How did Canada concede eight goals?

Canada's 8-1 capitulation to Honduras in San Pedro Sula today defied all expectation.  Canada's task wasn't easy -- they had to hold the catrachos to a point in a hostile environment and a must-win match for Honduras.  But the manner in which the Canadians lost must be extremely dismaying to their supporters north of the border.

I have to confess that when I saw the match scoreline I couldn't believe it, and then thought that some key players were injured, suspended, or sent off.  One player was sent off in the previous qualifer -- Olivier Occean -- but the official match report shows that Nik Ledgerwood and Mike Klukoski were the only changes were made to the Canadian lineup.  Ledgerwood and Klukoski aren't new to the international stage -- both have 37 and 22 caps, respectively -- but Ledgerwood and Klukoski haven't played much in this round of the qualifiers. (Ledgerwood played more often, but not since the qualifiers from early in the round, and Klukoski hadn't played at all until today.) One injury is rather significant for the Canadian team: Dwayne DeRosario's knee injury last month.

Maybe the players were overwhelmed by the occasion, uncomfortable with the heat, or rattled by the noise, the smells, and the crowd.  Honduras overwhelmed the Canadian backline from all angles and the match was over within half an hour.  The defensive unit looked way too static, almost as if they had never worked together before or had any idea what to do.  Perhaps the match would have turned out differently had the Canucks converted one of the two opportunities available to them on either side of the 1-0 (I believe one shot hit the post), but that's a rather doubtful scenario.

At the start of the qualifying cycle Canada appeared to have a team that was capable of challenging for a Hexagonal place.   Now after this failure the CSA will have to make an inquest into the team's collapse and propose a way forward.  That way forward will almost certainly involve a new manager and a new generation in the national team.