A second-half goal from Jonathan David has put Canada one step closer to the World Cup.
David’s 57th-minute goal was all Canada needed to beat Costa Rica 1-0 on Friday in a World Cup qualifier in front of 48,806 fans at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium.
Fans, cheers for Team Canada as they take on Costa Rica during World Cup qualifier soccer action in Edmonton on Friday, November 12, 2021.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
The goal came after Costa Rican goalkeeper Leonel Moreira fumbled a cross into the penalty area, leaving David to slot the ball home.
Team Canada celebrates a goal against Costa Rica during second half World Cup qualifier soccer action in Edmonton on Friday, November 12, 2021.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
With the win, Canada remains in third place in CONCACAF’s Octagon. Canada has 13 points from seven matches (3-0-4) while Costa Rica fell to 1-3-3.
The top three teams in the standings will earn berths for next year’s World Cup in Qatar. The fourth-place team gets a last-chance playoff with another wild-card team from another region.
Moreira started for Costa Rica because of an injury to the national team’s regular starting keeper, Keylor Navas of Paris St-Germain.
The goal came minutes after a leaping bicycle kick by Canadian winger Tajon Buchanan froze Moreira in his tracks, but the ball hit the bar – the second time the Canadians found the woodwork in the game.
The first close call came in the 15th minute. A corner kick from hometown hero Alphonso Davies went into a scrum of Costa Rican defenders and ricocheted off the crossbar.
The game marked the first time Davies played a competitive game in Edmonton since his early teens. But throughout the first half, the Bayern Munich star was regularly crowded out by two or three defenders each time he got close to the ball.
He did get a look at goal in the 15th minute, but his shot was blocked thanks to a sliding effort from defender Oscar Duarte.
Team Canada’s Alphonso Davies (19) makes a move on Costa Rica’s Joel Nathaniel Campbell Samuels (12) during first half World Cup qualifier soccer action in Edmonton on Friday, November 12, 2021.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
Davies had another chance in the 66th minute, but he blasted his shot over the bar.
1:42 Alphonso Davies’ return to Edmonton for World Cup qualifiers ‘makes people believe’
Costa Rica’s best chance of the game came in the 34th minute. Youstin Salas’s volley forced Canadian keeper Milan Borjan into a diving stop.
Seconds later, Salas was in the mix again. The majority of fans in attendance bayed for American referee Ismail Elfath to award a penalty after Salas brought down David in the Costa Rican box, but Elfath waved off the appeals.
Team Canada and Costa Rica players vie for the ball on a corner kick during first half World Cup qualifier soccer action in Edmonton on Friday, November 12, 2021.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
Twice in the first half, the teams came together in scrums after fouls, adding a bit of heat to the encounter in the chilly 1 C weather.
The first came after Canadian defender Richie Laryea earned a yellow card for kicking out at Costa Rican attacker Jewison Bennette. Then in the 23rd, Bennette returned the favour, getting a yellow after another altercation with Laryea.
Canadian defender Steven Vitoria also saw yellow in the first half. Ricardo Blanco got a yellow in the 70th minute for a foul on Buchanan.
Ike Ugbo made his debut in a Canada jersey, coming in as an 82nd-minute substitute. Ugbo, a former England youth international, declared his intent to play for Canada last week.
Team Canada’s fans cheer as they take on Costa Rica during first half World Cup qualifier soccer action in Edmonton on Friday, November 12, 2021.
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
