Canadian men’s team consistently full of surprises

Every game tells us something. This is the case when a team goes up by a rout or goes behind just after 90 minutes.

And yes, although it may not be easy, we can even find understanding in those fights that were interrupted by an early red card and distorted by extended numerical advantage or disadvantage.

No match is an outlier. Even Thursday's scoreless draw between Canada and Ecuador, in which Ali Ahmed was rightly sent off in the sixth minute.

Chris Young/CANADIAN PRESS

Canadian Richie Laria (right) is a physical presence and plays on the edge every time he plays for the Maple Leaf.

Let's start with this.

Ahmed, who plays at club level for Vancouver Whitecaps, was sent off for attempting to win the ball but instead delivered a karate kick to the upper body of Ecuadorian Alan Franco. Some pundits may insist that a player must hit his opponent over the head to deserve such punishment, but their analysis is as ludicrous as Ahmed's challenge is reckless.

We can now say that this was a one-off incident, and perhaps it was. The 25-year-old player has no experience of dangerous play. At the same time, we can add it to the context that includes Jacob Schaffelburg's sending off against Guatemala in the Gold Cup – a context that grew out of head coach Jesse Marsh's spring suspension.

Marsh received his marching orders after throwing a tantrum in the second half of Canada's 2-1 win over the United States in the CONCACAF Nations League. Furious that Jonathan David was not given a penalty (again, the referee was right, but that doesn't matter), he was suspended for two more matches.

The former Montreal Impact, RB Leipzig and Leeds coach was lucky to avoid similar censure for his fury at Ahmed Red. He loses his cool too often and that lack of control extends to his players. The Canadian team has already earned a reputation for being a hot-tempered team.

On the plus side, it is also becoming known as a group that is incredibly difficult to break up.

Canada may have been short-handed for 84 minutes plus stoppages at BMO Field, but you wouldn't have known it. Ecuador, who beat Argentina in September to finish second in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying, failed to get a single shot on target and often looked more likely to concede than to score.

The clean sheet was Canada's fourth in the last five matches, and it lost only once in the other. In a wider sample of 10 games, he scored only three goals. It's quite impressive that due to injuries, the team has done this by mixing in multiple goalies and defensemen.

This is a team that knows how to improvise. This is largely due to self-belief and the overwhelming majority of supporters of the March system. As a result, you feel like there is no team in the world that can take Canada down. He will be competitive in every match he plays.

However, he could certainly score a little more.

The downside to her defensive record is that Canada has scored an alarming 14 goals in those same 10 games, and six of those came against Honduras in Vancouver. Set-pieces are rarely dangerous and, with the exception of Jonathan David, the attack is an unreliable mixture of strikes.

Canada needs at least one more striker – ideally more than one – to be a consistent threat in the final five friendlies before the World Cup. Tuesday's match against Venezuela (7:30 p.m., TSN) will be another opportunity for Promise David (no relation to Jonathan), Theo Bair or Tanya Oluwaseyi to show they can be counted on.

Whether it was friendlies, tournaments or preliminary squads, Marsh had experience working with more than 20 strikers. He would no doubt want the couple to interfere with his short-term plans.

The match in Ecuador also demonstrated the continued dominance of Niko Sigur and Richie Laryea.

With starting right back Alistair Johnston suffering a series of unfortunate injuries, Sigur has become not only a capable replacement, but the top option at the position. The 22-year-old Hajduk Split player may be Canada's smartest player. His positional sense is excellent and he knows how to join the attack at the right moment.

Meanwhile, Laria seems to up his game every time he puts on a Team Canada jersey. Physically strong and playing on the edge, at the age of 30 he has become indispensable in the left-back position.