Andersen Williams’s 88th-minute header bounded right through a pack of Haitian defenders before it crossed the line — giving Canada a 2-1 win and a berth in the U-17 Women’s World Cup.

But, when it comes to tournament soccer, there is an argument for playing possum in the group stage. If you meet a team you faced in the group stage later in the tournament, that opponent doesn’t really know what to expect when you meet again. The opponent may be overconfident.

Canada has to play Haiti for third place in the CONCACAF U-20 Women’s Championship — and, more importantly, the region’s final spot in the U-20 Women’s World Cup.

So, if there was one thing Canada would have wanted out of its final group-stage match, it was a better start. And they got it. Shana Flynn got a hat trick in the the first 18 minutes of the match, as the Canadians went on to trounce Haiti by a 4-0 score. With the win, Canada secures top spot in its group.

But, as more and more North American Soccer League players get the calls to play for their countries, that league should also be subject to the same scheduling scrutiny. In fact, you could argue that NASL teams are less equipped than the MLS teams are when it comes to dealing with games on international dates.

“I think there was an intensity level we didn’t have and I don’t understand that,” Canadian coach Sean Fleming said after the game.

To recap: Under the new format, the top team in the group gets an automatic entry into the U-17 World Cup. The second- and third-place finishers will play win-and-in playoff matches that also include the second- and third-place teams from Group A (but, under the new rules, they don't necessarily cross over; the four teams would be ranked based on the points they got in the group stage; then it's 1 vs. 4 and 2 vs. 3).

Along with terrible field conditions in Jamaica and bizarre officiating, it was another example of the surrealist theatre that only Samuel Beckett or CONCACAF could give us.

You couldn’t shake the feeling that Rob Gale, the coach of the Canadian U-20 men’s team, was trying to keep the focus off the high-profile players on his roster.

FC Edmonton debuted three new trialists Saturday in its 3-1 preseason win against the Vancouver Metro Soccer League All-Stars on the grounds of Simon Fraser University.