International breaks are boring.
Worse still, the football on display is generally bad. Even the World Cup qualifying playoffs tend to be crap, since most of the drama and interest is sourced from the tension and the magnitude of the occasion, rather than the football itself - and thus not always entertaining for neutrals. And don't even get me started on random friendlies...
One such friendly played on Friday was Czech Republic vs. Canada. The two nations are quite familiar with each other in the world of hockey but not so much in football: it was their first meeting in almost exactly ten years. Back then, just ahead of Euro 2004, the Czechs were one of the best in the world. Led by Nedved, Koller, Poborsky, Jankulovski, Galasek & Co, they made short work of the North Americans.
While there was no repeat of that 5-1 scoreline, the Czech Republic's 2-0 victory was highlighted by yet another Petr Cech penalty save. The sorry sap at the other end was Dwayne De Rosario, Canada's one and only recognized star. The miss ensured that for a ninth straight match, the Canadian national football team have failed to score a goal. Oh, Canada...
It was Cech's 15th penalty kick save in regular competitive action (i.e. not counting penalty shootouts) from 56 faced. Just a bit over 25%? Not. Too. Shabby.