Key events
Canada should look at this game as an opportunity salvaged. They had the better of play and created more chances. They put seven shots on target to Venezuela’s three, and they had several other chances that went begging.
But they nearly handed the game to a tough Venezuela side that has some attacking power. As inexplicable as the referee’s actions were in delaying a throw-in to allow Venezuelan keeper Romo to get back to the goal, that doesn’t explain the team-wide lapse that allowed Rondon to chip the keeper and equalize. And teams that squander that many chances often rue the day.
In the end, they won with maturity and poise. They avoided losing control in a chippy game with a lot of flying bodies hitting the ground. Then they took some supremely composed penalty kicks.
Canada doesn’t have much to show from its men’s national team’s history. They have something now.
See you for the semi-final.
Canada defeats Venezuela on penalties
Davies made his shot look routine. Marseille’s Ismael Kone was even calmer, simply stepping and kicking it past Romo like he was kicking a ball back to a teammate during warmups.
And that’s it. Canada vs. Argentina in the semi-final.
PKs: Venezuela 3-3 Canada
Crepeau save! Canada will shoot for the win.
PKs: Venezuela 3-3 Canada
What pressure? Alphonso Davies just nonchalantly takes three steps and rips the ball into the upper corner.
PKs: Venezuela 3-2 Canada
Cadiz does a stuttering short run-up, gets a sense of where Crepeau is leaning, and sends it the other way.
Canada must score to continue.
PKs: Venezuela 2-2 Canada
Eustaquio shoots weakly and too close to the keeper.
PKs: Venezuela 2-2 Canada
Off the post! Off Crepeau’s hands first. Savarino hit it well but not far enough to the side, and the keeper knocks it off the post.
The PA announcer warns fans not to use laser pointers. Thanks.
PKs: Venezuela 2-2 Canada
Bombito, who was beaten on the Rondon goal, is up next …
And someone is shining a laser at his face. Referee Sampaio sees it and gives him a few seconds to settle himself.
Bombito takes an awkward step forward, then follows through and scores.
PKs: Venezuela 2-1 Canada
Rincon shuffles his feet and somehow drills it almost through Crepeau. It whizzes just over the diving keeper.
PKs: Venezuela 1-1 Canada
Liam Millar returns the favor, sending his shot at least three feet over the bar.
PKs: Venezuela 1-1 Canada
Herrera drags his shot wide of the post! And Crepeau had gone the wrong way, leaving the goal gaping. That’s a shot taken by a tired player.
PKs: Venezuela 1-1 Canada
Jonathan David up for Canada. Romo looks huge in the net, but David drills it past him, even as the Venezuelan keeper guesses correctly. Well-struck shot.
PKs: Venezuela 1-0 Canada
Rondon sends Crepeau the wrong way. Easy finish.
Travis Giblin: “This is easily one of the top 5 games I’ve ever seen the Canadian men play. They’ve been exciting and effortful and creative like I’ve rarely seen. However… this ref is something else. How there weren’t 2 yellow cards shortly before half for Wrestling quality clotheslines, followed by fiasco from the Venezuelan keeper right before their goal has me, well, furious.”
Hey now – you’re not allowed to do that in wrestling.
Christy Goosen: “Not a longstanding soccer fan (usually watch hockey) but this is so reminiscent of Canada’s hockey games in the early days of international hockey. The officiating seems awful: do they not want Canada to move forward?”
I don’t know that the officiating has been biased. Just curious.
Mark Ireland accurately picks out the big problem, aside from the wasteful finishing, that led Canada to this point: “I admire the attacking intent, but when you’re defending a one-goal lead, was it really wise of Canada to push everyone – including the goalie – so far up the pitch? Very naive defending there for the Venezuela goal.”
Sorry that’s all I can get to. Here we go …
Full time: Venezuela 1-1 Canada (PKs to follow)
Eustaquio whips the free kick on target, but there are just too many bodies in front.
Off to PKs we go …
90 min +4: Millar gets past Aramburu, who uses a rugby tackle out of desperation to bring him down.
Free kick Canada – probably the last chance of the game.
90 min +3: Crepeau punts the ball all the way to the top of the Venezuelan penalty area, but no one can settle.
90 min +1: It’ll be four minutes.
Johnston blocks a shot.
Venezuela sub: Martinez and Osorio out. Rincon and Angel in.
90 min: Free kick for Canada at midfield, and they knock it back into their own half. Then they turn it over.
Waiting on a signal for stoppage times while Aramburo comes up to take a long throw-in.
88 min: CHANCE for Canada, and again, a smart buildup flowing through David ends with a weak shot from Ahmed that trickles wide of the far post.
The xG stats for this game will be through the roof.
Canada get it back, and Kone rips a quick shot just wide of the post.
86 min: Not sure what Johnston was doing that far up the field, but he turns expertly onto a ball from Ahmed and forces a tough save from Romo.
85 min: A chance in an alternate timeline for Venezuela – one in which Rondon wasn’t a full yard offside when he took the through ball. He still gets a chance to shoot, and Crepeau makes a spectacular foot save before the flag finally goes up and the whistle is blown.
83 min: Chance for Venezuela, but it’s not getting the bold-face treatment because the shot was taken so poorly. Navarro stretches out a foot and sends his shot far over the bar.
Savarino (the former Real Salt Lake man) comes in, as does Matias Lacava – for his international debut. Jumping into the deep end, apparently. The dangerous Soteldo is out, as is Bello.
81 min: CHANCE for Canada, and it’s once again the impressive Oluwaseyi, bringing down a ball that David chipped over a couple of defenders. Romo comes out to cut down the angle, and Oluwaseyi’s best option is to chip it. The ball lands on top of the net.
Sub – Ismael Kone replaces Osorio for Canada.
79 min: Corner kick to Venezuela, though I’d like to see a replay to see if anyone was offside in the buildup.
They take it short, and one simple cutback move leaves two Canadian defenders flailing.
77 min: CHANCE for Canada, with Oluwaseyi firing just over the bar as he corrals a through ball. Promising.
76 min: Cornelius needs some treatment after taking an arm to the head.
72 min: Interesting double substitution for Canada. Larin and Laryea, who’ve been dangerous but wasteful, are out. Tani Oluwaseyi and Ali Ahmed are in. This is Ahmed’s first action of the tournament.
71 min: Reminder – there is no extra time in these games. This would go straight to PKs.
68 min: CHANCES for Canada, and these are a little bit better. Millar has made an impact as a sub, and he shoots from an acute angle, possibly nicking the far post.
Gooooooal! Venezuela 1-1 Canada (Rondon 65)
This game has had no shortage of breakaways. Venezuela play to midfield for Rondon, who races Bombito to the ball. Bombito ends up a yard away from the Venezuelan striker, which wouldn’t be such a concern if not for the fact that Crepeau has, for some reason, wandered 25 yards from his goal. Rondon simply chips it from just past the center circle. It bounces near the goal line and up into the top of the net.
64 min: This is horrible from Sampaio. Absolutely horrible. Comically awful officiating.
Canada crosses, and Larin ends up in a foot race with Romo, the keeper. Romo plays it out. Larin tries to take the throw-in quickly, and Romo simply grabs the ball to stop him from doing so.
Textbook yellow card. Mandatory. But Sampaio stops play and allows Romo to get back in goal.
And then …
61 min: CHANCE for Canada, and Laryea made an absolute mess of it. A turnover left him going 2-on-1, and he just dribbled aimlessly into the penalty area with no convincing attempt at a shot or a pass.
Shaffelburg has done everything a human being can do in this game, so he leaves, replaced by Liam Millar.
59 min: Larin is in the assistant referee’s face, thinking he has earned a corner kick. The call is goal kick. Not sure the call shouldn’t be free kick.
Venezuela brings in Jhonder Cadiz, who had a goal in the group stage.
58 min: CHANCE for Venezuela, and Crepeau leaps majestically to tip over Bello’s deft chip from an acute angle. Nearly one of the best goals of the tournament.
56 min: This game is getting brutal. Navarro slides studs-up into Osorio, which finally draws a whistle from referee Sampaio but not a card.
A lot of youth soccer referees hesitate to give cards because then they have to write a report. I’d think that wouldn’t dissuade someone at this level.
54 min: CHANCE for Venezuela, and Martinez sends a shot over the bar from 10 yards out. Unlike Larin, he didn’t have a lot of time, and the ball wasn’t in a great spot.
53 min: CHANCE for Canada, and it’s another one squandered. A cross gets through to Larin, who has all day to play the ball 15 yards from goal but rushes a shot over the bar.
These misses may come back to haunt Canada like a sentimental Arcade Fire song.
52 min: “That looked like a foul from here” is becoming a common refrain.
50 min: Soteldo has switched from the left to the right flank, and he draws a foul from Cornelius. That’ll be the second yellow card to Canada on the evening.
49 min: Venezuela have a firm grip on the game so far in this half, but they’ll need to tend to Ferraresi after the center back took a nasty tumble upon landing from an aerial duel.
47 min: Soteldo is a fun player to watch, a live wire who darts in different directions and still maintains possession. He might maintain it too long, though, because he tends not to make any sort of connection with his Venezuelan teammates.
And we’re back …
After I add Rachel Homan to the list of great Canadians.
Mailbag
Matan Prilleltensky is surprised that I’m not Canadian. To make it even more surprising – I am a member of a curling club.
James Roberts says Canada looks like a soccer nation tonight. Jesse Marsch will surely have some points of emphasis about the defense and the need to tidy up their passes, but yes, they’ve been sharp in attack.
Or as Philip Bull puts it: “Balanced as it is on the knife edge of skill and haplessness, this is pure entertainment.”
Liz White adds the Parachute Club, a band with which I’m not familiar to the list of famed Canadians, along with an actual soccer player: “You have to include Craig Forrest in your list of Canadians. One of 13 internationals in the first season of the Premier League, Canada’s MNT captain and mvp of the Gold Cup tournament that Canada won. Before that win I was usually about a third of the Canadian support at “home” games at Varsity Stadium in Toronto.”
And Paul P takes issue with the omissions of kd lang and Gordon Lightfoot. Sometimes, I think it’s a shame when I overlook someone like that.
Halftime: Venezuela 0-1 Canada
A gloriously fast-paced and occasionally sloppy half of soccer ends with Canada still holding the lead. Venezuela’s attackers haven’t turned any turnovers into goals and haven’t troubled Crepeau that much, while Canada squandered two great chances and had another brilliantly saved.
Deserved lead for Canada, but certainly not a comfortable one.
45 min +3: I counted four players getting knocked to the ground, all likely legal, on one sequence while Venezuela attacked.
Canada go the other way, and Shaffelburg is dumped to the ground again. That might have been a foul.
45 min +1: Whatever Venezuela tried to do on that free kick must have looked cool on the training ground. Here, it’s a turnover.
45 min: We’ll have four minutes of stoppage time.
Venezuela have used the first of those minutes setting up a free kick from 30 yards out.
44 min: Good possession for Canada with a couple of half-dangerous crosses.
Venezuela get back to midfield, and Rondon angrily lectures Laryea about something. No idea what.
41 min: Venezuela lofts the ball toward a precise point at which two attackers and two defenders converge, and a couple of them end up down on the ground. Alistair Johnston stays there and will require help. Crepeau has to scream and yell to get referee Sampaio’s attention at the other end of the field, where Casseres hauled down David on the counterattack to give Canada a free kick.
40 min: Canada has to deal with a bit of pressure, but they play over the top and win a throw-in deep in Venezuela’s half.
Then Crepeau decides Romo isn’t the only keeper who can venture out of his area, and he ends up with the ball at his feet at least 40 yards from his goal. That’s one way to unnerve your coach.
37 min: They’re still playing at indoor soccer pace, apropos in a stadium with the roof closed but a difficult pace to endure when you don’t have indefinite substitutes.
I did see that the indoor MASL is keeping all its teams intact for next season. Congratulations.
35 min: You don’t see this every day. Shaffelburg tries to re-enter the game before a Venezuela free kick, but he apparently didn’t have permission from the referee, and that’s a yellow card, as I know from my annual recertification exams.
(If I gave Under-12 players yellow cards when that happened, we’d finish with no players left on the field.)
