Canada’s men’s national team was eliminated from the CONCACAF Gold Cup tonight after an 0:1 loss to Honduras in the quarter-final stage. Canada lost after an unfortunate call led to the Walter Martinez goal from the penalty spot in the 36th minute.
\u200b
\u200b
\u200b
\u200bReferee Joel Aguilar called the penalty because he thought Paul Stalteri was pulling Martinez down; Aguilar reached for his whistle before he knew Martinez was in fact falling down by his own accord to take a bicycle kick from within the Canadian 18-yard box.
\u200b
\u200b
\u200b
\u200bCanada came back strong in the second half, but was unable to score the equaliser. Honduras advances to the semi-final stage while Canada returns home after what started out as a promising run in the confederation final.
\u200b
\u200b
\u200b
\u200b“I am very proud of the team,” said coach Stephen Hart. “I think we showed a lot of character. We showed in the second half (today) that on another day we could have come away with a result.”
\u200b
\u200b
\u200b
\u200bHonduras will play USA in the semi-final stage on 23 July in Chicago, IL. USA advanced after a 2:1 win after extra time against Panama. The two other semi finalists will be determined tomorrow after Guadeloupe plays Costa Rica and Mexico plays Haiti in the quarter-final stage in Dallas.
\u200b
\u200b
\u200b
\u200bCanada was taking part in its ninth CONCACAF Gold Cup. It had previously reached the semi-final stage on three occasions: 2000, 2002 and 2007. Canada won the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2000.
\u200b
\u200b
\u200b
\u200b“Overall the guys did a great job throughout the whole tournament,” said Julian de Guzman. “We feel like a team again: that was the most important thing that we achieved in the tournament. That is something to feel happy about.”