and it didn't against Chile — it puts a lot of defensive pressure on the two central midfielders — especially if the wingers don't track back to help out.
Nunez said the players talked about the Chile loss, but are now looking ahead rather than behind. He acknowledges the side feels a little pressure playing at home but says that disappears when the players take the pitch.
"Once you're on the field, it's your game. You have to enjoy it, right. So you have to put that pressure away and play for yourself and play for the team. Nothing else matters."
A fan of FC Barcelona and Lionel Messi, Nunez grew up in Montreal and worked his way up through the Quebec provincial ladder. His father is originally from Argentina and his mother from Nicaragua.
