The incoming Canadian head coach Benito Floro, along with his son/assistant coach, was in attendance at Pasadena's Rose Bowl on Sunday and one can only wonder what’s going through his mind after seeing his team outplayed and, thanks to a last-second wonder strike, beaten by tiny Martinique 1-0 in the Gold Cup curtain-raiser.

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.

But, in front of a home crowd of 2,794 — an attendance number that included the 882 away supporters — Canadian Marcus Haber ended Stevenage FC's six-game losing skid in England's League One.

Haber’s Stevenage side hosted Hume and his Doncaster Rovers mates Saturday in English League One action. And not only did Hume score, but Rovers took the match 2-1 thanks to a stoppage-time headed goal from Robert Jones.

As the full-time whistle sounded, nearly every Canadian player slumped to the field in disappointment. They weren’t expected to win, but it didn’t diminish the stings they were feeling.

“In tournaments like this it’s important for a team to start well,” said Canadian head coach Tony Fonseca. “I think the way they faced this game was a certain level of stress coming into the first game. I think they faced it with being a little bit nervous for our taste.”

Injuries have already forced national-team coach Stephen Hart to make three changes to the roster ahead of Canada’s first two World Cup qualifiers.

As Canada prepares to begin its World Cup qualifying campaign — which kicks off Sept. 2 against Puerto Rico — coach Stephen Hart has a lot on his plate. With that in mind, The 11, with some input from our readers, has created a list of players — not including Junior Hoilett, he’s been talked about ad nauseam already— who didn’t take part in the Gold Cup and could inject some life into the Canadian squad.

It is troubling that the only evidence the committee will have to work with comes from four shambolic years of TFC mismanagement. It’s like having to decide on new rules of the road based on the actions of one chronic drunk driver.