By Canadian Press

Canadian men dispatch Curaçao 2-0 in first outing since World Cup in Qatar

Mar 25, 2023 | 9:12 PM

WILLEMSTAD, Curaçao — First-half goals by Jonathan David and Cyle Larin lifted Canada — in its first outing since the World Cup in Qatar — to a 2-0 win over Curaçao in CONCACAF Nations League play Saturday night.

Curaçao was reduced to 10 men in the 37th minute after defender Jurien Gaaru was issued a second yellow card by Costa Rican referee Juan Gabriel Calderon for fouling Ismael Kone. Gaaru and Canadian Richie Laryea were both shown yellows in the 13th minute for tangling in advance of a free kick.

The Canadian men had several chances to add to their lead but were unable to convert. Still the outcome was never in doubt once they went ahead.

The win moved Canada (2-1-0) into top spot in League A’s Group C, above Honduras (2-1-0) on goal difference. The two teams meet Tuesday at Toronto’s BMO Field where a draw or win means Canada wins the group and advances to the June final four in Las Vegas.

Saturday’s result also secured No. 53 Canada and No. 81 Honduras berths in this summer’s Gold Cup by virtue of a top-two finish in the group. No. 86 Curaçao (1-3-0) will be relegated to League B after finishing third in the pool.

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It was 26 Celsius at kickoff at Ergilio Hato Stadium in the Curaçao capital. And it took the Canadians a bit to get going on the artificial turf.

David put Canada ahead in the 23rd minute after a period of prolonged Canadian possession. Laryea played provider, sending a perfect pass through a sea of defenders into the Curaçao penalty box, allowing David to redirect the ball past Columbus Crew goalkeeper Eloy Room.

It was David’s 23rd goal in 39 appearances for Canada. Alphonso Davies played his part in the goal, drawing the defence with an overlapping run on the right of Laryea.

Larin doubled the lead in the 43rd minute, taking a pass from David in space in the penalty box and sending a perfectly placed shot past a diving Room for his Canadian men’s record 26th goal in 59 appearances.

Found unmarked in the Curaçao penalty box, Davies had a good chance to make in 3-0 in the 53rd minute but squibbed his shot high.

Curaçao created a couple of chances during the game but lacked clinical finishing. Captain Cuco Martina had a clear shot in the 58th minute but sent it right at goalkeeper Milan Borjan.

Moments later, Room beat Larin to the ball to extinguish another Canada attack. Room stopped Davies again in the 60th minute.

Davies and Larin exited soon after, likely to save them for Tuesday’s contest.

Atiba Hutchinson came on in the 70th minute to earn cap No. 102, adding to his Canadian men’s record. The 40-year-old midfielder has seen limited action this season with Turkey’s Besiktas.

Winger Tajon Buchan, who arrived in camp with a minor injury suffered with Belgium’s Club Brugge, came on in the 78th minute for Canada. Substitute Charles-Andreas Brym sent a header high in the 80th minute.

Saturday’s game was the first for the Canadian men since Dec. 1 when they wrapped up World Cup play in a 2-1 loss to No. 11 Morocco.

Canada coach John Herdman was not on the sidelines, however. Herdman was watching from elsewhere, after being red-carded in a raucous ending to a game in Honduras last June.

Defender Alistair Johnston was also suspended, ending his Canadian men’s record of 31 straight games, after getting two yellow cards in Honduras.

Assistant coaches Mauro Biello and Eric Tenllado manned the Canadian sideline.

Borjan captained Canada, behind a backline of Steven Vitoria, Derek Cornelius and Scott Kennedy. Laryea and Davies served as wingbacks with Jonathan Osorio, Stephen Eustaquio and Kone in midfield behind Larin and David, who have been in fine scoring form for Spain’s Real Valladolid and France’s Lille, respectively.

Toronto FC’s Laryea and Osorio were the only MLS players in Canada’s starting 11.

Five of the Curaçao starters play in the Netherlands with two in England, two in Turkey, one in Romania and one in MLS.

The Canadian men blanked Curaçao 4-0 last June at B.C. Place Stadium with Davies, a former Whitecap playing his first game in Vancouver since October 2018, scored twice.

Canada won the only other meeting with Curaçao, a 2-1 decision in Montreal in June 2017. That game marked Davies’ debut, becoming the youngest player in Canadian men’s history at 16 years, seven months and 11 days.

Dutch-born Remko Bicentini, in his second stint as Curaçao coach, spent six months with the Canadian team as a technical assistant in 2021 before taking charge of Curaçao again last August.

Bicentini and Curaçao take on World Cup champion Argentina in a friendly Tuesday at Santiago del Estero.

The CONCACAF Nations League features 41 teams from North and Central America and the Caribbean split into three tiers: League A (12 teams), B (16) and C (13).

Canada blanked Curaçao and lost 2-1 to Honduras in San Pedro Sula last June. Those matches came amid turmoil in the Canada camp, with players refusing to take part in a planned friendly against Panama over ongoing labour talks.

Canada missed out on the final four in the inaugural 2019-20 edition of the CONCACAF Nations League, finishing runner-up to the eventual champion U.S. in its group on goal difference.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 25, 2023.

The Canadian Press