Goalkeeper Simon Thomas of Victoria was among six players to earn their first caps for sa国际传媒 on Saturday, but it was an ordeal by inferno.
Denmark handily defeated sa国际传媒 4-0 in a soccer friendly at Tucson, Arizona.
The score was 3-0 when Thomas came in to relieve veteran sa国际传媒 starter Lars Hirschfeld to start the second half, allowing one goal.
鈥淒enmark has so many options on the ball. You try to be on the same page as them to anticipate the play,鈥� said Thomas, by phone from Tucson after the game.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the next level,鈥� added the 22-year-old six-foot-three graduate of Oak Bay High and product of the Bays United and Lower Island Metro programs.
鈥淚 thought I did well and made a couple of saves and collected a cross well. I am excited about all this and enjoyed the experience.鈥�
It was the first game for sa国际传媒 since last fall鈥檚 shambolic World Cup qualifying 8-1 drubbing in Honduras that eliminated the Canuck side from Brazil 2014. Now, with the 2018 World Cup in Russia to build for, sa国际传媒 started a young team Saturday with only three players from the Honduras debacle.
Two Island players 鈥� Thomas and midfielder Manny Gomez of Victoria 鈥� were invited to the 22-man camp held this past week in Arizona.
But while Thomas, Kyle Bekker, Evan James, Kyler Porter, Philippe Davies and Mason Trafford made their first senior national team appearances, Gomez did not Saturday despite being dressed.
The 25-year-old former St. Andrew鈥檚 Secondary student, a creative Lower Island Metro product who plays pro in Argentina, will have to wait until the next friendly scheduled against the U.S. on Tuesday in Houston to get his chance at a first cap. That game will be broadcast on Sportsnet in sa国际传媒 and ESPN2 in the U.S.
Thomas, meanwhile, was signed to a one-year contract in 2011 by pro club Huddersfield Town in England, departing the club in 2012. He is now a free agent.
鈥淭here are a few things we鈥檙e discussing that I鈥檓 keeping close to the chest at the moment,鈥� he said.
He is among two rookies and Hirschfeld in the Canadian camp.
鈥淵ou pick up little things from every experienced goalkeeper you watch and Lars is no different,鈥� said Thomas.
鈥淏eing so experienced, he is good at organizing. You always push yourself to be more like that.鈥�
Taking the organizational cue, Thomas took impressive command of his crease area Saturday, forcefully shouting commands to his defenders about keeping structure at the back end.
High-level sport runs in the family. Simon鈥檚 twin brother, Aaron Thomas, is part of the national triathlon training centre in Victoria and has also represented sa国际传媒 internationally.
sa国际传媒 is being guided by interim head coach and 1986 World Cup player Colin Miller, who in 2009 was the inaugural head coach of the Victoria Highlanders of the United Soccer League Premier Development League.
The world No. 23 Danes also fielded a young team 鈥� with 19-year-old striker Andreas Cornelius scoring a hat trick 鈥� but they are Europeans with a great deal of soccer depth in their homeland.
鈥淎ny player who puts on Denmark strip is a quality player,鈥� said Miller, before the game.
鈥淲e want to give our young players as much exposure as possible at this level, so when they go into the Lion鈥檚 Den of Azteca Stadium [in Mexico City for future World Cup qualifiers], they are not over-awed by that.鈥�
Adam Straith, the emerging 22-year-old defender from Victoria who already has 11 caps, is also in the long-term plans for sa国际传媒 but is not part of the Denmark-U.S. set of games. The Oak Bay High grad and Bays United product is on loan to FC Saarbrucken from Energie Cottbus in Germany.
The European-based Canadian pros will likely be called on for a friendly against Japan on March 22 in Doha, Qatar, as part of the lead up to the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup July 7-28 in the U.S.
One of the biggest wildcards for sa国际传媒 is the future of 43-time capped veteran Josh Simpson of Victoria. sa国际传媒's hopes of qualifying for World Cup 2014 were severely compromised last spring when the reliable midfielder out of Juan de Fuca minor soccer and Lower Island Metro went down last year with a broken leg during a Swiss pro league game. Simpson turns 30 in May.
