Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team remain undefeated in the
\u200bFinal Round of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Qualifiers and earned three vital
\u200bpoints at home defeating Panama 4:1 at BMO Field. Alphonso Davies (66’), Tajon
\u200bBuchanan (72’), and Jonathan David (78’) scored second-half goals for Canada
\u200bwho fell behind on a Roland Blackburn (6’) goal in the first half, but went
\u200binto halftime at 1:1 after an own goal (29’).
It was the largest attendance ever for a
\u200bMen’s National Team match in Toronto and the fourth largest ever in Canada for
\u200ba Men’s National Team match with 26,622 fans in attendance.
“I have to say a massive thank you to all
\u200bthe nearly twenty-seven thousand, the fans were brilliant, what a great night,”
\u200bsaid Head Coach John Herdman. “The quality was there, we dominated after the
\u200bgoal, we got what we deserved. We know we can score against any team. We know we can come back and what you saw
\u200btonight is everything, the heart, the spirit, the talent. It’s a proud night
\u200bfor our country.”
Of note, Alistair Johnston became the fourth Men’s National Team player to feature in more than 1,300 minutes in a calendar year, joining Bruce Wilson (1985), Carlo Corazzin (2000) and Paul Stalteri (2000).
“It’s a lot of fun being a defender in this program. I’m
\u200bjust as big a fan out there as everyone else in this stadium. It’s just really
\u200bfun to watch those guys up top do their work, do their magic,” said Johnston
\u200bafter the match. “What a performance in Toronto coming out, giving us the
\u200benergy. We went down early but they were behind us the whole way. What a
\u200bspecial night.”
Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgbLOI9dd1I
Photos: https://www.flickr.com/search/?user_id=46765827%40N08&view_all=1&text=20211013
Panama took an early 0:1 lead in the match with a quick break down the right wing. A pass was cut back to Rolando Blackburn before the Canadian defenders could reorganize, and he put the shot past Maxime Crepeau with his first touch (6’).
\u200b
\u200bCanada had a great chance to pull level just two minutes later. Alphonso Davies played a ball in to Jonathan David who found himself in behind the Panama defence. David cut a pass back to David Wotherspoon instead of shooting, and Wotherspoon’s shot was blocked by a defender (8’).
\u200b
\u200bIn the 16’, Davies beat two players before playing another great ball into David, whose shot was saved by the diving Panamanian keeper Luis Mejia.
\u200b
\u200bIn the 23’, Davies again was able to beat multiple defenders along the top of the box before shooting from distance, but his shot was parried away by Mejia.
\u200b
\u200bIn the 28’, an in-swinging corner from Davies forced the keeper into making a save and pushing the ball over the crossbar. On the resulting corner, again taken by Davies, went off the head of Panama’s Michael Murillo and into the far post, tying the match up at 1:1 (29’).
\u200b
\u200bIn the 36’, Stephen Eustaquio played a beautiful ball over the top to Wotherspoon, but the shot soared over the goal.
\u200b
\u200bJust one minute later, Panama’s keeper was just able to beat Davies in a footrace to a loose pass back to prevent a breakaway.
\u200b
\u200bThe sides were tied 1:1 at halftime.
\u200b
\u200bCanada came out with continued pressure in the second half. In the 49’, Wotherspoon was played in wide on the wing, cut back inside and took a shot that sailed just inches wide of the far post.
\u200b
\u200bIn the 50’, Tajon Buchanan played a ball in over the top to find David who tried to take the shot first time on the bounce but the keeper got just enough of a touch on it to prevent a clean shot.
\u200b
\u200bCanada took a 2:1 lead with just under 30 minutes remaining thanks to a phenomenal individual effort by Davies, who sprinted close to 80 yards down the sideline to be able to just keep the ball in play and past the Panamanian defender. He continued the run into the Panama box on a two-on-one break, cutting back inside against the lone defender and sliding his shot into the net (66’).
\u200b
\u200bIn the 69’, Buchanan was played in behind by Mark-Anthony Kaye but a Panamanian player was just able to get back in time to block the shot.
\u200b
\u200bCanada doubled the lead when Richie Laryea played a cross in to the back post that found the head of Buchanan who made no mistake with the header, making it 3:1 (72’).
\u200b
\u200bDavid scored a fourth goal for Canada in the 78’. Davies floated in a cross that dropped nicely for David, who hit his shot first-time back across the keeper to seal the victory.
\u200b
\u200bPanama nearly got one back in the 85’ during a hectic moment in the Canadian penalty area. Crepeau made a great save and then the Panama attacker was ruled offside before he could put in the rebound.
\u200b
\u200bIn the 88’, Charles-Andreas Brym played in a low ball across the box, but Jacob Shaffelburg and Kaye were both unable to get to it in time to touch it into the net.
Canada’s starting XI featured Maxime
\u200bCrépeau in goal, Alistair Johnston at right back, Steven Vitória at centre
\u200bback, Kamal Miller at left back, and Stephen Eustáquio, David Wotherspoon,
\u200bJonathan Osorio, Tajon Buchanan, Richie Laryea, Alphonso Davies, and Jonathan
\u200bDavid from the midfield up through to the attack. In the second half, coach
\u200bJohn Herdman replaced Wotherspoon with Samuel Adekugbe (64’), Osorio with
\u200bMark-Anthony Kaye (64’), Eustáquio for Samuel Piette (81’), Davies for Jacob
\u200bShaffelburg (81’), and David for Charles-Andreas Brym (81’). Crépeau,
\u200bShaffelburg and Brym were all playing their first international “A” match for
\u200bCanada in Canada.
CANADA SOCCER’S MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM
\u200bPROGRAM
Canada has built plenty of momentum in a
\u200blandmark year for the Men’s National Team Program that will feature a record 19
\u200binternational matches including FIFA World Cup Qualifiers and the Concacaf Gold
\u200bCup. Through 10 October, Canada have played 16 of those matches with a 10-4-2 record,
\u200beight clean sheets and a record 48 goals scored. Canada also set a record with
\u200beight consecutive wins and reached the Concacaf Gold Cup Semifinals for the
\u200bfirst time since 2007.
Canada will play eight of their 14 FIFA
\u200bWorld Cup Qualifiers in the Concacaf Final Round from September through
\u200bNovember 2021: three matches in September, three matches in October, and two
\u200bmatches in November. In 2022, Canada will play three more matches in
\u200bJanuary/February and three more matches in March. Along with Honduras, USA and
\u200bEl Salvador, Canada’s other opponents in the Concacaf Final Round are Costa
\u200bRica, Jamaica, Mexico, and Panama.
To reach the Concacaf Final Round, Canada
\u200bwon their First Round group against Aruba, Bermuda, Cayman Islands and
\u200bSuriname, then eliminated Haiti in a head-to-head Second Round series. This
\u200bmarks the first time since 1997 that Canada have reached the Concacaf Final
\u200bRound of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. From the Concacaf Final Round of eight
\u200bnations, the top-three nations automatically qualify for the FIFA World Cup
\u200bQatar 2022™ and the fourth-best nation advance to an inter-continental playoff
\u200bfor additional FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Qualifiers.
Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team are
\u200btwo-time Concacaf champions, previously winning the 1985 Concacaf Championship
\u200band 2000 Concacaf Gold Cup. This year marked Canada’s 15th participation at the
\u200bConcacaf Gold Cup since 1991. Along with their first-place finish in 2000,
\u200bCanada reached the Semifinals in 2002, 2007, and 2021. Across the past five years
\u200bfrom 2017 to 2021, Canada are one of only four nations that finished top-six
\u200bacross all four Concacaf major tournaments: fifth place in Concacaf Nations
\u200bLeague A, sixth place at both the 2017 and 2019 Concacaf Gold Cups, and a
\u200bsemi-final finish at the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup.