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EDMONTON — The coach called it a good lesson for the boys. His players didn't look too happy about being educated 1-0 by an Austrian team that played the neutral-zone trap better than the New Jersey Devils ever did.
Two games into their Fédération Internationale de Football Association under-20 World Cup schedule and it is now painfully clear Canada's best young players have been schooled by the best from Chile and now Austria.
We can understand Chile. It scored a 3-0 win over Canada and looked untouchably good from start to end.
Austria, though, was supposed to be a step down. Slower. Good defensively but hardly a squad that was going to take Canada to the woodshed and spank it.
Simeon Jackson pulls his jersey over his face after missing a scoring chance late in the game against Austria. Canada remains scoreless in the tournament. (Jason Scott/CP)
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Well, the Canadians gave it a healthy, earnest effort. They battled Austria especially hard in the second half and, trailing 1-0 in extra minutes, had two glorious scoring opportunities that missed by that much.
But for the second game in succession, Canada didn't score and managed only one shot on goal. Soccer may not be a high-scoring sport but this much we know: one shot on goal is not a recipe for success.
Just as remarkable as their solo shot on net was listening to the Canadian players explain their loss on a night when the temperature climbed over 30 C and refused to come down.
"It's tough for our team when we face a team that defends for a full 90 minutes," said Canadian goalkeeper Asmir Bergovic, who played his youth soccer in Edmonton. "We're used to the other way."
In other words, the Canadians are used to being bombarded with soccer balls, usually propelled by Chileans. But an opponent that plays defence then jumps on miscues and scores quickly? Guess they forgot to prepare for that.
Canadian coach Dale Mitchell did his best to portray a near-empty glass as half-full. His team plays Sunday against the Congo and there's still a chance Canada could move on to the qualifying round of 16. But realistically, it's time for Canada to look ahead, and Mitchell began that process in his postmatch interview.
"I told the players, 'You want to test yourself and see where you stand and when it's over, take a look in the mirror. Assess where you're at and move on,' " Mitchell said. "We've had some success in friendly matches but the friendly matches are not the same when they bring their best to the tournament at this level.
"This is playing with the big boys."
Added goalie Bergovic: "We just couldn't break [Austria] down."
Unfortunately for local organizers, last night's result and crowd count isn't going to blow the gates off Commonwealth Stadium for Canada versus the Congo, the African champions who play a lively, entertaining game.
The announced attendance against Austria was 31,579. Only about 20,000 were actually in the stands.
Part of the problem had to do with some 2,500 fans being stuck at the will-call windows near Gate 13 because their on-line tickets couldn't get processed quickly enough.
After hassling ticket-takers and security workers, a handful of police officers appeared and the crowd was allowed to run to the gates and into the stadium, which they did — just as Canada and Austria were putting the final touches on a scoreless first half.
Edmonton has a history of supporting the beautiful game. In 1994, Canada and Brazil played an exhibition match and drew 51,937 fans, the majority of whom came to cheer on the guys in the canary-yellow jerseys. The match became even more memorable when Canada hung on for a 1-1 draw.
Eight years later, close to 48,000 Edmontonians watched Canada play the United States in the final of the inaugural under-19 women's World Cup. Everyone thought it was a watershed moment for soccer in Western Canada; that played at a high level the game would sell tickets like booster cables during an Edmonton winter.
That hasn't been the case. Approximately 200,000 tickets have been sold for the nine matches over seven days here, which makes an average crowd look even smaller in a 60,000-seat park.
A spirited start for Canada could have kick-started things. Instead, it lay down and rolled over for those goal-thirsty Chileans. You have an opener like that on Broadway and you don't get a second night. Now the loss to Austria (it came on a header from Rubin Okotie at the 47-minute mark) makes things even more difficult.
The soccer faithful are still into the event. As for the Canadian team, it's learned a great deal. It's learned so much it hurts.
