BAD WALTERSDORF, Austria—Canada head coach Benito Floro was less than satisfied with his team’s 1-1 draw with Azerbaijan last Thursday but was pleased with how the team replied in beating Uzbekistan 2-1 on Tuesday.
“The other game was awful. It’s true,” Floro said. “Today, I am happy because, not only because the other team is good, but I think the players have been capable of doing a very good press and increasing the level of combined attack.”
He should rightfully be pleased with his team’s build-up play; Canada combined on some nice passing plays to create chances.
It’s been a long camp for Canada, which puts in plenty of tactical training under Floro, watching video and often undetaking two training sessions per day. But with a pair of mammoth games on the horizon and no other opportunity to prepare, Canada has had to cram in as much development as possible.
“I think the camp has been very good and positive because we proposed to work a lot on some special tactical matters,” Floro said. “Players now, after the two games, are convinced that this is the way. I am happy and I trust that the players understand perfectly and now we are in the best mentality to go to Honduras to go and fight a lot.”
For the players, the countdown is now well and truly onto those games in Honduras and at home to El Salvador in September. Just as it was the case four years ago, Canada’s hopes of advancing all come down to a date in the Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano.
There’s been a lot of transition since that famous day in 2012 in Honduras and the players are anxiously anticipating stepping into that hot and humid cauldron down in Central America in just under three months’ time.
“You can feel the buzz, especially after the game today,” said goal scorer David Edgar.
“It’s almost a completely different group. We’ve got some veterans that have stayed on and we can tell them about it but you’re going into it free and it is a different situation but we’re excited about it.”
