Canadian men’s bid for World Cup qualification put on hold in Costa Rica

SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica – Canada’s bid to seal World Cup qualification was placed on maintain Thursday after a 1-0 loss to Costa Rica that noticed the Canadians play a person down for nearly two-thirds of the match.

It was the Canadian males’s first defeat in 18 qualifying matches (13-1-4), snapping a six-game win streak.

There was loads of drama by means of the night, with 10-man Canada charging arduous within the second half, the Costa Ricans hanging on and different outcomes coming into play.

Honduras drew 1-1 at Panama, which means a Canadian tie would nonetheless have earned qualification. And the Canadians might have booked their ticket to Qatar 2022 had Mexico crushed the U.S . However it ended up a 0-0 attract Mexico Metropolis.

Now the main focus turns to Toronto’s BMO Area on Sunday when Canada hosts Jamaica in its penultimate qualifier. Then it’s off to Panama for the finale subsequent Wednesday.

However the outlook is shiny. Even when Canada loses its two remaining video games and Costa Rica wins their final two, the Canadians would end third — and qualify — until the Costa Ricans make up an 11-goal deficit.

Veteran midfielder Celso Borges put No. 42 Costa Rica forward in first-half stoppage time after Canada, which had had bother defending set items, was unable to clear a free kick. Goalkeeper Milan Borjan punched the ball away but it surely went to Costa Rica’s Gerson Torres and three passes later it was within the web as Borges rose above Stephen Eustaquio to go residence a Torres cross.

The Thirty third-ranked Canadians had been diminished to 10 males when midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye was despatched off within the thirty fourth minute for a second yellow card.

Kaye was cautioned within the fifteenth minute for a problem on Ronald Matarrita, catching the FC Cincinnati star on the decrease shin. Honduran referee Stated Martinez went to the pitchside monitor to overview the play however elected to stay with the yellow card.

However the Colorado Rapids midfielder was off 19 minutes later after a confrontation with Johan Venegas, who had taken him down seconds earlier with out sanction. Kaye, upset by the sooner problem, caught Venegas together with his shoulder as the 2 crossed paths with the Costa Rican tumbling theatrically to the bottom. That earned the second yellow.

Regardless of trailing and down a person, the Canadians got here out with nice goal to start out the second half and got here shut a number of instances.

Within the 73rd minute, Tajon Buchanan’s header hit the Costa Rican crossbar after goalkeeper Keylor Navas stopped a low Richie Laryea shot. And Laryea’s highly effective long-distance shot within the 83rd minute compelled one other save from Navas.

Jonathan David hit the goalpost within the 88th minute with a ball that got here off his physique. A Eustaquio stoppage-time free kick hit the wall.

The Canadians outshot Costa Rica 18-11, though the house facet had a 4-3 edge in photographs on track. Canada had 67.9 per cent of possession regardless of being down a person.

Canada has been the shock package deal in qualifying, rising up the FIFA rankings. And with gamers like captain Atiba Hutchinson, Alphonso Davies (at present recovering from sickness), Cyle Larin, David, Eustaquio and Borjan, they’ve executed it in model.

Canada had outscored its opposition 50-6 whereas posting 11 clear sheets in qualifying play previous to Thursday.

In Thursday’s different sport, El Salvador drew 1-1 at Jamaica.

Thursday marked the four-year anniversary of Herdman’s first sport answerable for the lads, a 1-0 win over New Zealand in Murcia, Spain, earlier than simply 75 folks. His file on the males’s helm previous to Thursday was 28-6-4 with the one losses to the U.S. (twice), Mexico (twice), Haiti and Iceland.

The Canadian males got here into play Thursday atop the eight-team last spherical robin, 4 factors forward of No. 12 Mexico and the Thirteenth-ranked U.S.

No. 62 Panama was fourth and No. 42 Costa Rica fifth.

The highest three groups qualify for Qatar whereas the fourth-place finisher takes on an Oceania facet in an intercontinental playoff to see who joins them.

Already certified within the 32-team World Cup discipline are host Qatar, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Croatia, Denmark, Ecuador, England, France, Germany, Iran, Japan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland and Uruguay.

With defenders Doneil Henry and Sam Adekugbe suspended and Steven Vitoria coping with an damage, Herdman began the 39-year-old Hutchinson at centre again. His beginning 11 got here into the sport with a mixed cap depend of 414, with Hutchinson extending his Canadian males’s file complete to 93.

The gamers belted out “O Canada” with fireworks exploding above the 35,000-capacity Estadio Nacional and drowning out half the anthem.

The bodily Canadians gave up a string of free kicks within the early going with Costa Rica getting a number of free headers that went off–target.

The Canadians weren’t as fluid within the first half as in earlier video games however started to search out some rhythm because the half wore on with Laryea discovering room down the left flank. Herdman switched to a 3-5-2 formation after which needed to rejig once more when Kaye exited.

Larin got here shut within the thirty seventh when a Eustaquio nook dropped at his toes in entrance of aim however Calvo did sufficient to forestall him getting a shot off. On the different finish, Borjan performed with hearth when his tried clearance deflected off Anthony Contreras again in direction of aim. Luckily for Canada, it went broad.

Navas, who performs his membership soccer for Paris Saint-Germain, needed to be sharp within the twenty ninth minute, getting a leg to a Buchanan shot from close-range.

Borjan stopped Joel Campbell within the 53rd after the Costa Rican attacker was put in alone with Hutchinson making an attempt to chase him down. Two minutes later, David’s dangerous-looking shot was blocked by a defender.

Eustaquio’s angled shot was simply broad within the sixty fourth minute.

CF Montreal midfielder Ismael Kone, 19, made his Canadian debut off the bench in 79th minute.

Davies took to Twitter to voice his assist earlier than the sport,

“Good luck to my teammates tonight. Let’s handle enterprise this week and make historical past. Want I may very well be there with you guys. LETS GO!!” mentioned the Bayern Munich speedster, who’s working his manner again from myocarditis after a bout of COVID-19.

“Good luck tonight boys! Huge alternative, the whole nation is behind you,” tweeted Canada ladies’s captain Christine Sinclair, who has performed at 5 World Cups.

Canada has been to seven of eight ladies’s World Cups, lacking out solely on the inaugural occasion in 1991. The ladies completed fourth on the 2003 match within the U.S.

The Canadian males downed Costa Rica 1-0 when the groups met in a November qualifier in Edmonton and 2-0 after they met final July within the Gold Cup quarterfinal in Arlington, Texas.

The Canadians had been 7-7-9 all-time in opposition to Costa Rica previous to Thursday’s matchup, together with 2-2-2 in video games on Costa Rican soil.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed March 24, 2022