It’s only friendly but for Canada’s men’s national team and Canada’s persistence paid off for a huge win.
For the first time since 1957, Canada won on American soil. Yes, it has been quite long. It’s about time. It was a 2-1 win for Canada. However, the scoreline doesn’t reflect the score.
Save for the final twenty or so minutes, this was a dominant display by Canada. Jesse Marsch’s side was relentless. Speaking of Marsch, this makes it sweeter for the American coach. While he is American, Marsch is pretty much an honorary Canadian at this point.
The United States led by Christian Pulisic and Folarin Balogun had no answers for Canada. (other than their goal, which looked offside but there is no VAR in friendlies.) Mauricio Pochettino is still not officially their coach and interim Mikey Varas was on the touchline.
No matter what sport, Canada beating the US is always great, even if the game doesn’t mean anything. But this win means a lot to Canada and Canadian soccer fans.
Canada’s Persistence with the Press
Once the game kicked off, Canada jumped to Light Speed. Marsch is a big advocator for pressing. Canada did just that all game with their 4-2-2-2 formation.
They were constantly forcing turnovers and the Americans had trouble playing out from the back. The press was vital to Canada’s two goals.
Jonathan David and Stephen Eustaquio’s press forced the US to lose the ball and Jacob Shaffelburg’s shot cleanly beat Patrick Schulte.
The United States couldn’t string passes together and only had one shot, none on target in the first half. Canada had 11 shots, five on target. Maxime Crépeau might as well have brought out a chair and a book or his phone because he really didn’t do much in the first half.
The midfield of Eustaquio, Shaffelburg, Ali Ahmed and Mathieu Choinière were relentless. Ahmed in particular was just about everywhere on that right side. The Americans had a hard time taking the ball away from him and he easily took it back like a dog with a bone. Ahmed’s passes and long balls were excellent. Like Choinière, Shaffelburg and Ahmed could get moves to Europe soon.
Jonathan David and Cyle Larin connect
Jonathan David and Cyle Larin were both underwhelming at the Copa America. It looks like they learned from that experience already.
Like the rest of the team, David and Larin were brilliant in the final third. Unlike in the Copa America with David dropping back and Larin staying up top, both were dropping back. It worked like a charm.
Canada’s second goal was thanks to the press from both of them and it was very smart of Larin to lay it off for David. The Lille striker was not going to miss from there.
As a result, both David and Larin are on top of Canada’s men’s national team scoring lead. Hey, that’s pretty good.
Moise Bombito’s defensive brilliance
There is a reason why OGC Nice paid around seven million dollars (US) for Bombito. He won four out of five tackles, one clearance, one headed clearance, and four recoveries and was dribbled past once. The former Colorado Rapids and CS St-Hubert centre-back won six duels and just lost one and made 30 out of 39 passes.
His strength and speed were on a different level. Canada’s persistence shone with Bombito.
Every time an American player had the ball, Bombito was there to take the ball away and clear it. Once again, he came out of nowhere over a year ago and is one of Canada’s clear players. Once he left Children’s Mercy Park, he had his keys, wallet and phone in his pocket. Bombito also had Pulisic and Balogun in his pocket.
There are a lot of players who could make the case for Man of the Match. Bombito made a very strong case.
Wrap-up
This was easily Canada’s best win under Jesse Marsch. Every player that started did well. Canada’s persistence was on full display. For Canada, there is the hope that this is the start of even greater things.
Canada’s next match is in Arlington, Texas against Mexico this Tuesday. Kickoff is at 6 PM Pacific.