It was one of those moments that can define a career.
That it came at age 25 is a credit to Adam Straith of Victoria. The Bays United product drew his first assignment as Canadian national soccer team captain Tuesday in a 1-1 friendly draw against FIFA world No. 25 Ghana at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.
鈥淚t was the proudest moment of my career,鈥� said Straith, by phone from RFK following the game.
鈥淚t was something I鈥檝e always dreamed of. It was obviously an emotional couple of minutes walking onto the field to start the game. This is a very big deal in anybody鈥檚 career. It was a night I will never forget.鈥�
sa国际传媒, ranked No. 104, was playing the Black Stars as preparation for its CONCACAF Russia World Cup 2018 fourth-stage qualifying-round openers against Honduras on Nov. 13 at sa国际传媒 Place and Nov. 17 in El Salvador.
Several Canadian veterans were missing Tuesday, so Straith is under no illusions the arm-band will stay with him during World Cup qualifying.
鈥淥bviously, there are very experienced guys ahead of me,鈥� said the Oak Bay High product.
Straith said he is proudest that his captaining debut came in an enterprising effort against a Ghana side that is an African power and has qualified for the last three World Cups, and advanced from the group stage in two of them.
鈥淲e had the better number, and better-quality chances in the first half and were unlucky to go into the break 1-1,鈥� said Straith, a defender/midfielder.
Marcel de Jong from Sporting Kansas City of the MLS put sa国际传媒 ahead at 28 minutes before the Black Stars leveled through Middlesbrough midfielder and 2014 World Cup player Albert Adomah just before the whistle calling for halftime.
鈥淏oth teams had their spells in the second half. We were not bunkered down, which has been the criticism of us in the past against bigger teams. We were moving forward all night long,鈥� said Straith, who earned his 30th cap.
鈥淚 thought we put in a fantastic shift all night long against the Black Stars and that it bodes well for next month in the next round of World Cup qualifying.鈥�
There were two significant debut caps in the game from players who finally committed to the Canadian national team 鈥� Junior Hoilett from Queens Park Rangers and Fraser Aird from Glasgow Rangers. Simon Thomas, who came up with Straith in Bays United and Oak Bay High, was one of the Canadian goalies in camp, but it was Kenny Stamatopoulos who played.
The game ended with Straith drawing a yellow card for a knee-on-knee collision with a Ghana player that he got the worst of, as he lay on the pitch for several minutes.
鈥淚 had tweaked the leg earlier, and I joked with our team doctor after the game, that isn鈥檛 it just the way that something like that would happen past 90 minutes on the last play?鈥� said the Islander, who returns to his Norwegian Premier Division pro team for a game Sunday.
鈥淏ut I鈥檓 fine.鈥�
