Being eliminated from the CONCACAF U-20 Men's Championship was bad enough.
But Canada's 4-2 quarter-final loss to the United States in Mexico on Tuesday also means the Reds won't be travelling to Turkey in June for the FIFA U-20 World Cup.
The four semifinalists at the CONCACAF competition automatically qualify for the World Cup, and a victory against the U.S. would have allowed Canada to book its trip to Turkey.
Instead, the Reds will be watching from home, failing to qualify for the U-20 World Cup for a third straight time. Canada last participated in the World Cup when it hosted the biennial event in 2007.
Winnipeg's Dylan Carreiro scored midway through the first half to give Canada a surprise lead. But the Americans respond with three consecutive goals before halftime to seize control of the match.
It was all over after that, as the U.S. kept their Canadians opponents at arm's length, cruising to an easy victory.
There was genuine hope coming in the build-up to Tuesday's contest that Canada could qualify for Turkey. After losing 2-1 to Cuba in its tournament opener, the Canadians rebounded with a command performance in hammering 10-man Nicaragua 5-1.
The U.S., meanwhile, won both of its opening games but hardly looked dominant, leading to expectations that Canada could pose a tough challenge.
Canadian coach Nick Dasovic didn't make any changes to his starting line-up from the Nicaragua game.
The U.S. dominated possession early on, but it was Canada who broke the deadlock in the 23rd minute, scoring out of nothing when Carreiro scored from 25 yards out. It was a heads up play from Carreiro, who noticed American goalkeeper Cody Cropper out of position and fired home after the U.S. defence failed to close him down.
Six minutes later the game was tied. Luis Gil collected a pass inside the box and beat Canadian goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau. It was a sign of things to come.
Canadian captain and central defender Doneil Henry came out of the game in the 32nd minute with a hamstring injury. The U.S. was in the ascendency and confirmed their superiority by bagging two late goals in the half.
LA Galaxy midfielder Jose Villarreal made it 2-1 in the 40th minute, converting on a cross played into the box. And then in the 45th, William Trapp took advantage of a Crepeau miscue to beat the Canadian goalkeeper with a long-range effort that took a deflection.
It was very harsh on Crepeau, who made a number of fantastic saves on the night to keep the score respectable.
Dasovic brought on attacking midfielder Keven Aleman and the start of the second half to jumpstart Canada's offence.
It didn't work, as the U.S. kept coming. Villarreal netted his second on the night in the 54th minute, taking advantage of some comical Canadian defending and lots of open space inside the penalty area.
Samuel Piette cut the lead in half for Canada when he scored on a screamer from 25 yards out in the 64th minute after the U.S. failed to clear its lines off a corner kick.
Canada showed brief glimpses of attacking intent after that, but couldn't find a way through the American defence.
Canada finished with 10 players when Manjrekar James earned a red card game late in the game for head-butting Benji Joya.
With the win, the U.S. extended its lead in the all-time series against Canada at U-20 level with five wins, two draws and two losses.
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