As teams arrive in Qatar, the Canadian men’s national team have landed in Dubai to face Japan on Thursday (8:40 am ET | OneSoccer) in what’s essentially an unofficial fourth World Cup match.
In terms of the caliber of opponent and the situations they’ll need to deal with, this last-chance friendly couldn’t be more ideal for Canada before their Group B opener Nov. 23 against Belgium.
Japan are a perennial World Cup participant out of Asia, and as the US men’s national team learned in their 2-0 loss to the Samurai Blue in September, they’re as organized off the ball as they are in possession.
In the last international window, a 2-0 loss to Uruguay generated some brilliant lessons for Canada in this regard. La Celeste capitalized on a few Canadian lapses and punished them twice. Head coach Hajime Moriyasu’s team will almost surely pose a similar challenge.
“We know their pressing intensity is one of the best in the world and they can do that for 90 minutes,” said Canada coach John Herdman in his pre-match media call on Wednesday. “They're one of the most organized and cohesive teams I've ever seen, and the players were sort of marveling at some of the tactical footage from Japan today as they started to look at their attacking qualities.
“When you look at Belgium and Croatia, their movement is at the highest level and I think Japan is up there,” Herdman continued. “They may lack that little bit of quality that maybe Belgium has in the attacking force, but it's certainly made up with their attacking coordination.”
Being alert on both sides of the ball is paramount to Canada’s potential success during their first World Cup trip in 36 years, so this is the perfect matchup in that regard.
Hutchinson's return
To successfully adapt to Japan’s intensity, Herdman will likely rely on captain Atiba Hutchinson in the heart of midfield. His absence was felt in September against Uruguay, with defender Steven Vitória struggling to build from the back calmly under pressure.
However, Hutchinson only has 70 minutes in his legs this Beşiktaş season after starting a Turkish Cup match against third-tier side Serik Belediyespor on Nov. 9.
Thankfully for Canada, Hutchinson has slowly adapted in the last two days of training as he prepares for his first high-intensity match since the June window. The 39-year-old, who’s three caps shy of the 100-mark, will be one of the World Cup’s oldest participants.
“You can see he's feeling that but willing to embrace it,” said Herdman. “He's super excited coming in. I think like many of us, he’s just pinching himself that he made it here to this World Cup. He spoke really eloquently last night to the leadership group about his dream coming true and for all of us taking this moment, enjoying the moment and seizing it as well for each other in Canada.”
Davies, Eustáquio concerns
While Hutchinson should see minutes, Alphonso Davies won’t be present. The Vancouver Whitecaps homegrown star remains at Bayern Munich recovering from a hamstring strain. The Canadian coaching staff is still waiting on his final assessment before Davies is released by the club, but all parties expect him to be 100 percent fit for the Belgium match and the subsequent Group F matches against Croatia (Nov. 27) and Morocco (Dec. 1).
But in another cruel twist of fate, key midfielder Stephen Eustáquio is being monitored ahead of Thursday’s match after he suffered a minor knock in training on Wednesday. Herdman said that his staff will determine if he can be risked or not.
It would be disappointing to lose Eustáquio right as Hutchinson returns. The 25-year-old had four goals and one assist from midfield in Porto’s last five matches before the break, playing a vital role in helping the Portuguese giants progress to the UEFA Champions League knockout stage.
Eustáquio and Hutchinson were the go-to starters in the midfield for Herdman when both players were available, but surely the former won’t be risked if there’s any chance of him aggravating the injury.
High-level test
On the bright side, center back Kamal Miller is fit after suffering a minor knock in Canada’s 2-2 draw with Bahrain last Friday. From there, the usual defense featuring Miller, Vitória, Sam Adekugbe and Alistair Johnston should start.
Up front, Jonathan David and Tajon Buchanan should be the primary options to start. Whether Herdman wants to give midfielder Jonathan Osorio more minutes before the Belgium match, or lean on another veteran in Junior Hoilett, is a different conundrum.
Regardless, the test against Japan will pinpoint how prepared Canada are for these top-tier matches against world-class opponents. Uruguay provided a taste in September, so it’s of the utmost priority Les Rouges are locked in from the opening whistle on both sides of the ball.
Of course, that’s easier said than done once the ball is kicked – with the World Cup’s start right around the corner.
“It's not something you can prepare for,” Herdman said. “They've just got to experience that and then sense and smell that danger and go into a match with the awareness that you have to be in that amber-to-red when you're in possession of the ball.”
