Hamilton, Canada Jan 31 (BUS): Canada beat early and again late to beat the men’s national team 2-0 on Sunday to remain undefeated and boost their lead in the final round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers.
Canada combined a kick from American goalkeeper Matt Turner in the seventh minute, and Jonathan David made off Kyle Larrain, who sped forward and fired past Turner’s diving goal, sending the crowd at Tim Hortons Field into a frenzy.
Sam Adekogobe added a second deep in stoppage time in the second half to wrap up Canada’s win.
“The guys have fed me the ball, and Jonathan on top helps me a lot,” said Larrain, who became Canada’s all-time leading scorer with 23 goals.
“We are a close team. We are brothers.”
Canada leads the standings with 22 points, while the United States is second with 18 and Mexico, which plays Costa Rica later on Sunday, is third with 17 points in the eight-team group.
Coming behind, USA looked like they were going to level when Christian Pulisic’s corner kick found Weston McKinney’s header, but Canada goalkeeper Milan Burgan jumped to shoot the ball wide, striking his chest victoriously after blocking the ball.
After a choppy first half, USMNT had more life in the second half, especially after coach Greg Berhalter sent in Kylian Acosta, Ricardo Pepe and Jordan Morris in the 69th minute.
The USA ramped up the pressure and had another excellent opportunity to score, but Paul Areola’s bicycle kick from inside the penalty area about three minutes before kickoff was just wide.
Adekogbe then scored off the counter in the fifth minute of stoppage time to seal Canada’s win on a cold day in Ontario.
“It means everything,” Canada coach John Herdman said of the win.
“For these boys, for these fans, for this country. We are turning into a football country.”
After the game, Berhalter had a positive impact on his team’s efforts as they look to host Honduras in St. Paul, Minnesota on Wednesday, while Canada travels to El Salvador.
“It was a game where you wouldn’t expect to lose that game with that performance,” Berhalter said.
“So for us we say, put it aside, it’s over. Turn the page, now it’s about Honduras.”
The top three teams in the group will automatically qualify for the World Cup, which begins in Qatar in late November.