Group A fit to be tied
Goal by 16-year-old helps Canada draw against Costa Rica
Alphonso Davies’ Gold Cup show continued, but this time it lost just a little bit of its luster.
Davies, the 16-year-old who became the youngest player to score for Canada in last week’s group stage opener, scored again early on Tuesday night to give his team the lead in an eventual 1-1 draw against Costa Rica at BBVA Compass Stadium.
Davies is a Vancouver Whitecaps FC Homegrown Player. He has appeared in 21 matches with eight starts in 2016 and 2017. He does not have any goals or assists for Vancouver but now has three goals for Canada.
His goal Tuesday helped the Canucks earn a valuable point against one of CONCACAF’s three heavyweights. Costa Rica scored the equalizer in the 42nd minute on a corner kick header by Francisco Calvo.
Calvo’s header was the only one of 14 Costa Rica shots on target that got past Canada goalkeeper Milan Borjan.
“We grinded out a result,” Canada coach Octavio Zambrano said. “Sometimes you have to do that, especially in a competition of this caliber. … In the end, we got a point. We’re in first place in our group. You can’t help but congratulate our players for their effort. They really put everything out there.”
Canada and Costa Rica remain tied atop Group A on four points with one game remaining. They’ll play their group stage finale Friday night in Frisco.
Eligibility mix-up
Because of a bizarre decision made by French Guiana, the second game of Tuesday’s doubleheader began under curious circumstances.
Florent Malouda, a 37-year-old who has played in the FIFA World Cup final for France, started for French Guiana against Honduras despite the fact he is ineligible to play in the tournament.
Malouda is cap-tied to France in FIFA competition. CONCACAF uses FIFA eligibility rules for the Gold Cup, meaning Malouda is not allowed to play for another country even though French Guiana is not an official FIFA member.
The matched finished in a 0-0 tie, but the CONCACAF Disciplinary Committee could still decide that French Guiana must forfeit the match and award Honduras with a 3-0 win or greater.
Zambrano, who led Canada to a 4-2 win over French Guiana on Friday, said he had no opinion about French Guiana’s decision or a potential disciplinary ruling. Canada will face Honduras on Friday.
“It is difficult for me to comment without knowing the intricacies of what is going on,” Zambrano said. “People make decisions of their own volition. They have their reasons. I can’t worry about that. I have to worry about Honduras. That all that is in my mind right now. I’m sure they will sort it out at the CONCACAF level, and things will happen, I guess.”
Caught them napping
In addition to worrying about Honduras, Zambrano can celebrate bringing Canada to a competitive level within the region. The Canucks had not scored in their previous six Gold Cup games dating back to 2013. They have five in two games in the current edition.
Their latest came from their youngest player, Davies.
Davies caught Costa Rica right back Christian Gamboa napping and ran past him in the penalty area. Davies got on the end of Scott Arfield’s low cross and hit a calm finish past goalkeeper Patrick Pemberton.
Tuesday’s result is especially satisfying for Canada because it came against one of the region’s strongest sides, with Costa Rica currently second in the World Cup qualifying standings.