HOUSTON – When the Canadian national team reviewed footage of their disappointing 4-0 friendly loss to Denmark on Saturday, there were plenty of errors to dissect and regret.
But the young squad won't have to dwell on those mistakes for long. They have that chance to show what they've learned on Tuesday night here against the United States (9 pm ET, Sportsnet in Canada, ESPN2/Univision Deportes in US; live chat on MLSsoccer.com).
“The best way to get over a poor result is to get back on the pitch again as early as possible,” interim head coach Colin Miller told reporters after the team’s training session at BBVA Compass Stadium on Monday. “We get that on Tuesday against a very good US side.”
Canada looked to have the upper hand in the first minutes of Saturday’s game, but after creating the first chance with a Dwayne De Rosario shot, they spent the rest of the game chasing.
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Two separate occasions of poor defending within the first 11 minutes saw Canada behind early. Against a Danish team that made it look easy, it could have been a real blow to some of the inexperienced Canadian players, but Monday’s training session was relaxed and all seemed in good spirits.
“It looked nice and lively with a great attitude,” said Miller. “The guys are in a good space at the moment. I’ve spoken to a number of them individually and the response has been very positive, so I’m very pleased with the reaction.”
Miller said what will be key to a better performance against the Americans is being on the same page defensively right from the opening whistle. In the early going, the backline wasn’t communicating and, while there was some improvement in the second half, Canada were already down too many goals.
If the communication is good early on, according to Miller, confidence will grow.
“We have the approach that we have to be off to a good start, the Scotsman said. "The longer it goes on without conceding a goal, there’s a bit more confidence in the camp so we’re well aware of how we’ll have to start.”
