Mistakes aplenty as Canada loses friendly to Japan

Julian de Guzman in action against Japan. J LEAGUE PHOTOS/CANADA SOCCER

It’s the nature of soccer: Far more goals come from defensive errors than offensive brilliance. When analyzing goals, we are often looking more at what the defender did wrong than what the scorer did right.

Really, if the game was played perfectly, most games would finish 0-0 and the odd goals here and there would be the rare stuff of brilliance defeating what should have been a perfect defensive formation.

So, Canada’s 2-1 loss to Japan in a men’s friendly in Doha, Qatar Friday really didn’t go against any major script in the soccer world. All of the goals came thanks to some major defensive miscues. And, with better finishing, there could have been more.

“We are frustrated with the way we conceded the two goals,” coach Tony Fonseca was quoted on Canadasoccer.com after the match. “Working to stop conceding goals from errors is something we have been focusing on — so the team is disappointed in that sense.”

Really, if anything was frustrating from a Canadian perspective, it was how often that Canada tried to dink little passes into the box against a team that is an automatic to be in the next World Cup, and many World Cups after that. For most of the match, the Japanese ceded the first two-thirds of the field to the Canadians, then collapsed and defended in their own third. When Canada looked most effective is when players decided to have a go from outside the area: Will Johnson sailed a shot just a foot over the bar and, late in the match, Atiba Hutchinson forced keeper Eiji Kawashima into a good save with a shot from distance.

Far too often in a failed World Cup qualifying campaign, Canada relied on set pieces from which to score. From open play, it found very little. And to create space, to make defenders push up towards the midfielders and create space for the strikers, a team needs to shoot from the outside. We need to see more of those attacks where a Johnson or a Hutchinson or any midfielder decides to have a go from outside the area, when space allows.

But, Canada’s goal, which equalized the game at 1-1 13 minutes into the second half, came off a set piece that was, ahem, strangely defended by the Japanese. Kawashima decided to stay on his line when Johnson swung in a corner. Marcus Haber, preferred over Tosaint Ricketts or Simeon Jackson as a starter for Fonseca, got his head to it. The ball deflected off a Japanese defender who should have been on the post. The Japanese had no one guarding the post, or on the line to help Kawashima. So, the ball bounded in.

While Kawashima and his back line could have a few red cheeks over the goal they allowed, the keeper at the other end didn’t do much to help his cause as a future starter for Canada. Milan Borjan was caught off his line after he gave the ball away on a clearing attempt. Shinji Okazaki took advantage of the blunder and gave Japan the 1-0 lead even though Canada had more of the ball through the first 10 minutes.

And then the chances kept coming. Ryoichi Maeda missed the goal when it was easier to score. Yasuhito Endo then crashed a free kick off the inside of the post and smashed into the chest of a surprised Borjan, but luckily for Canada the ball deflected off the keepr and wide.

In the second half, after Haber’s equalizer Gotoku Sakai should have punished Borjan for yet another mistake. Borjan hesitated on his line before coming for a ball bound for the penalty area. Late to the game, he was beaten to the ball by Sakai. The Japanese winger danced around the Canadian keeper but put his shot into the side netting from an angle, though the goal was wide open.

Finally, sub Mike Havenaar got Japan the winner. He was in between five Canadian defenders in the box, but somehow found space in the box to pounce on a deflected cross from Sakai.