Canada hits a bump on its road to Germany 2006

Canada's hopes of qualifying for the upcoming World Cup in Germany took a serious blow following the 2-0 loss to Guatemala at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, British Columbia.

Frank Yallop's men did not achieve the result they were looking for, playing at home in front of a large Guatemalan contingent. The Canadian team found itself behind the eight-ball relatively early in the game thanks to an easy tap in from Guatemala's main threat and MLS All Star MVP, Carlos Ruiz, in the 8th minute. Things went from bad to worse 11 minutes after the restart as Ruiz struck again to put the game out of reach in favor of Guatemala. Ruiz managed to skip past the non-existent Canadian defence and chip Canadian keeper, Pat Onstad, to claim his second goal of the match.

Canadian Soccer Association president, Andy Sharpe, voiced his disappointment with the result stating, "this team can't play any worse, it was just a total disaster that performance." His sentiments are surely echoed by many Canadian soccer aficionados who expected Canada to turn some heads this time around. Sharpe also mentioned that the Canadian Soccer Association has been working on the Men's World Cup team, likely with a view to improving on the disappointments of the past. Based on this latest result, much more work is needed.

The bright spots from the Guatemala game were very difficult to pick out. According to Sharpe, the veteran players failed to live up to their billing and did not deliver when called upon. Proven leaders such as Paul Peschisolido, Paul Stalteri, Dwayne DeRosario and Pat Onstad did not make a positive impression and were upstaged by the Guatemalans on almost every occasion. Olivier Occean did not display the type of touch around the net that earned him the national team call up, and most of the defensive unit seemed to be AWOL for much of the match.

Some players that did impress Sharpe were the youngster Jaime Peters who made an immediate impact upon his introduction. The 17 year old displayed blistering pace and a deft touch that managed to unsettle the Guatemalans. Adrian Serioux demonstrated desire and plenty of heart in the second half, some of the qualities that have landed him in the English First Division with upstart Millwall. Sharpe also pointed to the defensive form of the always steady Ante Jazic as one of the few positives in a game full on negatives.

Canada is now in the position of having to obtain results from the two strongest teams in the group, starting September 4th against Honduras at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton. Honduras will likely be on a high after their 5-2 demolition of Costa Rica in the Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto in Alajuela, Costa Rica. Canada will have no choice but to step up and play up to their capabilities and even then there are no guarantees. When asked whether Canada still has a shot of qualifying for the World Cup in 2006, Sharpe replied; "I'll tell you after next week."