Missing some key players and facing a physical Jamaica side under fire for a poor start to the final round of World Cup qualifying, Canada emerged with a valuable away point after a scoreless draw Sunday in Kingston, Jamaica.
The Canadians (1-0-4) remain unbeaten in the Octagonal round-robin. But they will think back on squandering a gilt-edged chance falling to Liam Millar in the second half of a game where clear scoring chances were few and far between.
It’s a measure of the raised expectations around the 51st-ranked Canadian men that the single point will be seen as a disappointment in some quarters. But factoring in Thursday’s 1-1 draw in Mexico, it’s been a productive trip.
“We’ve come away with a good point,” said Canada coach John Herdman, seeing the glass half full. “I think this is a good point. We’ll rue missing two [more on the night] but I think coming out of this — Mexico’s a tough place to get a point, Jamaica’s a tough place to come and get a point.
“And we’re on our way back home now for three home matches.”
WATCH | Canada remains unbeaten in final round following draw against Jamaica:
Canada draws Jamaica to earn point in World Cup qualifier
8 hours ago
Brampton, Ontario’s Liam Millar was turned away by Jamaican keeper Andre Blake to keep things scoreless in Kingston, Jamaica on Sunday. 1:42
Canada returns to Toronto to host Panama on Wednesday at BMO Field. Then it’s two more home games in Edmonton in November, against Costa Rica and Mexico.
Jamaica goalkeeper Andre Blake made a remarkable save in the 60th minute to deny Millar, who seemed to have an open net after a fine low cross from Alphonso Davies, who showed his class throughout the game. Herdman and Millar were both left holding their heads in disbelief after the athletic Blake, the reigning MLS goalkeeper of the year with the Philadelphia Union, somehow covered the gap to get his hands to the ball.
“A game-wining save for us,” said Jamaica coach Theodore Whitmore.
‘We never really threatened them at the levels we can’
The contest, played on a bumpy pitch at an empty Kingston National Stadium, was no work of art. The Canadians had more of the ball in the first half but neither team put a shot on target in the first 45 minutes.
Canada outshot No. 59 Jamaica 10-9 (2-1 in shots on target) and had 10 corners to Jamaica’s three.
“We never really threatened them at the levels that we can,” said Herdman.
Jamaica (0-3-2), which hit the post early in the second half, looked most dangerous on set pieces and crosses. Canada, meanwhile, failed to take advantage of its numerous corners.
Jamaica took no prisoners with Andre Gray lucky to escape with a yellow card in the eighth minute for elbowing a Canadian defender to the ground. Costa Rican referee Keylor Herrera handed out four cautions to Jamaica and one to Canada’s Samuel Piette.
Jamaica was called for 21 fouls, compared to 12 for Canada.
In other games Sunday, Panama defeated the U.S. 1-0 in Panama City, Costa Rica beat El Salvador 2-1 in San Jose, Costa Rica, and Mexico blanked Honduras 3-0 in Mexico City.
Ninth-ranked Mexico (3-0-2) remains atop the standings with 11 points. The 13th-ranked U.S. and No. 68 Panama (both 2-1-2) are three points behind, with the Americans holding down second place on goal difference. Canada is fourth on seven points, ahead of No. 44 Costa Rica (1-1-3) on six, No. 65 El Salvador (1-2-2) on five, No. 63 Honduras (0-2-3) on three and Jamaica on two.
Each of the eight teams in the Octagonal play 14 matches. Come March, the top three sides will book their ticket to Qatar 2022 with the fourth-place team taking part in an intercontinental playoff to see who joins them.
The struggling Reggae Boyz came into play Sunday under a microscope with Jamaica’s Gleaner newspaper calling it “a day of reckoning” for the home side. Herdman called Jamaica “a wounded animal at the moment.”
Jamaica was beaten 2-0 by the U.S. in Austin on Thursday. Prior to that the Jamaicans lost 2-1 in Mexico, 3-0 to visiting Panama and tied 1-1 in Costa Rica.
Injuries, changes made to starting lineup
Canada opened play in the final qualifying round by tying visiting Honduras 1-1 before drawing the U.S. 1-1 in Nashville and blanking El Salvador 3-0 in Toronto.
The Canadians were without the injured Atiba Hutchinson, Cyle Larin and Lucas Cavallini as well as veteran goalkeeper Milan Borjan, who is recovering from COVID. Richie Laryea, Tajon Buchanan and Steven Vitoria were suspended after picking up yellow cards, their second of the round, in the second half against Mexico.
Defender Doneil Henry, making his 49th appearance, captained Canada for the first time.
Herdman made five changes to his starting lineup with Henry, Sam Adekugbe, Derek Cornelius, Piette and Millar slotting in for the three suspended players with midfielder Stephen Eustaquio, who is on a yellow card, and defender Kamal Miller dropping to the bench.
The Canadian starting 11 came into the game with a combined 281 caps with Piette, Jonathan Osorio and Henry accounting for 142 of them.
Junior Hoilett and David Wotherspoon started on the bench, having joined the team in Jamaica after skipping the Mexico portion of the trip due to the quarantine in Britain necessitated by a visit to Mexico.
The Jamaica starting 11 included Blake and Alvas Powell (Philadelphia Union), Kemar Lawrence (Toronto FC), Kemar Roofe (Rangers, Scotland), Oniel Fisher (L.A. Galaxy), Bobby Reid (Fulham, England) and Shamar Nicholson (Charleroi, Belgium).
Missing were star striker Michail Antonio (West Ham, England), Liam Bailey (Aston Villa, England), Liam Moore (Reading, England), Ethan Pinnock (Brentford, England) and the suspended Damion Lowe (Al-Ittihad, Egypt).
Missed opportunities
It was a choppy first half with both teams looking to suffocate the other.
The Jamaicans kept a close eye on Davies with Fisher yellow-carded in the seventh minute for taking down the speedy Bayern Munich star. Davies went down again in the 20th minute, caught in the face by a swinging arm from Je-Vaughn Watson, who had been booked minutes earlier.
Jamaica threatened in the 23rd minute off a Lawrence set piece delivery but Roofe’s angled header went wide.
More Jamaica physical play left Davies writhing on the ground again in the 26th minute after Fisher fell on his leg.
Jamaica had another good chance in the 38th when a cross found Junior Flemmings in space at the far post but his header was blocked by Canadian Alistair Johnston.
Early in the second half, Flemmings’ header hit the post after a fine set piece delivery from Lawrence.
Eustaquio came close after coming on in the second half, heading just wide in the 73rd. Maxime Crepeau made a diving save on Lawrence’s long-range shot in stoppage time.
It marks Canada’s first trip to the final round of qualifying in the region since the lead-up to France 98. The Canadian men have only ever taken part in one World Cup, in 1986 in Mexico.
Canada came into the game with a 9-6-6 record against Jamaica in 21 international “A” matches since 1985. The Canadian men were 1-2-3 against the Reggae Boyz in World Cup qualifiers (1992, 1997 and 2008).
Canada won 2-0 the last time the two met, in September 2017 at BMO Field. That game saw a 16-year-old Davies sent off in the 75th minute for kicking out at Jamaica’s Lowe after the two went down in a tangle in the corner.
The Canadian men had lost their last four games in Jamaica.
WATCH | Expectations of Canada vs Jamaica in World Cup Qualifying:
World Cup Qualifying: What to expect from Jamaica vs. Canada
2 days ago
The Canadian men’s national soccer team is gearing up for the second of three October World Cup qualifying matches against Jamaica, away from home in Kingston. After a tight 1-1 draw to Mexico at the Azteca in Mexico City, CBC Sports’ Anders Marshall speaks with Jamaica Television’s Simon Preston for a breakdown of CanMNT’s next opponent. 4:22
NEW YORK – Toronto Blue Jays reliever Chad Green and Canadian slugger Tyler O’Neill of the Boston Red Sox were named finalists for the Major League Baseball Players’ Association’s American League comeback player award on Monday.
Chicago White Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet was the other nominee.
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani and Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. were named player of the year finalists.
The award winners, selected via player voting, will be named Saturday before Game 2 of the World Series.
Green, who missed most of the 2022 and ’23 seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery, was a high-leverage option for the Blue Jays this past season and filled in at closer over the second half of the campaign.
The right-hander converted his first 16 save opportunities and finished the year with a 4-6 record, 17 saves and a 3.21 earned-run average over 53 appearances.
O’Neill, a native of Burnaby, B.C., also endured back-to-back injury-plagued seasons in ’22 and ’23.
After being traded to the Red Sox in the off-season, O’Neill set an MLB record by hitting a homer in his fifth straight Opening Day. He finished with 31 homers on the year and had an OPS of .847.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
Alabama’s Mark Sears and North Carolina‘s RJ Davis looked into the possibility of leaving for the NBA before deciding to return for another college season.
Their decisions helped their teams earn top-10 rankings in the AP Top 25 and earned both players some preseason honors, too.
Sears was a near-unanimous selection for The Associated Press preseason All-America men’s basketball team released Monday, earning all but one vote from a 55-person national media panel. Davis was right behind him, nabbing 51 votes.
They were joined by Kansas big man Hunter Dickinson, Auburn forward Johni Broome, Arizona guard Caleb Love and Duke freshman Cooper Flagg. Love and Flagg tied for the final spot, creating a six-man team that includes only the ACC, Big 12 and SEC.
Alabama twin bill
Sears was a key cog in the Crimson Tide’s first trip to the Final Four a year ago, orchestrating one of college basketball’s highest-scoring teams.
The 6-foot-1 guard was named a second-team AP All-America after averaging 21.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists. He was the first Division I player in 31 years to have 795 points, 150 rebounds, 145 assists and 95 three-pointers in a single season while breaking the Alabama single-season record with 26 games with at least 20 points.
Sears worked out for NBA scouts during the offseason before deciding to return to Alabama, earning the Crimson Tide a No. 2 ranking in the preseason AP Top 25.
“I saw the team that we had and I wanted to be a part of it, and bring home Alabama’s first national championship in basketball,” Sears said.
Across the state at rival Auburn, Broome made a quick decision about his future, announcing in April that he would be back for a fifth season.
The 6-10 forward was a third-team AP All-American last season after averaging 16.5 points and 8.5 rebounds while shooting nearly 55% from the floor. With an eye on an NBA future, Broome worked hard on his perimeter shooting during the offseason and his return earned Auburn a No. 11 preseason ranking.
“My main goal is a team goal, which is to win the national championship, to make it as far as I can in March Madness,” Broome said. “When a team shines, everyone shines individually.”
Along Tobacco Road
Like Sears, Davis has similar aspirations after opting to return for his fifth season at North Carolina.
The 6-foot guard was an AP All-American last season and the ACC player of the year after averaging 21.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists on a team that reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Davis enters this year within reach of former North Carolina big man Tyler Hansbrough’s all-time ACC scoring record.
“I know there’s more work to be done,” Davis said. “I know my jersey’s not going up until I leave. So there’s some more records to break and some more work to be done. I’m satisfied but I’m not satisfied, if that makes sense.”
Up the road at Duke, Flagg was the only underclassman on the preseason All-America team after arriving with tons of hype. The 6-9 swingman was the No. 1-rated high school recruit out of Newport, Maine and has been projected as the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft.
Flagg has the skills of a guard, but can also play inside and has worked hard on his perimeter shooting, giving him the potential to be one of college basketball’s most versatile players. He’s part of a stellar recruiting class that has No. 7 Duke eyeing a deep March run.
Big 12 duo
Dickinson was the biggest move in the transfer portal last spring after leaving Michigan for Kansas. The 7-2 center lived up to the billing, averaging 17.9 points and 10.9 rebounds while leading the Jayhawks back to the NCAA Tournament.
Love’s decision to return for a second season at No. 10 Arizona has ratcheted up expectations in the desert for the Big 12 rival of Kansas.
The athletic 6-4 guard had a high-scoring career at North Carolina and continued it after transferring to Arizona last season. He was the Pac-12 player of the year and a third-team All-American after averaging 18 points per game and making 92 3-pointers.
Love tested the NBA waters this summer before deciding to return.
“He’s had a very successful college career thus far,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. “He’s kind of this last generation of player that’s going to get better with this extra year, and so I just encourage him to take advantage of it.”
____
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: and
CLEVELAND (AP) — Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson will miss the rest of Cleveland‘s season after rupturing his right Achilles tendon on Sunday against Cincinnati, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Monday.
Watson will soon undergo surgery, said the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the team has not announced the results of imaging tests taken on his leg.
It’s the second significant injury in two seasons for Watson, who broke the glenoid (socket) bone in his throwing shoulder last year.
The 29-year-old Watson went down without being touched on a draw play late in the first half. His right leg buckled and Watson collapsed to the turf. TV replays showed his calf rippling, consistent with an Achilles injury.
As he laid on the ground, there was cheering by some Cleveland fans, leading to some of Watson’s teammates criticizing that behavior during the team’s fifth straight loss.
The injury is yet another twist in Watson’s divisive stay with the Browns.
Cleveland traded three first-round draft picks to Houston and signed him to a fully guaranteed $230 million in 2022. The deal came amid Watson being accused by more than two dozen women of sexual assault and harassment during massage therapy sessions. He settled civil lawsuits in all but one of those cases.
Watson was suspended by the NFL for his first 11 games with the Browns and then made just six starts last season before hurting his shoulder.
![](https://thumbnails.cbc.ca/maven_legacy/thumbnails/600/990/Can_Jam_Thumb.jpg?crop=1.777xh:h;*,*&downsize=510px:* 510w")
