Estonia friendly report

Canada’s senior men’s side recently wrapped up their first European trip of the 2008 season. The Canucks played Estonia on Wednesday 26 March in Tallinn. The match was played on a snow-covered pitch at the A.Le Coq Arena. Canada lost 0:2 after an unlucky own goal and a last-minute strike by Estonia.



“International mid-week friendlies are largely about getting your players together for a couple of days and trying some things out in a match,” says head coach Dale Mitchell. “It is part of the process in preparing for FIFA World Cup Qualifying.”



All but one of the Canadians in the 26 March lineup plays professionally in Europe. As such, the players did not have to travel far for the midweek friendly.



“I was not unhappy with our performance against Estonia in what was less than ideal field conditions,” says Mitchell. “In fact, we played some good stuff. Despite being away from home, we were the team most trying to impose their game. We only lacked the final ball at times when we were in some good situations.”



With the first stage of CONCACAF’s 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifying complete on 30 March, there will be 24 teams in Canada’s region preparing for the mid-June matches. Canada will face Saint Vincent & the Grenadines on 15 June in Kingstown and one week later in Canada. The winner of the two-match set will advance to one of three-four team groups that will play six matches each from August to November.



“Estonia were set up to play on the counter and they took advantage for both goals immediately after a turnover,” says Mitchell. “This will be a tactic that teams will use against us in qualifying, so we must learn to deal with it better. I think that (our) squad is looking forward now to the real stuff when we next get together in late May (in preparation) for the Saint Vincent and Grenadines series.”