OLIVA, Spain — A short-handed Canadian national team conceded eight minutes into the second half and lost 1-0 to Mauritania in the second of two friendlies between the two nations on Tuesday, bringing a disappointing end to head coach Benito Floro's first camp in charge.
Canada had the best chances early, with Issey Nakajima-Farran getting the first shot of the game in the opening minutes.
The Canucks had four early corner kicks and, in the 18th minute, Marcus Haber got on the end of a Pedro Pacheco corner but didn’t get the best contact with his head, allowing Mauritanian goalkeeper Souleyman Diallo to make a routine save.
In the 33rd minute, Tosaint Ricketts got on the end of a long Adram Straith free kick and crossed back across goal. The play took Diallo out of position and Nakajima-Farran had a shot, but Mauritania crowded the penalty area and blocked the shot.
Canada then went down a man after defender Marcel de Jong was sent off for two quick yellow cards near the end of the first half. On the second yellow, however, there were a few Canadian players involved on a tackle that may have been committed by Simeon Jackson.
Eight minutes into the second half, Adama Ba controlled a ball that was chipped over the top. There were no Canadians around and he was one-on-one with goalkeeper Milan Borjan, who had come on at halftime, and beat the Canadian goalkeeper with a low shot.
After the goal, Canada continued to dominate possession and eventually, the Mauritanians’ physicality caught up with them after Oumar N’Diaye was given a second yellow card for a foul on Nakajima-Farran. The Canadian dominance was never more evident than when it was 10 per side, but they couldn’t find the goal.
Tuesday's game did not feature a number of the Canadians' first-team players based in MLS, who had all returned home after the same teams played to a scoreless draw on Sunday.
