The Canadian Men’s National Team played strongly for 85 minutes against Ukraine, falling slightly in the final minutes of the 4-2 match to give the visitors a couple of goals.
Top performances from Jonathan David, Tajon Buchanan and Luc De Fougerolles lifted the 30th-placed nation over Ukraine, a team five spots higher in the FIFA men’s rankings.
While both sides came out with energy, it was Canada that struck first and did so with style.
Buchanan nutmegged his defender on the right, putting the ball through his legs and running around. His speed carried the Inter Milan man into the 18-yard box.
The cross found J. David, who had his initial shot saved by Anatoliy Trubin but was able to capitalize on the rebound to give Canada the lead only four minutes in.
Buchanan and J. David connected again in the 24th minute to give Canada the two-goal lead.
Buchanan jumped on a loose ball in the defensive third and ran up the right. Plenty of Ukrainian defenders were clogging the 18-yard box, but the winger’s pinpoint cross found j. David inside.
J. David’s header was well-placed, the ball finding the correct side of the far post.
But what is one David when you can have two? Promise David, not to be left out, grabbed his first in a Canada shirt in the 31st minute, catching Ukraine flat-footed with his run.
The second half saw several changes for both sides. Canada was using the tournament to showcase players for the upcoming Gold Cup. Players were also fighting for potential positions in next year’s FIFA Men’s World Cup.
Ukraine kept being frustrated by Canada’s speed. The addition of Jayden Nelson for Jacob Shaffelburg increased the pressure on the visitors’ backline.
Buchanan, already with a couple of assists, found his much-deserved goal in the 81st minute. De Fougerolles headed down a ball off a free kick, which landed perfectly for the winger.
Substitutions threatened to derail the pressure Canada had throughout the match at several points in the second half. And towards the end, the cracks finally caved.
Ukraine got their first goal in the 89th minute, an easy tap-in from Illia Zabarnyi. A second came a few minutes later in stoppage time as a penalty was awarded for a handball.
Maxime Crépeau guessed correctly on Oleksandr Zinchenko’s shot, but it was taken powerfully and outside of the Canadian goalkeeper’s reach.
A new tournament for a new era
The Canadian Shield is a new tournament meant to allow nations to play other nations from outside their confederation. The inaugural tournament features Canada, Ukraine, New Zealand and the Ivory Coast.
It acts as a precursor to next year’s World Cup. Canada and New Zealand have already qualified. Ukraine and the Ivory Coast are in the midst of their respective qualifiers.
Contrary to other round-robin-style tournaments, teams only play two of their opponents rather than all three.
Teams are awarded three points for a win. Matches that a tied after 90 minutes head to a penalty shootout, with the winning team receiving two points and the losing team receiving one point.
The nation with the most points wins the inaugural Canadian Shield.
Canada’s final match of the tournament is against the Ivory Coast on June 10. Kick-off is at 5:30 p.m. PST.
