Canada on life support at U20 World Cup
Well, there is a slim chance of still qualifying for the knockout stages for Canada, but after losing 1-0 to Austria yesterday it is a very slim chance. And Canada will have to get a ton of help from other teams if there is any hope of moving on.
In short, things don’t look good. Kinda like the way Canada has played so far at the WC. Granted, they did look better against Austria than they did against Chile, but they still look like they are not quite at the level of the competition with a non existent attack and inconsistent defense.
There is still a slim glimmer for Canada. First up, they must beat Congo Sunday and get the 3 points. Then other matches have to go their way.
Specifically, the chances for Canada’s advancement lie in Groups B, E and F. If results of 2 of those groups go Canada’s way, they can move on.
In Group B, if Spain and Uruguay can draw or defeat Jordan and Zambia that would give Canada one result.
In Group F, A draw between Scotland and Costa Rica would be good for the Canucks.
And in Group E, there are a number of options, the most likely to favour Canada are wins by Argentina over Korea DPR and the Czech Republic over Panama. Personally I would like to see an Argentina loss as that would mean they would likely finish second and set up a potential rematch of the 2005 final with Nigeria in Victoria, should Nigeria beat Japan.
Okay, my mind is swirling with all the permutations.
However confusing all the possibilities are, one thing is for certain – Canada must beat Congo Sunday. Without that everything else is moot.
On a bit of a related note (in that it is about the U-20 World Cup, but not about Canada). I was interviewed by Tom Harrison of the Globe and Mail earlier this week. He has written a nice article about Nigeria and the fan support they have here in Victoria.
