SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras – If that really was the end, it was a crummy way to finish an international career.
Canada's spectacular 8-1 loss to Honduras wasn’t just the end of their 2014 World Cup hopes – it could also mean Canadian internationals will be calling time on their respective careers for their country.
Prior to last Friday’s 3-0 win over Cuba, 32-year-old defender Kevin McKenna said he couldn't see himself staying with the team for another four years. And after Tuesday’s loss, McKenna admitted that the end for him with the national team may be coming sooner rather than later.
“Whether you’re young or old, I think it’s a game where you look back and you think, 'Is it worth it anymore?' or anything like that,” he admitted. “But I’m going to wait and make that decision and let it sink in a couple more weeks and then I’ll make a decision.”
If this is, in fact, the end of the line for McKenna, his retirement will mark end of an international career that started in 1999 and ended with a game that certainly left a bad taste in the mouth.
“For me, it’s going to stay a long time,” he said. “I have never lost a game 8-1 and I don’t plan on losing another game 8-1. To lose a game 8-1 is demoralizing.”
OPTA Chalkboard: See how De Guzman, McKenna fared in Canada's loss
Julian de Guzman is another of a number of veteran players who may not be around in four years when Canada will start all over again to try to reach the country’s first World Cup since 1986. Whether or not he does continue, the FC Dallas midfielder does think there will be some changes to the lineup in the immediate future.
“In every World Cup qualifier – whenever there’s something that we don’t complete – we have a mission that we don’t achieve, there’s always going to be a change,” he said. “For the next generation to understand what they’re coming up against today was an eye-opener for them. Hopefully this is a lesson learned.”
