Steven Vitoria (left) and Alphonso Davies (right). (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette)

By Jaryn Vecchio

International Recognition

P.A. soccer leader believes Canada should have won first match at World Cup

Nov 24, 2022 | 12:00 PM

It’s safe to say Canada deserves their spot at the World Cup after their first match against Belgium.

In what was also their first match at the international competition in 36 years, the team lost 1-0 but outplayed the second-ranked team in the world for much of the match.

Dragan Ivkovic, the technical director of the Prince Albert Youth Soccer Association (PAYSA), told paNOW he didn’t have high hopes heading into the game, but afterward, he was upset they didn’t get a better result.

“I think we should be regretting, not even tying but not winning that game. In the first half, we were ten times better,” Ivkovic said.

The one moment many in the country are talking about is the missed penalty kick by star player Alphonso Davies.

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Ivkovic said the shot wasn’t great, but he had no issue with Davies being the one to attempt it. For some, they had hoped to see Jonathan David get the opportunity.

“If I had to pick again, it would be (Davies),” said Ivkovic.

He was more disappointed with two missed penalties that he believes should have been called.

Canada made one fatal mistake which resulted in the only goal. Belgian forward Michy Batshuayi was able to catch up to a long pass and split two defenders before finding the net late in the first half.

Ivkovic believes the forwards shouldn’t have allowed the pass attempt to be so easy, while the defenders were simply too wide.

“When you play a tough team like Belgium, that’s what they’re looking for,” he explained. “One mistake and you’re in trouble.”

Meanwhile, Ivkovic said there were two players who really caught his attention during the match. The first being winger Tajon Buchanan and the second being right-back Alistair Johnston. In fact, Ivkovic couldn’t stop talking about how well Johnston played.

“He was absolutely amazing, all over the place.”

Meanwhile, Canada’s next match will be against Croatia, the runners up from the 2018 World Cup. That match is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. CST on Sunday, Nov. 27.

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Jaryn.Vecchio@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow