SoccerMixed results for Canada's national teams

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This weekend was a busy one for Canada's various national team programs. Training camps and international friendlies took place around the world, and while the results were mixed, the experience gained was invaluable. 

The men's U-17 team took part in a tournament in Martinique, coming away with a morale-boosting, first-place finish. A 2-1 victory over the host country followed a 1-0 victory over Guadeloupe and a 3-1 victory over Martinique's U-16 team. Canadian captain Bryce Alderson of Kitchener, Ont., was named the tournament's most valuable player. 

The men's U-20 team took part in the 2010 Internationale Cor Groenewegen Toernooi in Groenewegen, Netherlands, where they finished 11th out of 12 teams. The tournament featured a mix of international and club teams, where each team played five matches in the group phase before taking part in a classification match on Monday afternoon. 

Canada finished the group phase having lost all five matches, scoring one goal and conceding eight. Although the results were not what one would have hoped for, this type of international experience is exactly what our young players need in order to develop.

The women's national team, meanwhile, held a 10-day training camp in Maryland, which they capped by playing the Washington Freedom of the Women's Professional Soccer league. Despite going behind 3-1, the women battled back to tie the game 3-3 with goals from Christina Julien, Christine Sinclair and Jodi-Ann Robinson.

The women are preparing for a friendly with former World Cup winners Norway on June 3, as well as the 2010 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup, which serves as the qualification tournament for the FIFA Women's World Cup being held in Germany in 2011.

Finally, the men's national team travelled to Buenos Aires to take on powerhouse Argentina.

Not full strength 

Anyone expecting anything other than a 5-0 defeat failed to grasp the severity of the mismatch our players faced. Argentina is one of the most talented teams in the world, and despite the unpredictability of their coach, Diego Maradona, they were always going to be comfortable winners.

While it gave our players a very stark reminder of just how far we are from being able to compete against the world's best, it also served to underline just how deep our problems are at the international level. 

Injuries and unavailability robbed Stephen Hart of his best team, and the lack of depth on display in Argentina was alarming. The grim reality is that we have less players competing at a professional level now than we did 10 years ago. 

Of the players we do have, very few of them are playing for their club teams week in, week out. Lack of regular competitive action dulls a player's instincts, and the fact that many of our players are not featuring for their club sides is a big worry.

That being said, Pat Onstad needs to be commended for his professionalism and dedication to the national team program over the last 22 years. The fact that he is still playing for Canada at the age of 42 says something about hard work and commitment to one's craft. 

Worryingly though, it also says something about the lack of depth that we have at that position, as no one has really challenged Onstad for the No. 1 jersey, despite his advancing years. 

But it isn't just in the goalkeeping department that we lack depth. 

All over the park, we lack strength in depth, and that was highlighted against Argentina.

A midfield lacking Julian de Guzman, Atiba Hutchinson and Patrice Bernier was never going to be able to compete against the South Americans, and their absence is a worrying sign if they suffer from injury or suspension during qualifying for the 2014 World Cup.

Still, another high-quality international friendly looms for our men's team, when they take on Venezuela on May 29. It gives Stephen Hart a chance to have a look at some more fringe players, and hopefully one or two of them will provide a spark of encouragement after the disappointment of defeat against Argentina.

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