FT: CanMNT 4-0 Martinique

Full-time: Not always perfect, but a strong second half sees Canada win convincingly 4-0. Jonathan David was excellent in this match, there are going to be a lot of teams interested in his services. Milan Borjan bailed out Canada at times as well, and there are questions with the backline, but overall a solid performance.

68’ - GOAL CANADA! Oh the floodgates have opened now. It’s a brilliant team goal this time as a number of quick and decisive passes result in Scott Arfield finding the back of the net. 4-0.

62’ - GOAL CANADA! Alphonso Davies is starting to take over this game. An incredible ball finds Junior Hoilett at the back post to put Canada up 3-0. Hoilett will now be replaced by Lucas Cavallini. Jonathan David will move out wide.

53’ - GOAL CANADA! A better start to the second half from Canada who are exploiting the high line being played by Martinique. Jonathan David beats an offside trap for his second of the match after latching onto a great ball from Samuel Piette.

Half-time: Some really good moments for Canada in attack, but just as many concerning moments at the back. This was certainly not the way this team would have wanted to start this tournament. Mark-Anthony Kaye has been excellent in attack down the left, but he has been exploited to some degree defensively. Canada’s best moments came when they settled down for a good stretch after scoring, but otherwise it has been nervy and uneven. Need to regroup here and have a much better second half.

43 - Canada coming very close to conceding twice. The second time Milan Borjan is forced to make a good save. The Atiba Hutchinson at centreback experiment does not look like it is going very well for Canada. Hopefully Doneil Henry is just being rested and is not still injured.

32’ - Goal Canada! Jonathan David scores his first goal at a major tournament for Canada. The youngster capitalizes on a mistake from the Martinique backline and calmly slots home. It hasn’t been the best game for him at central forward, he has struggled to influence it in a big way but he’s got his goal now.

15’ - Bit of a shaky start for Canada. Davies has certainly caused all sorts of issues for Martinique, and been hacked down accordingly. However, it was Martinique who have had the best chance of the game so far and really should have scored.

1’ - Canada on the attack immediately. Kaye has a shot off target after some good work by Alphonso Davies down his right flank.

Canada Lineup: Borjan; Godinho, Hutchinson, Cornelius, Kaye; Arfield, Piette, Osorio; Davies, David, Hoilett

Looks like Jonathan David will lead the line for Canada tonight against Martinique. Perhaps Lucas Cavallini and Doneil Henry having their minutes managed ahead of a big game against Mexico on Wednesday. Godinho is a bit of a surprise at right back over Brault-Guillard but Canada likely to have plenty of squad rotation throughout the group stage given their travel schedule. Hutchinson looks to be starting at CB.

To cap off today’s jam-packed schedule of Canadian soccer, the men’s national team are set to open the CONCACAF Gold Cup against Martinique.

This is Canada’s first major tournament under John Herdman, who has inherited a talented (and very young) squad that has yet to be truly tested. Although some of the youngsters, Alphonso Davies in particular, have represented Canada at big competitions in the past (including the 2017 Gold Cup), others, like Jonathan David, are much newer to the senior national team setup.

Tonight’s foe, Martinique, may not raise the alarm much on paper, but seasoned CanMNT fans will remember them as the side that beat Canada 1-0 in the opening match of a disastrous 2013 Gold Cup. Ironically, the two sides meet again tonight in the same venue — Pasadena’s Rose Bowl.

The tiny French island has a population smaller than London, Ontario, but it has a few experienced players in the lineup. Defender Jordy Delem was a member of the 2013 Martinique squad, and now he plays for the Seattle Sounders.

Their greatest attacking threat at the moment goes by the name of Kevin Parsemain, who has 34 international goals in 52 caps, making him the country’s all-time leading scorer.

So, Canada certainly has some demons to exorcise tonight before they go on to play Mexico next in Group A.

We expect Canada to line up in a 4-3-3, similar to how they played against Trinidad in last Monday’s friendly. One major question mark will be the health of centre-back Doneil Henry; if he can’t play, there’s a domino effect in the squad as Atiba Hutchinson could be pushed into the backline.

Expect to see Alphonso Davies in the front three, likely with Lucas Cavallini and either Junior Hoilett or Jonathan David. In terms of Toronto FC contribution, Jonathan Osorio will likely start in midfield.

How to Watch

Match date/time: Saturday, June 15, 7:30 p.m. ET

TV channel: TSN 3, RDS 2 (French), Fox Sports 2

Live stream: TSN GO, RDS GO