Young star on target as Canada advances at Gold Cup
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Canada coach John Herdman is happy to see the back of Haiti. But now the degree of difficulty increases for Canada at the Gold Cup.
The Canadian men dispatched a COVIDdepleted, but determined, Haitian side 4-1 Thursday, all but securing a berth in the CONCACAF championship quarterfinals.
The U.S. defeated Martinique 6-1, Thursday, ensuring both North American clubs advance to the knockout round ahead of their match Sunday to decide who finishes atop Group B.
It marks the first time in 15 trips to the tournament that Canada has qualified for the next round with one match remaining.
Cyle Larin scored twice, giving Canada some breathing room and a 3-1 lead from the penalty spot in the 74th minute after video review confirmed substitute Richie Laryea had indeed been taken down. It was Larin’s 18th goal for Canada and his fifth in his last four games. The Besiktas forward now has 10 goals in eight matches for Canada in 2021 — a single-year Canadian scoring record.
Stephen Eustaquio and Junior Hoilett, with a 79th minute penalty, also scored for Canada.
Herdman liked his team’s resilience on the night, but acknowledged the performance had been “loose” at times.
“The guys started to look like they were fatiguing a bit. … It wasn’t as crisp, it wasn’t as sharp as I’d expect,” he said. “While I thought there was some good individual performances, collectively there was a lot of a areas where we can keep growing in.”
Dealing with COVID-19, Haiti dressed just 14 players including three substitutes, one of whom was the reserve goalkeeper. The Haitians had dressed 17 Sunday in its 1-0 loss to the U.S. after five players and one assistant coach returned positive test results.
Coach Jean-Jacques Pierre said Wednesday that two more players were unavailable. But it turned out to be three.
“It’s been very stressful,” said Derrick Etienne Jr., a midfielder with the Columbus Crew. “Testing every day in the morning, to be here. Losing guys.”
Those missing for Haiti included leading scorers Frantzdy Pierrot and Duckens Nazon. Canada, meanwhile, had a well-stocked bench with 10 substitutes.
Still, as Herdman had predicted, Haiti proved to be a handful. They came on late in the first half after going down a goal and scored themselves after falling 2-0 behind early in the second half.
“It’s football and with Haiti, they’re never going away,” said Herdman. “They always find a way through their athleticism and their spirit just to keep fighting. They’re a hard team. I’m just pleased we don’t have to play them again for another few years.”
The 70th-ranked Canadian men defeated No. 83 Haiti 4-0 on aggregate when they met in a two-legged CONCACAF World Cup qualifying series last month.
Canada improved its record in 2021 to 8-0-0, outscoring its opposition 39-3. It will face its toughest test to date Sunday against the 20thranked Americans. All of Canada’s group matches are at Children’s Mercy Park, which suffered a power outage briefly Thursday.
Canada is now 10-2-2 all-time against Haiti, with one of the losses a 3-2 defeat in the 2019 Gold Cup quarterfinals — a game that saw the Canadians blow a 2-0 lead.