Canada’s win over U.S. puts Reds closer to Hex, and a spot in World Cup
Tosaint Ricketts has played in all the obscure far-flung soccer destinations: Finland, France, Romania, Israel, Lithuania ... even Toronto. He’s been there, done that and seen it all in his decades-long career.
But there was one thing that he’d never witnessed before in his 32 years on this earth: Canada beating the U.S. in a senior team match.
Tuesday’s 2-0 CONCACAF Nations League win over the U.S. at BMO Field in Toronto marked the first victory over our southern neighbours since a 2-0 triumph at B.C. Place Stadium in 1985. Canada had gone 0-9-8 in between.
“It was amazing. To see the guys, go out there in front of the home crowd and put on a performance like they did … it was inspiring,” said Ricketts. “Canada was by far the better team. They showed not only they were better, but had more desire. To make that history and break that losing trend to USA, and get that one-up on them, it’s amazing. I was so excited to see it.
“This win … was definitely special. It’s big for Canadian supporters, it’s big for the game, it’s big for the youth … it’s huge all around. I’m just happy to see the growth.”
Alphonso Davies scored the winner on Tuesday — where Canada is now 10-0-5 since 2011, with seven shutouts in a row and just one goal against in its last 14 matches — while Lucas Cavallini added a 91st-minute injury-time dagger. Canada will now jump above El Salvador in the FIFA rankings, to somewhere in the low 70s globally, but most importantly become the sixth-ranked team in CONCACAF.
That means, for the first time since 1998, they would qualify for the Hex, the six-team World Cup qualifying tournament. The top three teams at the Hex make the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. A win or a tie against the U.S. in Orlando, Fla., on Nov. 15 would allow Canada to clinch a spot in the Hex.
A loss would mean El Salvador, Curacao or Panama — the latter two ranked just behind Canada globally heading into the game — could still catch the Reds.