A year after appearing in the World Cup for the first time in 36 years, the Canadian men took a step backwards Tuesday in a shocking second-half collapse against Jamaica in the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal.
Canada lost 3-2 on the night with Jamaica winning the series on the away goals rule with the aggregate score knotted at 4-4.
A win and Canada would have earned a berth in the Nations League final four and, more importantly, a berth in next year’s Copa America. Now the Canadians are out of the CONCACAF tournament and will have to win a play-in match March 23 in Frisco, Texas, to make the South American championship with no prospect of getting the full team together until then.
“Massive disappointment, for sure,” said Mauro Biello, Canada’s interim coach.
“For us, there’s no excuse for some of the performances in the second half. We shot ourselves in the foot,” he added.
Jamaica eliminates Canada from Concacaf Nations League in the quarterfinals
Featured Video3 away goals by Jamaica including a penalty kick by Bobby De Cordova-Reid is the difference as Canada falls 3-2 in Toronto, and does not advance in Concacaf Nations League play.
The 45th-ranked Canadian men went into the return leg with a 2-1 lead over the 55th-ranked Jamaicans from Saturday’s rain-delayed win in Kingston, Jamaica. And they upped the aggregate lead to 3-1 in the 25th minute on an Alphonso Davies goal, to the delight of the announced crowd of 17,588 at BMO Field.
The Reggae Boyz turned the series on its head in a wild second half, defeating Canada on a controversial late penalty that capped a three-goal comeback.
“We’ve got to sit down all together, look each other in the eyes and see what went wrong. Because this is unacceptable,” said Canada goalkeeper Milan Borjan. “This team, to have players like that, to do something like this, it’s not acceptable.
“I’m very very angry. As a captain, I’m sorry to the nation that we didn’t go to the [Nations League] semis but we have another chance in March for the Copa America and we’ll try to do everything to bounce back and try to make our nation happy.”
Jamaica’s Reid, left, celebrates with goalkeeper Andre Blake. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press)
‘Harsh call’
Ismael Kone scored in the 69th minute to put Canada ahead after Jamaica pulled even on aggregate on Shamar Nicholson goals in the 63rd and 66th minute.
Mexican referee Cesar Ramos then pointed to the penalty spot in the 75th minute after the ball hit Stephen Eustaquio’s arm. It seemed a harsh call with the Canadian midfielder trying to get his arm down to his side to avoid contact.
The ruling survived video review and Bobby Reid slotted the penalty home in the 78th minute.
Seven minutes later, Jamaica’s Demarai Gray was sent off for a second yellow card, adding to the drama. The Jamaicans held on for nine minutes of stoppage time.
The Jamaican defence had trouble all evening containing Canada’s strike force of Davies, Jonathan David, Cyle Larin and Tajon Buchanan. But the Reggae Boyz’ attack found its teeth in the second half, with defender Damion Lowe proving to be a destructive force after moving into the midfield.
Davies, right, tries to evade Jamaica’s Damion Lowe during the first half. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press)
Davies opened the scoring by capping a rapid-fire counterattack.
Kone drove up the field and found Richie Laryea on the left with a pass that hit a defender but still found its target. Laryea sent the ball into the penalty box to Davies whose shot was initially blocked by goalkeeper Andre Blake. But the ball bounced up, hit the crossbar and dropped in for a goal, sending Davies off to the corner flag to celebrate his 16th goal for Canada.
Blake, a three-time MLS goalkeeper of the year with the Philadelphia Union, made several highlight-reel saves in the first half to keep Jamaica in the game.
Jamaica came out for the second half with purpose and cut the aggregate lead to one goal in the 63rd minute. Lowe dispossessed Eustaquio and sent the ball to Nicholson, who hammered a shot past Borjan.
Nicholson, who also scored in the first leg, then made it 2-1, knocking home a low cross to cap a Jamaica counterattack. The Canadian players protested in vain that Jamaica had fouled Kone in winning the ball back.
Kone took his revenge three minutes later with a glancing header off a Davies cross.
GOAL! What a start for <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/CANMNT?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#CANMNT</a> and it’s that man Alphonso Davies! ????<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/CANMNT?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#CANMNT</a> ???????? 1-0 ????????<a href=”https://t.co/U5OqRhOlFX”>pic.twitter.com/U5OqRhOlFX</a>
The four quarterfinal winners book their ticket to Copa America with the quarterfinal losers facing off to see which two teams join them as CONCACAF’ guest teams.
Jamaica joins the 11th-ranked U.S. and No. 44 Panama in the Nations League final four, set for March, and as Copa America guest teams next June. No. 12 Mexico looked to turn aside a 2-0 deficit at the hands of No. 78 Honduras at Tuesday’s late game at Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium.
“This was probably the most important game for Jamaica in a long time,” said Jamaica coach Heimir Hallgrimsson, who took his native Iceland to the World Cup in 2018.
Making the Copa America field means facing elite opposition from outside CONCACAF, which covers North and Central America and the Caribbean. It’s something the Canadians desperately need ahead of co-hosting the 2026 World Cup.
Featured VideoCBC Sports’ Devin Heroux speaks to CANMNT interim head coach Mauro Biello about what he hopes he can bring to the job.
The 10 CONMEBOL entries at Copa America feature seven teams currently ranked ahead of Canada, including World Cup champion Argentina (No. 1) and Brazil (No. 3).
The loss snapped a record 17-game home undefeated run (15-0-2) for Canada since a 3-0 loss to Mexico in March 2016 in a World Cup qualifier at Vancouver.
Canada’s record was even better at BMO Field (15-0-7), dating back to a 2-0 loss to Peru in September 2010.
It was a damp evening at BMO Field with the mercury at five degrees Celsius, feeling like two degrees, for the evening kickoff.
Biello made two changes with Derek Cornelius and Alistair Johnston coming in for Steven Vitoria and Sam Adekugbe.
Jamaica was without West Ham star forward Michail Antonio, injured in Saturday’s opening leg. But Gray, who plays in Saudi Arabia for Al-Ettifaq, returned to the lineup after missing the first game through injury.
Sitting out the September international window and playing just once in November due to Canada Soccer’s financial issues likely also didn’t help the Canadian cause.
Canada came into the game with an 11-6-7 all-time record against the Reggae Boyz, clinching World Cup qualification last time they met at BMO Field in a 4-0 win in March 2022.
Eustaquio lifts Canada over Jamaica in opening leg of CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal
Featured VideoThe Canadian men’s soccer team claims a 2-1 away win over Jamaica in the opening match of their CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal series. Stephen Eustaquio scores the game-winning goal in the 85th minute. The teams will wrap up the two-game, aggregate series on Tuesday in Toronto.
CALGARY – The Calgary Flames have re-signed defenceman Ilya Solovyov and centre Cole Schwindt, the NHL club announced Wednesday.
Solovyov signed a two-year deal which is a two-way contract in year one and a one-way deal in year two and carries an average annual value of US$775,000 at the NHL level.
Schwindt signed a one-year, two-way contract with an average annual value of $800,000 at the NHL level.
The 24-year-old Solovyov, from Mogilev, Belarus, made his NHL debut last season and had three assists in 10 games for the Flames. He also had five goals and 10 assists in 51 games with the American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers and added one goal in six Calder Cup playoff games.
Schwindt, from Kitchener, Ont., made his Flames debut last season and appeared in four games with the club.
The 23-year-old also had 14 goals and 22 assists in 66 regular-season games with the Wranglers and added a team-leading four goals, including one game-winning goal, in the playoffs.
Schwindt was selected by Florida in the third round, 81st overall, at the 2019 NHL draft. He came to Calgary in July 2022 along with forward Jonathan Huberdeau and defenceman MacKenzie Weegar in the trade that sent star forward Matthew Tkachuk to the Panthers.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
KING CITY, Ont. – Oman scored 10 runs in the final over to edge Nepal by one wicket with just one ball remaining in ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 play Wednesday.
Kaleemullah, the No. 11 batsman who goes by one name, hit a four with the penultimate ball as Oman finished at 223 for nine. Nepal had scored 220 for nine in its 50 overs.
Kaleemullah and No. 9 batsman Shakeel Ahmed each scored five in the final over off Sompal Kami. They finished with six and 17 runs, respectively.
Opener Latinder Singh led Oman with 41 runs.
Nepal’s Gulsan Jha was named man of the match after scoring 53 runs and recording a career-best five-wicket haul. The 18-year-old slammed five sixes and three-fours in his 35-ball knock, scoring 23 runs in the 46th over alone when he hit six, six, four, two, four and one off Aqib Ilyas.
Captain Rohit Paudel led Nepal with 60 runs.
The 19th-ranked Canadians, who opened the triangular series Monday with a 103-run win over No. 17 Nepal, face No. 16 Oman on Friday, Nepal on Sunday and Oman again on Sept. 26. All the games are at the Maple Leaf Cricket Ground.
The eight World League 2 teams each play 36 one-day internationals spread across nine triangular series through December 2026. The top four sides will go through to a World Cup qualifier that will decide the last four berths in the expanded 14-team Cricket World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
Canada (5-4) stands second in the World League 2 table. The 14th-ranked Dutch top the table at 6-2.
Oman (2-2 with one no-result) stands sixth, ahead of Nepal (1-5).
Canada won all four matches in its opening tri-series in February-March, sweeping No. 11 Scotland and the 20th-ranked host Emirates. But the Canadians lost four in a row to the 18th-ranked U.S. and host Netherlands in August.
Canada which debuted in the T20 World Cup this summer in the U.S. and West Indies, is looking to get back to the showcase 50-over Cricket World Cup for the first time since 2011 after failing to qualify for the last three editions. The Canadian men also played in the 1979, 2003 and 2007 tournaments, exiting after the group stage in all four tournament appearances.
The Canadian men regained their one-day international status for the first time in almost a decade by finishing in the top four of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier Playoff in April 2023 in Bermuda.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024
PENTICTON, B.C. – Rick Tocchet has already warned his Vancouver Canucks players — the looming NHL season won’t be easy.
The team made strides last year, the head coach said Wednesday ahead of training camp. The bar has been raised for this year’s campaign.
“To get to the next plateau, there are higher expectations and it’s going to be hard. We know that,” Tocchet said in Penticton, B.C., where the team will open its camp on Thursday.
“So that’s the next level. It starts day one (on Thursday). My thing is don’t waste a rep out there.”
The Canucks finished atop the Pacific Division with a 50-23-9 record last season, then ousted the Nashville Predators from the playoffs in a gritty, six-game first-round series. Vancouver then fell to the Edmonton Oilers in a seven-game second-round set.
Last fall, Jim Rutherford, the Canucks president of hockey operations, said everything would have to go right for the team to make a playoff push. That doesn’t change this season, he said, despite last year’s success.
“The challenges will be greater, certainly. But I believe the team that we started with last year, we have just as good a team to start the season this year and probably better,” he said.
“As long as the team builds off what they did last year, stick to what the coaches tell them, stick to the system, stick together in good times and bad times, this team has a chance to do pretty well.”
Some key players will be missing as Vancouver’s training camp begins, however.
Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin announced Wednesday that star goalie Thatcher Demko will not be on the ice when the team begins it’s pre-season preparation.
Allvin did not disclose the reason for Demko’s absence, but said the 28-year-old American has been making progress.
“He’s been in working extremely hard and he seems to be in a great mindset,” the GM said.
Demko missed several weeks of the regular season and much of Vancouver’s playoff run last spring with a knee injury.
The six-foot-four, 192-pound goalie has a career 213-116-81 regular-season record with a .912 save percentage, a 2.79 goals-against average and eight shutouts across seven seasons with the Canucks.
Allvin also announced that veteran centre Teddy Blueger and defensive prospect Cole McWard will also miss the start of training camp after each had “minor lower-body surgery.”
Vancouver previously announced winger Dakota Joshua won’t be present for the start of camp as he recovers from surgery for testicular cancer.
Tocchet said he’ll have no problem filling the holes, and plans to switch his lines up a lot in Penticton.
“Nothing’s set in stone,” he said. “I think it’s important that you have different puzzles at different times.”
The coach added that he expects standout centre Elias Pettersson to begin on a line with Canucks newcomer Jake DeBrusk.
Vancouver inked DeBrusk, a former Boston Bruins forward, to a seven-year, US$38.5 million deal when the NHL’s free agent market opened on July 1.
The glare on Pettersson is expected to be bright once again as he enters the first year of a new eight-year, $92.8 million contract. The 25-year-old Swede struggled at times last season and put 89 points (34 goals, 55 assists) in 82 games.
Rutherford said he was impressed with how Pettersson looked when he returned to Vancouver ahead of camp.
“He seems to be a guy that’s more relaxed and more comfortable. And for obvious reasons,” said the president of hockey ops. “This is a guy that I believe has worked really hard this summer. He’s done everything he can to play as a top-line player. … The expectation for him is to be one of the top players on our team.”
A number of Canucks hit milestones last season, including Quinn Hughes, who led all NHL defencemen in scoring with 92 points and won the Norris Trophy as the league’s top blue liner.
Several players could once again have career-best years for Vancouver, Tocchet said, but they’ll need to be consistent and not allow frustration to creep in when things go wrong.
“You’ve just got to drive yourself every day when you have a great year,” the coach said. “You’ve got to keep creating that environment where they can achieve those goals, whatever they are. And the main goal is winning. That’s really what it comes down to.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
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