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Canada beat the US in World Cup qualifiers

HAMILTON –

Cyle Larin put his name in the record books and Canada continued on to Qatar 2022 with a 2-0 win over the US in Sunday’s CONCACAF World Cup qualifying match.

Canada’s 40th-placed man soon took the lead with a chance goal past Larin and then stood firm, flexing but not breaking as the 11th-placed American – who had more possession – probed the defence. home team without success.

It came to Canada to end an opportunity and Americans could not take their chance. However, it made for a tense finale as the United States pressed hard in the five minutes of extra time.

Sam Adekugbe scored another goal in the 95th minute, in a quick solo move after the Americans were caught deep by Canada late in the game. It was his first goal in 26 international appearances.

Canada (6-0-4, 22 points) remains top of the eight-team standings in the final round of qualifying in CONCACAF while taking one step further to Qatar 2022. USA (5-2-3, 18 points) lost points and faced the loss of second place in the table to Mexico while awaiting results later.

The match at Tim Hortons Field was Canada’s 16th game in World Cup qualifying since last March, with John Herdman’s team improving to 12-0-4 while claiming their fifth straight win.

Canada took the lead after just seven minutes when Matt Turner’s free-kick hit with luck. Kamal Miller passed the ball to Jonathan Osorio, who passed it to Larin. The Besiktas forward played tit-for-tat with Jonathan David and beat Turner with a right-footed shot as defenders struggled to catch him.

It was Larin’s 23rd goal for Canada in his 46th appearance, edging past Dwayne De Rosario to top the men’s scoring charts. Christine Sinclair of Canada is the world’s all-time leading scorer with 188 goals.

“Goooaall. Congratulations to Cyle Larin, young man on a brilliant finish and a great way to land top scorer,” De Rosario tweeted. “Go on.”

It is also the kind of lightning strike that the Canadian men, always dangerous with their speed and finishing ability, have become known for.

In the matches that followed on Sunday, it was number 49 Costa Rica in 40th Mexico, 57 Jamaica in 63rd Panama and 70 El Salvador in 76th Honduras.

The Canadian men won 2-0 on Thursday in Honduras, their first win there since 1985, while the Americans beat El Salvador 1-0 in Columbus.

Canada is now flying south to close its international window with El Salvador in San Salvador on Wednesday while the Americans host Honduras in St. Paul, Minn.

The Canadian men will have three games left after that. In March, the top three teams will book tickets to Qatar 2022 while the fourth-placed team will face an Oceania nation to see who will join them to represent North, Central America and the Caribbean.

The game sold out within hours with Canada Soccer slated for 24,000 people. But tighter pandemic-related restrictions limited audience numbers to 12,000, after the first ticket sale was canceled and a second, smaller ticket sale held.

Despite such limitations, there is still a lot of atmosphere. The Canada bus arrived at the stadium on Sunday to cheers, flares and broadcasts from jubilant fans.

“It was amazing ΓǪ Goosebumps. You can feel it on the bus,” Herdman said of the welcome.

It’s -5 degrees Celsius, feels like -7, at 3pm ET begins, and gets colder as the afternoon continues. Despite the cold, there was a festive feel to it, with fans waving flags singing along to “Sweet Caroline” while waiting for the teams to enter the field. The crowd then performed “O Canada” enthusiastically.

The Mexican referee, Cesar Ramos, let the teams compete, allowing both sides to conduct a number of physical challenges.

After going 1-0 down, the Americans began to organize some attacks but lacked clinical finishing. The Canadian defenders did their part, throwing their bodies in while the United States held the advantage.

Canadian defender Steven Vitoria was cautioned for a professional foul in the 31st minute, a second yellow meaning he will miss the game against El Salvador.

Chelsea star Christian Pulisic had a chance from a free kick just outside the Canadian box in the 36th minute but he shot too high.

It was Milan Borjan, who grew up in Hamilton, who came to the rescue with a spectacular save in the 43rd minute, using his right hand to knock off Weston McKennie’s header after a Pulisic corner. The Red Star Belgrade goalkeeper, who made two crucial saves in the win over Honduras, smashed the Canadian badge to his chest after denying the Americans.

The United States had 64% of possession in the first half but only one in seven shots on target in the first 45 minutes.

The Americans continued to press in the second half, while Canada managed to counterattack thanks to David and Larin. Borjan comfortably handled after Brenden Aaronson’s shot in the 59th minute.

Turner came up with success in the 70th minute, parrying David’s long-range shot and then Larin’s close-range effort to get the game back on.

Larin exited in the 73rd minute, to a standing ovation. USA coach Gregg Berhalter switched to his bench, bringing in all substitutes in the 76th minute.

The visitors finished with 10 men with defender Chris Robinson limping in the dying minutes and Berhalter unable to be substituted.

Borjan easily handled Pulisic’s free-kick in injury time.

Canada is without Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies, who was sidelined with myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, after testing positive for COVID-19.

“Time to show .canmnt is here to stay. Good luck to my teammates tonight,” Davies tweeted before the match began.

Once again, the 21-year-old from Edmonton managed to stay entertained by going live on Twitch while watching the game and celebrating Larin’s goal.

Influential midfielder Stephen Eustaquio is also still missing, after reports in Portugal he tested positive for COVID.

Herdman made four changes to his starting number 11, introducing Miller, Osorio, Mark-Anthony Kaye, and Richie Laryea. Borjan commanded the team with Atiba Hutchinson resting.

The Canadian starting 11 entered the game with a total of 345 caps, compared with the Americans’ 262.

Tyler Adams has captained the United States for the seventh time. The team had previously drawn 4-0-2 in matches where Adams was captain.

The US is missing defender Brooks Lennon (ankle) and striker Tim Weah, who cannot travel to Canada due to vaccination status.

Weah, who is playing football for his club for Lille, got his first dose of the vaccine and then contracted COVID-19 while awaiting his second shot, a combination that met the vaccination requirements. full strain in France but not in Canada, according to Berhalter.

Canada and the US drew 1-1 when they met in Nashville in September in both teams’ second opening game in the finals.

While the Americans led the final series between the two North American rivals 16-9-12 (12-1-7 since 1990), Canada had a 6-4-4 advantage in World qualifying. Cup.

Sunday’s match was the first between the two sides on Canadian soil since October 2019, when Canada beat the US 2-0 in a CONCACAF Nations League match to end 34 years of 17 winless matches against its northern neighbor. America.

It also marked the first match at Tim Hortons Field for the Canadian men.

This Canadian Press report was first published on January 30, 2022

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