Ali Ahmed (11) reacts after being shown a straight red card during an International Friendly against Ecuador at BMO Field on Thursday in Toronto.

In the long run – and certainly come next summer – Jesse Marsch and Ali Ahmed may look on the events of Thursday night as a blessing in disguise.

In terms of adversity, a sixth-minute red card was probably not what Canadian head coach Jesse Marsch had in mind going into this game, but in terms of testing his team’s resilience and resourcefulness ahead of next summer’s World Cup, it probably wasn’t the worst thing in the world.

As it was, Canada failed to find the net for the third straight match, earning a goalless draw against a South American opponent tipped by many to be one of the dark horses next summer. Of course, there is an obvious les

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