The Canadians wanted a tougher test and they certainly got one on Tuesday.
Canada fell 2-0 to Uruguay in Bratislava, Slovakia, off first-half goals by Nicolas de la Cruz and Darwin Nunez. The South American side struck early in Tuesday's friendly, with de la Cruz hitting a blistering free kick in the sixth minute through the Canadian wall. Less than a half-hour later, Nunez nodded in a powerful header past goalkeeper Milan Borjan after a picture-perfect cross from the right-hand side by Luis Suarez.
The early goals took the pressure off the Uruguayans, who lost to Iran last week and were looking to get back on a winning track against a lower-ranked opponent. For Canada, that meant playing large stretches against a Uruguay side content to sit back and allow the game to be dictated by the North Americans.
To Canada's credit, the team did not shy away from the opportunity. With Alphonso Davies and Stephen Eustaquio dictating the attack, the Canadians probed the Uruguay defence and created chances, although their lack of incisiveness in the final third betrayed the 11 shots taken by the team.
"I just felt like it was two moments that costed us the game, but throughout the game I thought we were brilliant," Canada defender Kamal Miller told OneSoccer after the match. "Second half it felt like we dominated, we kept them out of our box. I don't know how many shots they had in total, but it felt like we handled it pretty well. It was just those critical moments that are gonna win and lose you football matches."
The Canadians now disperse back to their club teams for the final stretch before the World Cup, which for Canada begins Nov. 23 against Belgium. However, the team will play one more friendly, against Japan on Nov. 17 in Dubai, prior to heading to Qatar.