Arfield relishes debut
The result aside, international debuts don’t get much better than facing Mexico in a home World Cup qualifier in front of 55,000 fans.
So you could excuse Scott Arfield, the just-committed Canadian midfielder, for sounding downright bubbly in parts of his post-game interview Friday.
Yeah, losing 3-0 was rough. But he was thankful for the lessons, too.
“I really enjoyed it,” said Arfield, a 27-year-old born and raised in Scotland who was eligible to play for Canada through his Toronto-born dad.
“In footballing terms, it was an absolute eye-opener. How they play, their movement. When you give them one yard it seems like it’s five or six.
“You take so much pleasure and so much experience from 45 minutes like that.
“They were a fantastic counterattacking team, a lot of power and pace up front, and the movement from Chicharito at times is incredible.”
Canada coach Benito Floro started Tosaint Ricketts on right wing, then made the switch to Arfield at halftime with Canada trailing 2-0.
Arfield was a bright spot in the second half, getting forward and getting into a couple of tackles.
He’d joined his Canadian teammates for the first time this week in Vancouver. Floro explained in the lead-up to the game that while Arfield is in great form for Burnley, who are top of the English Championship, he needs some time to understand how Canada wants to play — the irony being Friday could not have been a good example.
But there’s a good chance Arfield could get the start Tuesday at Estadio Azteca (7 p.m., TSN2).
“With their own fans behind them, I think they’re going to play a certain level, a certain tempo, so it’s up to us to go there and maybe sit back and hit them on the counter,” Arfield said.
“If the manager sees me fit to start I’m absolutely delighted to do so. It was an absolute pleasure for me to play in front of so many fans (Friday). It’s something that will live long in my memory.”