Canada moves closer to World Cup
SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras —
Canada continues its march to Qatar 2022, showing off an array of talent along the way.
The Canadian men put on what coach John Herdman called a “professional performance” in a 2-0 victory over Honduras in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying play Thursday.
“It was never going to be a pretty match for us, but it had to be disciplined,” he said. “That [Honduran] team has massive threats, transitional threats. But we also knew we could be really dangerous in the transition. I thought that’s where we were clinical tonight.
“We bent a little bit, but we didn’t break. And that’s the identity of this team.”
The win kept Canada (5-0-4, 19 points) atop the eight-team qualifying standings although secondplace U.S. (5-1-3, 18 points) and third-place Mexico (5-2-2, 17 points) kept pace with victories of their own. With fourth-place Panama losing in Costa Rica, the top three are beginning to put some distance between them and the rest of the field, which bodes well for World Cup qualification.
The 40th-ranked Canadians can stretch that lead when they face the Americans in a top-of-the-table tilt Sunday at Hamilton’s Tim Hortons Field. Canada will then make the 3,400-kilometre trip to San Salvador to face El Salvador next Wednesday.
Canada went ahead in the 10th minute on a Honduran own goal, looked comfortable through the first half and held off the Hondurans in the second half as the home side showed more on offence.
After a huge save by Milan Borjan midway through the second half maintained Canada’s lead, Jonathan David delivered the coup de grace on a remarkable rapid-fire transition goal in the 73rd minute.
After Honduras lost possession on the edge of the Canadian box, thanks to some well-timed thievery by Tajon Buchanan, Sam Adekugbe slipped the ball to nearby Liam Fraser, who found David on the Honduras edge of the centre circle behind two defenders with a perfectly measured 40-yard ball.
Without missing a step, David angled his chest to control the ball, then headed it forward and chipped the keeper with his left foot. Three beautiful touches at full speed produced his 19th goal in 25 matches for Canada.
The 22-year-old from Ottawa continues to put himself in the shop window, with several big English Premier League clubs watching him closely for the summer transfer window.