Think of the most embarrassing moment of your life and sit in it for at least 10 seconds. Now, imagine it multiplied by about a thousand and you were also representing your country at the same time.
That’s probably how Haiti national soccer team goalkeeper Josué Duverger felt after letting this goal get past him against Canada on Tuesday night, just over a minute into the second half.
It’s not just the ball creeping between his legs, it’s not only the poorly attempted readjustment, it’s not the completely botched clearance kick. It’s horrible all over, a compilation of brutal events that has a wee bit of a stench to it, if you choose to see it that way.
This showdown between the two nations wasn’t just any normal friendly, either. With a Canadian win or draw, they become one of the eight countries into the final round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying for the 2022 event in Qatar. The Canadian men’s team has not reached this final stage of qualification since 1996-97.
With all of that on the line, and Duverger reacting like he just lost his TV remote instead of just making one of the worst blunders in the history of the sport, question marks are, as expected, popping up after this egregious own goal.
It’s also an interesting aside that the man at the centre of this insanity is from Canada. Duverger was born in Montreal, and was even once called up to the Canadian Under-17 national team before representing Haiti. The goaltender that could have prevented Canada from making a qualification stage for the first time in 24 years might have just handed them that honour instead.
Canada ended up adding two more goals in the second half to win 4-0 on aggregate, so thankfully the keepers questionable blunder didn’t have that drastic impact on the outcome.
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