Canada and Tunisia end in goalless stalemate during pre World Cup friendly

The start of the match was put back by more than an hour in Ontario because of lightning above BMO Field, yet it did not stop the home team from quickly putting pressure on their rivals, with Tunisia keeper Abdelmouhib Chamakh quick to react at his near post to deny Tani Oluwaseyi’s shot.

The hosts’ next chance came shortly after, as Nathan Saliba could not direct his header from just inside the box under the bar. Things were not all smooth for Canada, however, as defender Ralph Priso had to leave the field with what seemed like a serious hamstring problem.

Even so, Jesse Marsch’s team returned to the offensive right away, with Niko Sigur’s powerful effort from distance pushed aside by the agile form of Chamakh.

Despite their control of the game, Canada would have trailed at half time without Liam Millar’s intervention. Given an easy finish into an empty goal by Sayfallah Ltaief’s accurate pass, Elias Saad was stunned, as the Canadian forward rushed back to stop the winger’s attempt on target.

The pause gave Tunisia coach Sabri Lamouchi the chance to bring on two replacements, including Sebastian Tounekti, who scored the decisive goal in the seventh minute against Haiti on Sunday, along with Khalil Ayari.

It was under a minute before the Paris Saint Germain youngster made his mark, although unfortunately, as he picked up an unnecessary booking. And even though Canada made their own changes around the hour mark, the new players failed to unlock the scoreline.

In the end, one of Marsch’s later switches, Ali Ahmed, produced the sole notable attempt in a subdued second period, sending a hopeful shot directly into Chamakh’s grasp.

The match finished without goals, and although Canada steered clear of the early defensive issues they faced against Iceland last time, they will require far greater creativity upfront when they next appear at BMO Field to launch their World Cup effort.