Grass (!) was rolled in, players took their warmups, fans got in their seats and the Canadian men’s national team’s Gold Cup quest began.
Honduras was the opponent at Vancouver’s BC Place stadium. This is a tournament Canada has to win. However, they don’t believe they are the favourites and frankly, that doesn’t matter. But in any tournament, the odds don’t matter once the games begin. As the old saying goes, anything can happen. Well, anything can happen, because this was unexpected.
It is safe to say, this was a dream start for Canada in the Gold Cup.
First half: Good transitional play and two goals
Canada was setting the tone early.
Richie Laryea was trying to make life difficult for Honduras down the left side with his pace and tenacity. Nathan Saliba was fighting for the ball and the midfield and his, Luc De Fougerolles and Mathieu Choinière were doing great at moving the ball forward.
The press was active. Honduras was having a tough time clearing the ball. But the final third wasn’t great.
However, Canada did manage to make something happen in the final third and it was courtesy of the man from Burnaby. Niko Sigur and Jonathan David had a nice give-and-go around the box and the Hajduk Split man got his first for Canada. And it was very fitting he did it in his hometown.
The midfield of Choinière and Saliba were dictating the play with their passes and pressing. Canada’s transitions were quick but they had trouble staying onside, the final pass wasn’t the best or the Honduran defenders were making well-timed tackles.
Throughout the half, Canada kept pushing. In stoppage time, Tani Oluwaseyi blasted the one-time shot past Honduras goalkeeper Edrick Mejivar. A lot of credit has to be given to Laryea for his perfect pass.
Overall, Canada did well in that half with their transitions, progressive passes and Saliba and Choinière being steady in the midfield.
Second half: Canada finishes them Mortal Kombat-style
Canada wasted no time. Laryea continued to be a pain for Honduras and his low cross found Tajon Buchanan. The Inter Milan man made no mistake. After his horrific leg injury last summer, it was great to see him scoring again for his country.
It’s not a CONCACAF match without…well…CONCACAF stuff. Honduras weren’t going away quietly and they nearly carved Canada’s defence apart, but Laryea managed to block the shot and got stomped on by Romell Quioto. Was that called? No. Why not? CONCACAF. Laryea also got away with a handball there.
Buchanan really wanted to show he truly was back. Well, he was. The Brampton native pounced on Choinière’s corner after Oluwaseyi mistimed his header. Yup, Buchanan was so back.
The Canadians wanted every ball they got to fire on Menjiver, just like Kylo Ren ordering the First Order men to fire every gun they had on Luke Skywalker. Minutes off the bench and the same day his contract extension with Union SG was announced, Promise David was found all alone. He took Ali Ahmed’s pass and buried it. And that was horrible defending from Honduras. They stood around like statues and let David add insult to injury. David continues to grow for club and country and long may it continue.
To Canada’s credit, they just kept wanting more. This was a beatdown, just like Star Platinum beating up an enemy Stand and its user. They barely let Honduras have the ball and pretty much spent the entire time in their half. Nathan Saliba even got on the board. Great for the youngster.
That was great soccer to watch. Canada’s Gold Cup campaign is off to a great start, one-way traffic. This is revenge for that 8-1 loss in Honduras back in 2012.
Stat of the match
In a really physical game, there were no cards handed out. Crazy.
What was said
Canada assistant head coach Mauro Biello was on the touchline as head coach Jesse Marsch was serving the first of a two-game suspension. Biello was extremely happy with the game.
“I’m really, really proud of the team’s performance,” he said. “I can’t look at one guy and find someone who had an off-game. Everybody came out with the right mentality. You know, we played within our identity and in the end, we were able to not give them much and score goals That’s part of who we want to be.”
Biello also spoke about young players such as Saliba, Oluwaseyi and Sigur stepping up.
“I think that was the idea, right?” he said. “For us, moving towards the World Cup, it was about how could we expand the depth of this team. Tonight was a perfect example of some of the good young players in this country. And we wanted to continue to give them opportunity, continue to help them develop and become the players that we think that they could be.”
Jonathan David spoke about Canada’s recent outburst in goals, not just Tuesday against Honduras but against Ukraine in the Canadian Shield invitational.
“I think before the camp and throughout the camp, we talked a lot about being more ruthless,” he said. “That was a big talking point. I think we just try to work on that in training and always try to support the chances that we have.”
Sigur talked about how special it was to get his first goal for Canada in his hometown.
“I’ve been away a long time,” said Sigur. “I don’t often get to play in front of friends and family in Croatia…tonight was a little different. The World Cup is coming. We have two group-stage games here, so I’m looking forward to that. We have to play for the World Cup.”
Tweet of the match
Canada destroyed Honduras without Alphonso Davies, Alistair Johnston, Moise Bombito and Derek Cornelius. That’s a sign, the program is growing with young players stepping in. This Gold Cup is an opportunity for them and in this game, they made the most out of it.
Wrap-up
Well, that was fun, wasn’t it? This was the best game the Canadian MNT has played in quite a long time. Everyone had a good game, even the players that came off the bench.
But this was the first game. Canada will travel to Houston and play the second game of their Gold Cup group stage against Curacao on Saturday. That game kicks off at 4:00 pm Pacific. Canada will look to keep the good times rolling and secure another win at the Gold Cup, aiming to move closer to their goal of winning the tournament.
