The U.S. men’s national team’s 2-0 CONCACAF Nations League loss to Canada in Toronto on Tuesday night will be cast as an embarrassment back in the States — a humiliating, once-in-a-generation defeat against a historically putrid foe.



That line of thinking isn’t wrong. But it’s also not the whole story. Tuesday was indeed brutal for the U.S., a debilitating performance in every sense of the word. But to leave it at that would be a disservice to Canada, and would give far, far too much credit to the Americans.



One team had a clear plan and executed it. The other lacked any semblance of cohesion. One team went in hard on every challenge and won just about every 50-50 ball. The other looked like it was down a man in the center of the park. One team had its star player show up and show out. The other’s left the field distraught, subbed off in the 60th minute after an ineffective, uninspiring performance.



To put...