That’s Canada’s mindset at the CONCACAF Nations League Finals. And John Herdman’s team is halfway to its goal after Thursday’s 2-0 semifinal win over Panama in Las Vegas.
“We deserved the win but we didn’t win nothing yet,” said defender Steven Vitoria. “A giant step to where we want to go to.”
Goals by Jonathan David and Alphonso Davies moved the Canadian men to within one win of their first trophy in 23 years. Canada, ranked 47th in the world, will play either the 13th-ranked U.S. or No. 15 Mexico in Sunday’s final with a winner’s purse of some $1 million US on the line.
Davies’ powerful shot sends Canada to CONCACAF Nations League final
Alphonso Davies scores with an absolute rocket and seals Canada’s 2-0 victory over Panama in CONCACAF Nations League semifinal play.
The Canadians are looking for their first hardware since lifting the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2000.
“We took a step tonight but it means nothing unless you win it [the final],” said Herdman. “We got to a semifinal of a Gold Cup [in 2021] and I just remember that disappointment (Mexico scored in stoppage time for a 2-1 win) … We played like six games to get there and, yeah, it hurt.”
“We’ve got some work to do,” he added. “We’ve got two days to get this team recovered. They’re pretty beat up listening to them. It’s going to be a hell of a ride.”
David put Canada ahead in the 25th minute, thanks to a perfect pass from Kamal Miller that sliced open the Panama defence. David saw the opening and pointed to where he wanted the ball as he ran towards space.
Miller delivered and the ball arrived at David’s feet. Not missing a stride, the Lille striker coolly slotted it between Panama goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera’s legs for his 25th goal in 41 Canada matches.
Canada’s David, Miller connect for beautiful opening goal against Panama
Kamal Miller sends a perfect pass to Jonathan David who nutmegs the goalkeeper in the 25th minute of CONCACAF Nations League semifinal play. Canada went on to defeat Panama 2-0 to advance to Sunday’s final
Minutes after entering the game, Davies made it 2-0 in the 69th minute, slicing into the box and roofing a powerful shot at the near post for his 14th Canada goal in 40 appearances. The Bayern Munich star was a danger man throughout his cameo, outpacing Panama defenders.
“They’re next level,” Herdman said of David and Davies. “They made a difference tonight.”
They were the first goals Panama, ranked 58th in the world, had conceded in the competition.
“That’s the match we wanted,” said Herdman. “You need a match like that where it’s going to test you mentally, emotionally, physically. And there were moments there where I think Panama was taking us into some deep water. There were some tough moments for us. They were really physical.”
And occasionally dirty.
Tempers flared as the clock wound down and Panama was reduced to 10 men in the 89th minute when substitute Eric Davis was sent off for violent conduct. Costa Rican referee Juan Gabriel Calderon made the call after reviewing the play on the pitchside monitor and seeing Davis, chasing Richie Laryea, hitting the back of the Canadian’s head with his arm.
The Canada-Panama contest was the opener of a doubleheader at Allegiant Stadium, the 65,000-capacity climate-controlled home of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders. The stadium, which cost a reported $1.9 billion, boasts 2,300 TVs and almost 7,000 square metres of video board.
Goalkeeper Milan Borjan, earning his 74th cap, captained Canada with 40-year-old Atiba Hutchinson starting on the bench alongside Davies, whose season in Germany ended prematurely due to a thigh injury suffered in a game on April 22.
Borjan recorded his 34th shutout in Canadian colours.
Hutchinson earns 104th cap, extending record
Davies and Jonathan Osorio came on in the 62nd minute. Scott Kennedy followed them on in the 69th minute, with Hutchinson and Junior Hoilett arriving in the 76th minute as Herdman looked to rest players ahead of Sunday.
For Hutchinson, it was cap No. 104, adding to his Canadian men’s record.
Embracing every minute ????❤️<br><br>Atiba Hutchinson subs on for <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/CANMNT?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#CANMNT</a>! <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeCAN?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#WeCAN</a> <a href=”https://t.co/UbYqurfZOp”>pic.twitter.com/UbYqurfZOp</a>
“We scored first, that’s critical in football. And then we protected,” said Herdman. “We protected what we had.”
“We knew they’d be vulnerable on the transition and definitely we knew we had something a bit special coming in the 60th minute,” he added with a smile, referencing Davies’s entry onto the game.
Seven of Thursday’s starters were also in the starting 11 for Canada’s final World Cup game against Morocco in Qatar. Of the four other starters Thursday, three were on the bench against Morocco with midfielder Stephen Eustaquio nursing an injury in the World Cup group finale.
Calderon let them play, making for a fast tempo first half. Canada’s speed and accurate passing made life difficult for the Panamanians.
Alphonso Davies celebrates his goal against Panama on Thursday night at Allegiant Stadium. (Candice Ward/Getty Images)
The second half was a little choppier.
Canada came into the game having played just twice since the World Cup, wrapping up Nations League group play in March by defeating No. 80 Honduras 4-1 and No. 88 Curaçao 2-0.
The 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). The four group winners in League A advanced to the final four.
Canada (3-1-0) won Group C in the League A of the Nations League while Panama (3-0-1) finished atop Group B, outscoring No. 39 Costa Rica and unranked Martinique by a combined 8-0. Panama defeated Costa Rica 1-0 with a 77th-minute goal by Jose Fajardo to decide first place in the final group game.
Mexico (2-0-2) topped Group A, while the U.S. (3-0-1) won Group D.
Canada advances to CONCACAF Nations League semifinals with win over Honduras
Cyle Larin scores two early goals and Canada goes on to defeat Honduras 4-1 in CONCACAF Nations League group play. The Canadian squad will play in the tournament’s final four in Las Vegas in June.
Canada improved to 5-2-6 against Panama, which won 1-0 the last time they met. That was in March 2022 in Canada’s final World Cup qualifying game, which came four days after the Canadian men had secured their place in Qatar.
Panama missed out on Qatar, finishing fifth in the final round of World Cup qualifying in CONCACAF.
After the Nations League, the Canadians turn their attention to the Gold Cup. Canada opens Group D play against a yet-to-be-determined qualifier in Toronto on June 27 before heading to Houston to play No. 116 Guatemala and No. 165 Cuba.
The Americans won the first edition of the CONCACAF Nations League in 2021, defeating Mexico 3-2 on Christian Pulisic’s penalty in extra time in Denver. Honduras was third and Costa Rica fourth.
Canada missed out on the inaugural final four, finishing runner-up to the U.S. in its group on goal difference.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.
The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.
He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.
The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.
Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.
“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”
Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.
Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.
The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.
In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.
Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.
Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.
Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.
It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.
Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.
FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.
“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
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