“For me, this was definitely a flashback,” said Labbe. “From the Aviators to the Alberta team, I was going back to my roots. Definitely, in 2002, when the under-19 championship was here, that was my first exposure to the national team. I was in the stadium watching them. Now, to be back here, with the national team, it feels like I have come full circle.”

The Argentines scored just seconds before the first half came to a close, and again right after the second half kicked off.

The Canadian Soccer Association and the Football Association of the Czech Republic have announced plans for their Nov. 15 friendly.

Sometimes, draws feel like losses. And, sometimes, they feel like wins. Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with Iran definitely falls into the latter category.

“I think there are two to three kids on our team that have a real chance to play at the next level," said Peter Fuller, head coach of the Philadelphia Union’s Academy 18-year-old team where Greer plays. “He’s one of them. "

Both sides could have had more goals. Canadian midfielder Marco Bustos had a fantastic first-half effort denied by the fingertips of Austrian keeper Alexander Schlager. And, with less than 20 minutes to play and the score level at 2-2, Bustos saw his drive go off the bar.

And even though the late autumn/early winter conditions in Edmonton won’t be anything close to the July conditions we’ll see at the 2015 Women’s World Cup, Herdman said that getting a friendly in at the stadium where Canada will open the tournament will be vital to the team’s preparations. And, he said the cold can be a coaching tool, to see “if the players can focus on the task at hand.”

But it didn’t come to pass. Canada now has gone eight international matches without scoring a goal. The last marker came back on March 22, against Japan.

Canada is already preparing its men’s side for the next round of U-20 World Cup qualifying.

Needless to say, neither Boakai nor Lopez will be needing the tuques in Dubai, where Canada will face Austria, Iran and Argentina in the group stage of the U-17 World Cup.