FT: Canada 1-4 USA—Concacaf Nations League match thread

Match Thread

FT: Canada 1 - 4 USA. Canada got it wrong tonight, but credit to the Americans who punished the Canadian mistakes. That was a statement win.

90’—GOAL! 4-1 USA. Zardes finds the back of the net after a bouncing ball finds the American striker in the box who makes no mistake.

88’—Jonathan Osorio with a half chance. Can’t get his shot away after a bit of indecisiveness.

84’— Alphonso Davies finally is able to attack his defender off the dribble. Ends up creating a half chance by himself through four or five defenders.

78’—Laryea goes down in the box again. Seems like he may have threw himself down there, but he’s creating contact and chances for sure. Canada starting to show life.

76’— Serious chance for Canada as everyone seemed to stop in the U.S. box for a foul, but Corneilius continued and his cross goes across the face of goal.

73’—GOAL! Canada! 1-3. Steven Vitoria gets in at the far post off the corner! Is there a chance!?

67’— Ugly challenge from Junior Hoilett moments after checking into the game. Yellow card. This match could get very chippy.

62’— Cavallini checks out of the match... a virtually invisible hour, aside from a few glaring poor touches. Definitely a rough outing. He was part of the reason that Alphonso Davies started at LB. Stephen Eustaquio will play his first game for Canada

55’— U.S. miss a sitter. Lletget puts one from the penalty spot high and wide.

46’—We’re back. No changes for either side. It can’t get worse than that, right?

HT—USA 3 - 0 Canada. That was definitely not the half most were expecting... how do the Reds turn it around?

44’— Yellow card to Borjan. Canadians starting to lose their heads now.

43’— Is this house league? Davies flicks the ball up to himself intentionally to head it back to Borjan, who picks it up. Yellow card. Indirect FK from 2 yards out.

34’— GOAL! USA 3-0 Canada. Long gets up off the a FK... really poor defending once again from Canada. This is embarrassing now.

32’— Cavallini having a really tough one this evening. He’s second to every ball so far. They need to create something up top and he isn’t holding the ball up well enough.

27’— Davies now playing as a right back. Let’s see if they sparks something for Canada, who aren’t playing poorly. But they can’t be so sloppy at the back. I think they got their tactics wrong so far.

24’—GOAL! USA 2-0 Canada. Zardes scores off a cross from Jordan Morris. Herdman’s decision to play two attacking fullbacks is backfiring right now as the U.S. exploits space down the right flank behind Alphonso Davies before switching to the left flank to find the back of the net.

22’—Was that a foul at the top of the U.S. box!? Arfield looked like he knew what he was doing, but it definitely did seem like there was contact. Tough to say.

20’— We hear you CANADIAN FANS! S/O to those in Orlando tonight, audio coming through on the OneSoccer feed.

17’—Good strike from Arfield from about 30-yards out off the FK. Low and hard, the ball almost skips over U.S. GK Brad Guzan, who in the end, saves comfortably.

15’—Davies swinging a few effective balls into the box (he was seen practicing his crosses in warmups), but he is still giving up something defensively right now.

11’—Mark-Anthony Kaye struggling earlier on for Canada. He’s given the ball away a numerous amount of times in crucial areas of the park.

9’—Cavallini goes into the book after a two-footed challenge. The Americans weren’t happy about that one

6’— I don’t like the way Davies looks at LB so far. Not that he’s playing that bad, but he’s at his best for this Canadian side when he’s up front. It seems like he’s forcing it a bit right now because he isn’t see the ball as often. Your best player can’t be a LB, can it?

2’—GOAL! USA 1-0 Canada. Jordan Morris scores for the U.S.. off a scrambled corner. Not an ideal start for the Reds...

1’— We’re off! Canada vs. USA. The rivalry we live for. Can the Reds get a victory on American soil for the first time in 62 years?

7:07 p.m.— Canada’s lineup on paper > U.S.’s lineup. You LOVE to see it.

7:03 p.m.— National Anthems. This one will get underway in about five minutes.

7:01 p.m.—The U.S. are taking this game personally. It’s about time.

6:53 p.m.—John Herdman earned a lot of credit for last month’s win over the U.S., and rightfully so. He constantly carries himself with a cool and collected demeanour and will downplay situations at times, but I was in te locker room with Herdman and his family after the win at BMO Field, and I can tell you that this match means something to him. He was ecstatic to say the least.

6:47 p.m.—Jonathan Osorio and Richie Laryea are your two Toronto FC starters tonight for Canada, while Liam Fraser is on the bench. Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore are out for the Americans with injuries.

6:42 p.m.—Alphonso Davies will start at LB tonight for Canada as Lucas Cavallini draws into the squad up front. He’s been great when asked to play there with Bayern, and perhaps a sign that Herdman smells some blood. Does he expect his team to dominate?

6:30 p.m. EST— About 30 minutes or so away from kickoff! A month ago today, Canada made history defeating the Americans for the first time in 34 years. Can they recreate some of that magic... this time on U.S. soil? Where is everyone watching the match from tonight?

---

Starting XI

Cavallini and Henry are the only changes that John Herdman will make to his side that defeated the U.S. at BMO Field a month ago today.

The U.S., meanwhile, will put out quite a different side than the one we saw last time out. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing remains to be seen.

---

Preview (by Brady Reid)

One month ago in Toronto, Canada made history at BMO field defeating the Americans 2-0 for the first time in 34 years.

This Friday night, it’s round two between the US and Canada, this time on American soil at Exploria Stadium in Orlando.

For Canada, this is their final match in Group A of the Concacaf Nations League and a draw would bring them to ten points, good enough to lock up first place in the group.

Conversely, The US side have just three points in two group games played and as a result will need to get their revenge over their neighbours from the North Friday night. If Gregg Berhalter’s squad manage to win against the Canadians, they will still require a lopsided result over Cuba next Tuesday if they have any hopes of winning Group A.

For head coach John Herdman and his Canada side, the squad is once again stronger than ever and features each member of the starting XI that faced the US last month. The two biggest decisions for Herdman could regard the use of Toronto FC youngster Liam Fraser as well as who his CB pairing will consist of.

After Mark-Anthony Kaye limped off just five minutes in at BMO Field last time out between these two teams, Fraser played 85+ minutes off the bench for his Senior International debut. Under the familiar big lights of BMO, Fraser shined against the Americans and his club teammate Michael Bradley. While Kaye is likely to play now that he is back to being fit, Herdman will surely keep Fraser’s performance in the back of his mind when he fills out his team sheet on Friday.

Defender Doneil Henry, meanwhile, will be available for selection this time around after missing out on the last match against the US through suspension. Expectations are that Henry will slide into the starting XI, likely in place of his Vancouver Whitecaps teammate Derek Cornelius.

For the Americans, injuries have plagued the current crop of available players for their pair of Nations League fixtures. To name a few, the Americans will be without the services of Christian Pulisic, Michael Bradley, and starting keeper Zack Steffen.

More information on the American roster can be found here.

Ahead of this pivotal match in Group A, Canada’s head coach insists the names on the opposing roster isn’t changing the approach for his group.

“It just doesn’t matter” said Herdman on the US camp’s omissions. “You know, in some ways you wish those players (Pulisic and co.) were there. But for us it just doesn’t matter, we’re clear... the whistle will blow and our mindset will be there regardless of who’s in front of us.”

Rather than being satisfied with last month’s result, it’s clear this Canadian group is hoping to ride the high of their historic victory into Friday night.

Getting a result away against the Americans hasn’t exactly been common ground for Canada over the years. To find the last time Canada beat the US in America, you’ll have to go back 62 years to July 6, 1957 in St. Louis when Canada won 3-2 on the day.

For this crop of Canadian players, the history of this fixture will simply be added motivation as they continue to rewrite the narrative on soccer in this country.

Additional Notes:

• Jonathan David has 11 goals in his 11 career appearances for Canada. At only 19 years old, David could move into a tie for seventh place on the all-time goals list for Canada if he were to score against the US.
• Dominick Zator became the third CPL player named to a Canadian Men’s National roster with his selection for this match. If Zator were to feature against the US, he would become the first active CPL player to play minutes for the National team.

---

Have you ever wondered what WTR does leading up to these massive matches? Jeffrey P. Nesker has you covered with his video recapping last month’s historic win over the U.S. at BMO Field. Take a look below.

---

How to Watch:

This match will be televised across Canada, or you can stream it with OneSoccer