AGR's Analysis: The CanMNT gets final learning lesson of men's World Cup against Morocco
The CanMNT rounded off their 2022 World Cup journey against Morocco on Thursday. Here's what they'll look to learn from that one.
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It was their final lesson of the tournament.
As a famous person once said, losses are only valuable if you can turn them into learning moments. If we’re to take that saying at face value, then it’s safe to say that the CanMNT have enough fodder from this men’s World Cup to get rich, quick.
And their latest match was no exception. After their brilliant opening game performance against Belgium, and then their second game calamity against Croatia, two games that ended with the same result despite a huge contrast in performances, Canada was hoping to catch Morocco by surprise to at least close out this tournament on a high note.
Yet, despite that, that didn’t end up being the case. A tough start saw Canada trail 2-0 before half time was even over, leaving Les Rouges to desperately chase a result all game long.
To their credit, they then nearly pulled it off, finding themselves a crossbar away from tying things up, but in the end, Morocco was able to hold on, 2-1, allowing them to win Group F in the process.
As a result, Canada now officially heads home from Qatar without a point in their back pocket, much as they did 36 years ago, which safe to say, is far from what Canada was hoping to accomplish at this tournament.
At the same time, that’s far from a bad thing for Canada. Firstly, they’ve built off of that 1986 tournament by scoring two goals, which is nice, but more importantly, they’ve already done what sunk that group 36 years ago - qualified for the next tournament, allowing them to build off of this year’s competition.
And that’s key. Often, for teams who have had a drought as long as Canada’s, the hard thing is to build off of the momentum that ending such a run can have, as teams can often get too high, quickly.
Therefore, for Canada, that they can head into the next cycle knowing that the hardest part has already been taken care of is crucial.
Now, they can focus on cleaning up what caused them problems at this tournament, of which there are no shortage of, especially on the tactical side of things, instead of having to worry about just making it back to this stage in four years time.
So on that note, let’s take a look of some of what stood out from this Morocco game, the final of such lessons Canada learned over in Qatar.
There has been a lot of discourse surrounding Canada’s back line over the past few years, and understandably so. Once a huge concern a few years ago, Canada had done well to clean it up during qualifying, and arguably made it to this tournament off the back of their defensive record. Yet, to see them concede seven goals in three games, chatter surrounding the back line has understandably opened back up again. Yet, it’s a nuanced discussion to have. Did Canada’s back line regress this tournament? Certainly did. But at the same time, were things made worse by Canada’s immense struggles in midfield? Definitely. Did Canada’s centre backs also get potentially asked to play a way that didn’t suit them? Potentially. Anyways, before we look at areas where the defensive line struggled later on in this piece, here’s a look at what Canada’s back line does best. On a long ball, they did well to retreat into a mid block, before pressuring Morocco’s forwards enough to push them back, letting Canada’s midfielders get behind the ball, snuffing out this transition moment in the process.
It wasn’t a great tournament for Canada’s midfield. A question mark heading into this World Cup due to a mix of injuries and form, they ended up struggling heavily across the three games. Yes, deployment also didn’t help them, as Canada’s double-pivot didn’t do any of their midfielders any favours (which is why Canada should switch to a midfield trio post-World Cup), but they also struggled with a lot of routine things that weren’t related to that. Just look at how they lose out on a routine second ball in midfield here, for example, as Jonathan Osorio and Mark-Anthony Kaye ended up stretching too far apart as soon as Canada sent it long, allowing Morocco to easily regain possession.
If Alphonso Davies is going to play on the wing for Canada, you’d like to see a lot more of this type of play from him. Look at how he uses his speed to run into open space, creating a good opportunity for him to get on the ball in the box. Since he attracts so much attention on the ball, it often leads to congestion in the final third, which is why we’ve seen him get dispossessed a lot this tournament. Here, though, thanks to his off-ball movement, he manages to break into the box on the ball, where he ended up picking up a key pass for a cutback to Mark-Anthony Kaye. If Davies is going to stay on the wing (more on his potential future deployment later), you need to see more of this from him.
Kamal Miller had a pretty solid tournament for Canada. Even beyond his opening game masterclass against Belgium, he was very solid the rest of the way through, especially on the ball. This Morocco game was no exception of that. Just look at how he effortlessly breaks two lines of pressure here with a pass, opening up space for Canada to build out of pressure.
Another thought, off the back of that last point - could we start to see Kamal Miller and Scott Kennedy paired together post-World Cup? John Herdman has been pretty adverse to playing centre backs on their off-side (Miller and Kennedy are both left-footed, and play on the left, so have never played together), but with Steven Vitória not getting any younger, and Doneil Henry’s injury struggles, a pairing of Kennedy and Miller could be attractive. They’re both strong on the ball, Kennedy has good speed (something Canada lacked at the back this tournament), while Miller brings the physicality, which are some attributes that could mesh nicely together. If we’re going to talk about Canada’s evolution into a modern team, a back four of Sam Adekugbe, Miller, Kennedy and Alistair Johnston does have to sound pretty attractive, it must be said.
Speaking of playing out of the back, just take a look at Morocco’s opening goal to see at what Canada needs to fix going forward. First, there’s the fact that Steven Vitória ends up feeling the pressure on his shoulder from Youssef En-Nesyri, leading him to panic and play a less than ideal ball to Milan Borjan. Then, instead of just reacting to that ball by booting it about 40 yards out of play, or passing to Kamal Miller, Borjan then tries to… do both (?), leading to a goal that Hakim Ziyech could’ve probably scored with his eyes closed.
Yet, those can be the worries of playing Borjan and Vitória in certain systems. They both have excellent strengths, and were fantastic for Canada in qualifiers, but they had some warts this tournament, as the step up in quality ended up exposing some of the weaknesses in their game. Vitória is dominant in the air, and has incredible aggression, but his footspeed is a worry, and he can sometimes rush things on the ball. Meanwhile, Borjan is an excellent shotstopper, but is a hesitant sweeper, and is a mixed-bag with the ball at his feet. In terms of playing a modern defensive style (high line, playing out of the back), those weaknesses can be easily highlighted, as we saw during this World Cup. Because of that, keep an eye on that aforementioned Kennedy and Miller duo, as well as options such as Maxime Crépeau (when healthy) and Dayne St.Clair in goal, who have excelled at club level, and are capable of playing the modern style Canada is looking to eventually adopt.
Speaking of Canada’s midfield woes, Mark-Anthony Kaye’s form has been a big one for them to deal with. A rock for Canada in qualifying, he’s been fighting to find good form ever since his trade to Toronto FC in the summer. As a result, he’s looked off his last few appearances for Canada. Arguably one of team’s best pure passers of the ball when he’s in form, he’s instead made a lot of plays like this one lately, turning a regular pass to Alistair Johnston into a turnover that forces Junior Hoilett to claim an unnecessary early yellow. Hopefully Kaye can get back to his best next year, because Canada will certainly need him at that sort of level as they get set for a busy 2023.
A look of what Canada can do at their best - just pure, straight verticality. Kamal Miller breaks a line, Jonathan Osorio then attracts two players to him before finding Sam Adekugbe, who breaks another line. If not for a slightly overhit pass from Kaye, Tajon Buchanan was nearly in for a dangerous transition moment. But man, that verticality was nearly *chefs kiss*.
Speaking of verticality, look at Canada carve Morocco wide-open in this back-to-front move that included just three passes and nine touches, creating one of their best chances of the game off of it. When they play quick and incisively on the ball like this… they can be hard to stop.
Remember all of those discussions of ‘SHAPE’ from the last article? I’ve limited them here, as Canada’s shape genuinely was a lot better this game (they also limited their fewest chances of the tournament in this game, coincidence, anyone?), but at the same time, there were still a lot of moments where they just failed to stay organized. Just look at how they invited Morocco’s Nayef Aguerd a schoolbus-sized passing lane to look at right through the middle, which combined with Sam Adekugbe being drawn to push up to Morocco’s wide-open Hakim Ziyech at the top of screen, could've led to a dangerous chance for Morocco, with just *one* good pass from Aguerd. You just can’t allow space like that at this level.
Junior Hoilett has aged like a fine wine. He might not go on those bursting runs that he used to a half-decade ago, but he has become so elusive and slippery as he’s gotten older. Look at him make multiple Moroccan defenders grasp at his shadow as he demonstrates hip movement that would make Shakira jealous, before playing a dangerous through ball. If Canada switches to a 4-3-3 long-term, Hoilett playing as an inverted winger could be a fun prospect to envision, especially when you think how he could combine with whoever the left back ends up being.
Returning to Canada’s shape, however, that sort of disjointed pressing that we saw in that earlier screenshot did expose them a few times. Just look at how easily Morocco played through them on this clip. Yet, there was a lot that went on here, such as why Kaye was leading the press, why no one filled in behind him, and why Canada had otherwise passively retreated while their front five all dove forward. Overall, just a strangely undisciplined moment from a Canadian team that is usually a lot more rigid defensively than this.
Alright, let’s return to that first point about Canada’s defensive line. Remember how they sat in a mid-block, and made a great intervention at the beginning? Well, that was most definitely not the case on the second goal, as they ended up being burned by how high they were up the field. Here, all it takes is a simple ball from Achraf Hakimi, and Youssef En-Nesyri is able to score one of the easiest goals he’ll ever be able to score. Yet, plays like this will be what Canada needs to address going forward. Playing a high line can be extremely rewarding (just look at Saudi Arabia), but you A) need speed, B) need a goalkeeper able to aggressively sweep, and C), you need to be organized. On this sequence, Canada failed to tick a single box, as they were A) too slow, B) let down by Borjan adopting a more reserved starting position and then retreating, and C) disorganized in their defensive line, leading to a goal that they’ll want to forget.
To that last point, here’s a simple diagram what Canada should’ve done on this goal. Either they do what they did so great during qualifying - drop a little deeper, especially considering where the ball is. Or, Borjan steps up, and they’re able to play more aggressively, compensating for his backline’s footspeed issues. Instead, they did neither, and we saw how that ended.
Volume 3, Article 5 - another visual argument on the FOR side in the “Canada vs the midfield trio” case.
Strange thing to point out, but Canada mishit a lot of switches of play this tournament. For a team that has the strength that they do in wide areas, that’s a bit disappointing, as you’d want to see them unlock these sorts of attacking sequences more often, something they did a great job of doing in qualifying. Instead, they created a lot of unforced errors like this, turning what could’ve been a great attack into a transition moment.
Worth noting that if they had a midfield trio, however, they could’ve forced teams to defend more compactly against them, though, maybe leading to more successful switches… just some food for thought.
Another case of Canada being quite overeager in their press at the wrong moment, leading to a transition moment that probably shouldn’t have happened. That’s definitely something that’ll need to be looked at.
This is something we’ll need to see more of from Canada going forward. Considering the elite players they have in wide areas, both on the wing and at full back, they need to create more overlaps, something that they did with a lot of success against Belgium, but struggled to replicate against Croatia and Morocco. When they did, however, just look at this sequence between Tajon Buchanan and Sam Adekugbe, as Buchanan does well enough to create *just* enough space for Adekugbe to overlap him, leading to Canada’s goal in this game. Going forward, you’d like to see a lot more of that, especially if Canada’s switches to a 4-3-3.
This clip both demonstrates yet again why Alphonso Davies will one day make a good #8, and why that day isn’t here yet. He makes a fantastic touch and turn, and beats an initial wave of pressure with a burst of speed, but then fails to make the pass before getting closed down. He continues to improve at that, though…
Speaking of Alphonso Davies, however, you *probably* want a cleaner touch from him here. Especially if he’s going to drift into central areas for Canada.
Returning to Mark-Anthony Kaye, this clip shows why Canada will hope he can return to form soon. Just look at this vintage bit of play from Kaye, who receives the pass, disguises his hips and plays a carving through ball to a bursting Tajon Buchanan.
The one bit of deployment that was confusing to see from Canada - why Tajon Buchanan played left back instead of Alphonso Davies in games. He was great there, but it just felt a bit off. Naturally a right-footer, his instincts were often to cut inside and run at guys, which is not a bad thing, but that sort of play is usually better served from a winger position. Just look at this play here. Buchanan makes a great run inside, sucking in two defenders to cover him, before playing a great ball to Jonathan David. But there, things break down as David then had no options to play to. Imagine he had a Sam Adekugbe or Alphonso Davies overlap to feed the ball into, though, given the amount of space that Buchanan had opened up with his earlier run.
Ismaël. Hollywood. Koné. He finds the space, makes the touch, and sprays the ball with a pinpoint 30-yard diagonal. He’s going to make a team in Europe very happy, and will start a lot of games for Canada next year.
In a moment that probably triggered seismic activity in Perth, Scotland, here’s the ‘Spoony Chop’ against one of the right backs in the world. Talking about Canada’s midfield woes, a now-fit David Wotherspoon will help them big time in 2023. His ability to stretch the field out and create space and opportunities for his teammates will be crucial.
This clip has it all. First of all, what a ball from Kamal Miller, but what happens after is both fascinating and frustrating. Mainly, there is a phenomenal run from Jonathan David, who stayed onside, and would’ve been through on goal, if not for a touch from Alphonso Davies. But while it’s easy to say that Davies killed the move, it’s not true - his positioning opened up the space for David to make the run in the first place. From there, though, you’d like to see him dummy the ball. That’s easier said than done, however, but again, if Davies is going to play in the middle, those will be the sort of quick plays that he’ll need to make to really shine.
Let’s talk about Alphonso Davies’s best position with Canada for a second. Is it on the wing? Is it as a #10? A striker? Left back? Ultimately, the answer is somewhere in between (he’s had good and bad games at each position), but for Canada, it’s starting to look attractive to consider shifting him back to either wing back or left back. Why, one might ask? Well, as seen this tournament, he attracts a lot of attention on the ball. And sometimes he’ll hold onto it for a second too long. Because of those things, teams flood him on the ball in the final third, knowing that they can congest that area of the field. If he plays a little deeper, though, that will happen far less. Why? Because if a team is to double and triple team Davies when he’s deployed in those positions, that opens up space for Tajon Buchanan, Jonathan David, Stephen Eustáquio and company in the final third. So assuming they’re not going to do that, playing Davies deeper ensures that he can get on the ball more, while allowing him to do what he does best offensively, which is to run at guys, bursting forward from deep areas into space. With Canada, that isn’t happening when he’s playing further forward, and it’s taking away space from his teammates. The only annoying thing here with that conundrum is that this does hurt Sam Adekugbe, who deserves more minutes for Canada, but at this level, you need to get the most out of your best players, something that doesn’t feel is fully happening with Davies’s current deployment.
At the very least, however, if he is to stay higher up the pitch, you’d like to see Davies use his gravity off the ball a *little* more, especially in terms of off ball runs.
Dropped to the bench, Jonathan David was a man-possessed for Canada as a substitute in this game. As seen in earlier clips, he was making the sort of runs that he can be so good at, but he was also excellent on the ball, after struggling a bit in that area against Croatia. Just look at him pull off a Sombrero with a defender draped all over his back here, as he served a reminder of what he can do when he’s feeling himself.
Let’s talk about set-pieces. Canada needs to figure them out post-World Cup. As they’ve shown in flashes over the past two years, they can be incredibly dangerous on them, but also, more frustratingly, they’ve proven to be quite bad at them. For example, in a game where you’re trailing 2-1, and you have your goalkeeper in the box, you’d *like* this to clear the first man.
AGR’s set-piece wishlist in 2023: 1) More floated deliveries, ‘à la Junior Hoilett’, if you will. 2) More near post runners. If the ball is going to struggle to clear that point, at least get a flick on the ball. 3) More set-piece routines. Keep teams on their toes, and disrupt their zonal marking systems by having random off-ball runners, short passes, and other things of the like.
Plus, if you’re good at set-pieces, not only will you score more goals, but you’ll open up space in open play, as teams will be terrified to foul you, but also to kick the ball out for a corner. For a Canadian team that has a lot of speed, that’d be an immense benefit.
Leading to that earlier argument towards playing Davies at left back, however, look at this recovery run from him in the 93rd minute. Not only will you get the offensive attributes from him if you move him back, but his defensive growth has nullified a lot of the biggest worries that many used to have about playing him at the position for Canada (see, Canada vs USA, November 2019).
Oh yeah, and if his Sombrero wasn’t enough, here’s Jonathan David spraying a 40-yard switch, creating a good chance for Canada. Have yourself a day, Jonathan.
So overall, there’s no doubt that while this was a better performance from Canada, as seen here, there’s still a lot to clean up and ponder. Yet, that’s a theme of this tournament.
But that’s what Canada wanted from this experience. For better, or for worse, they went out on their sword in Qatar instead of parking the bus, proving that they’re a ‘New Canada’, and now they know what they’ll need to do better if they’re to play this way going forward.
Some fixes are easier than others (switching to a 4-3-3, for example), but overall, this tournament did a great job of showing that Canada does need to tweak things to play a modern style of play at this level.
That’s not a bad thing, as Canada has a young group, and is far from done evolving as a team, but now they know what they’ll need to do, and will look to adjust accordingly going forward.
Because of that, it’s going to be interesting to see how that journey goes for them, as they look to make sure that these learning lessons don’t go to waste, with 2026 rapidly approaching now here.
Photo via: Canada Soccer (Beau Chevalier, Tagwa Moyo)