Canada Soccer’s Men’s U-23 National
\u200bTeam added a 0:0 draw against Honduras to their opening match 2:0 victory over
\u200bEl Salvador at the Concacaf Men’s Olympic Qualifying to go up four points with
\u200ba 1-1-0 record after two Group B matches. Canada will wrap up the group phase
\u200bwith an all-important match against Honduras on Thursday 25 March (19.30 local
\u200b/ 21.30 ET / 18.30 PT on OneSoccer.ca).
“The destiny is in our hands with the four points after two matches and even though we would have liked to close it off, we knew this was going to be a hard match against Haiti,” said Mauro Biello, Canada Soccer’s Men’s Olympic National Team Head Coach. “Now our focus will be Honduras and to get the points we need to go through to the next round.”
In the first half, Canada had
\u200btheir best pressure early, forcing a free kick and a pair of corner kicks
\u200binside the first five minutes. In the 13th minute, a great cross by Zachary
\u200bBrault-Guillard to Charles-Andreas Brym and then Tajon Buchanan was blocked
\u200bfrom inside the box. In the 20th minute, another chance from a Brault-Guillard
\u200bcross and Buchanan header was again stopped.
In the 30th minute, Canada were
\u200bclose again on a corner kick, this time with Derek Cornelius knocking the ball
\u200bover the crossbar. In the 41st minute, a nice Brym to Aidan Daniels to Theo
\u200bBair combination was caught offside.
In the second half, Canada had an
\u200bearly free kick opportunity that sailed high over the goal in the 48th minute.
\u200bThey were closer in the 62nd minute when a Buchanan header from a Michael
\u200bBaldisimo free kick was stopped by the goalkeeper.
Canada’s goalkeeper James Pantemis came up with some big saves for Canada in the second half, notably in the 56th minute on a chance from Dutherson Clerveaux in front of the goal, in the 67th minute on a shot from Eliader Dorlus, and again in the 72nd minute on a header from Clerveaux from inside the box.
Canada had its best chance in added time. Tajon Buchanan’s
\u200blong winding run into the Haitian 18 saw him lay off a pass to Ballou Tabla as
\u200bhe was falling, Tabla’s shot was on target but was deflected by both a Haitian
\u200bdefender and Goalkeeper Alan Jerome.
“We’re going to take the point
\u200btoday and we’re going to refocus on Honduras,” said captain Derek Cornelius.
\u200b“We’re going to be coming out strong, be better and get the three points in
\u200bthat last game coming up in two days.”
Canada’s starting XI featured James Pantemis in goal, Zachary
\u200bBrault-Guillard at right back, David Norman and Derek Cornelius at centre back,
\u200bMarcus Godinho at left back, and Michael Baldisimo, Patrick Metcalfe, Aidan
\u200bDaniels, Charles-Andreas Brym, Tajon Buchanan and Theo Bair from the midfield
\u200bup through to the attack. In the second half, coach Mauro Biello replaced
\u200bDaniels with Ballou Tabla (58’), Brault-Guillard with Zorhan Bassong (70’),
\u200bBair with Lucas Dias (70’), and Brym with Ryan Raposo (79’).
Every Canada match at the tournament will be broadcast live on
\u200bOneSoccer with extended coverage throughout the tournament on Canada Soccer’s
\u200bdigital channels including Youtube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter featuring
\u200bthe social media hashtags #canm23 and #CMOQ
MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM PROGRAM:
\u200bCanada Soccer’s Men’s EXCEL Program channels our nation’s exceptional players into the best soccer environments. The Canada Soccer Pathway works in collaboration with our provincial and territory partners as well as the professional clubs and academies. For Canada’s elite players, the program emphasizes player development on the pathway to representing Canada’s Men’s National Team in international soccer.
In 2019, Canada reached the Quarter-finals of back-to-back
\u200bConcacaf Gold Cups for the first time since 2009 and finished second in their
\u200bgroup of the inaugural Concacaf Nations League A (tied on points with USA, but
\u200bsecond on goals difference). Along with a historic 2:0 victory over USA in
\u200bToronto, Canada also qualified for the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup and the next
\u200bseason of Concacaf Nations League A. At the youth level, Canada had top-four
\u200bfinishes at the Concacaf Men’s Under-17 Championship (after eliminating Costa
\u200bRica) and Concacaf Boys’ Under-15 Championship (after eliminating Mexico).
Canada Soccer’s Men’s Youth National Teams have won two Concacaf
\u200btitles: both the 1986 and 1996 Concacaf Men’s Youth Championships. Canada have
\u200bnow qualified for 15 FIFA men’s youth tournaments: eight editions of the FIFA
\u200bU-20 World Cup and seven editions of the FIFA U-17 World Cup. Canada most
\u200brecently qualified for the FIFA U-17 World Cup Brazil 2019.
“This is a great opportunity for Canada and the Men’s National
\u200bTeam Program to have this chance to qualify for the Olympic Games through Concacaf
\u200bMen’s Olympic Qualifying,” said Mauro Biello, Canada Soccer’s Men’s Olympic
\u200bNational Team Coach. “We are in a competitive group ahead of a difficult
\u200bknockout stage, but we have a chance to do something special with this group of
\u200byoung players.”