There always was a plan, but it looked like Jacob Shaffelburg had surprised even himself by scoring for Canada against Venezuela. He ran to the corner and then recalled the plan: Go to the bench, grab the shirt of injured winger Tajon Buchanan and hold it up in his honour.
By Jon Arnold
Canada definitely miss Buchanan, who broke his tibia in training ahead of the Copa América quarter-final, but Shaffelburg has been such a dynamic wide attacker for the Reds that opposing full-backs still have plenty to think about. Now the player christened the “Maritime Messi” thanks to his Atlantic Coast roots and his dynamic style of play, goes against the original Messi hoping to spring a surprise and get Canada into the Copa América final.
Perhaps Shaffelburg doesn’t look like the type of player who would be drawing attention during Argentina’s film session ahead of the teams’ Copa América semi-final. With a mop of curly hair styled into a modern mullet and sometimes sporting a wispy moustache, the uninformed may say it’s more likely he’d fit in at the hotspots of East Nashville rather than GEODIS Park where his club team Nashville SC play their matches.
Underestimate the winger, though, and you’ll soon be chasing after him. He ended the quarter-final with five touches in the opposing area and completed one of the four dribbles he looked to pull off. He also won five duels as Canada continued to put an aggressive style of play on the field. He also won a number of free kicks and overall brought a jolt of energy onto the field for Canada in a stadium filled with Venezuela supporters.
Canada manager Jesse Marsch now will feel comfortable utilizing Shaffelburg from the opening whistle or bringing him in to change the tone of a match as a substitute.
“He’s got confidence in me. I think he knows I’m a player who works off not too much information, just kind of lets me be free and run,” Shaffelburg said when asked about his pre-match instructions from Marsch. “It was just running in behind, doing what I do best. That was it.”
If there’s an issue, it may be that Shaffelburg is putting too much into each match.
“It’s hard to withstand it the whole time. Something I’ve got to work on is playing full 90s and balancing out all my sprints, but it’s been a lot of fun,” he said.
But while that’s something to build on in the future, right now Marsch and his staff can utilize the 24-year-old for an hour before bringing in an alternative like Liam Millar who came in to see out the game against Venezuela, which Canada eventually won in a penalty shootout.
Seeing Canada in the Copa América semi-final may be jarring, but behind Alphonso Davies, Jonathan David and other rising stars, the North American squad is looking to become regulars in the late rounds of tournaments like the Copa América and Gold Cup. It may be time to stop being surprised Canada is hanging with the big boys in the region. It’s definitely time to stop being surprised that Shaffelburg is influencing matches. He also scored for Canada in the play-off against Trinidad and Tobago to get to the tournament. Tonight, he’ll look to add another jaw-dropping moment to the resume.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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