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Scott Stinson: Watch Alphonso Davies score this audacious goal. This isn't the same old Canadian team – National Post
World Cup quality, his slick steal of the ball from under Panama’s feet has already gone down as historic
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Wait, the Canadian men’s national soccer team is good now?
This is a thing that has not happened in my lifetime, and I have teenage children, one of whom is technically an adult now. World Cup qualifying campaigns are generally a time for the team’s humiliation and regret. Canada, a big wealthy country, sends its best men to a small, impoverished nation in Central America and gets embarrassed on a dusty pitch that features 18 blades of grass and is surrounded by a moat. Somewhere along the way they get drubbed by Mexico and the United States. A manager is fired. So it goes. The Canadian men have made just one World Cup, in Mexico in 1986.
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But something remarkable happened Wednesday night in Toronto. Tied in a crucial qualifying match against Panama, Canada’s Jonathan David looped a hopeful ball up toward the centre of the pitch and his teammate Tajon Buchanan. It looked promising for a moment, but then skittered away toward the sideline. The moment seemed gone.
Except Alphonso Davies, the 20-year-old bolt of lightning from Edmonton, raced toward the ball from deep in his own end. He reached it at full speed, pulled it inside with his right instep — almost a back-heeled pass to himself — and then reoriented before bursting toward the Panamanian goal. The shot that followed almost had to go in: any move that audacious, that brilliant, deserves a finish. The play made it 2-1, Canada.
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A crowd of more than 26,000 roared, partly at the spectacular goal and partly out of relief. This was a game we had to win. The home side was on their way to three big points, following two draws in this qualifying window, and, most important, holding on to one of the top spots in their group on the way to Qatar 2022.
It was a wild night for the Canadian men, an arrival as a team that is not yet close to being a world power but is turning into an honest-to-goodness threat. Panama made the World Cup in 2018, and after Davies sliced them open, his teammates Buchanan and David added goals on the way to a 4-1 final. Job done.
But it was that Davies goal that will go down in Canadian soccer lore. His incredible pace, the deft touch at the sideline — it is not hyperbole to say that very few players in the world could have pulled off that combination of athleticism and skill in a blink.
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“It was pretty cool,” said Canadian goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau, in a tremendous bit of understatement.
Davies said he was just concentrating on digging toward the ball, and once he had kept it in bounds, he knew he wanted to cut past the Panamanian defender. “In my mind, I was just like, ‘Shoot the ball’,” he said. The picture he painted, it must be said, does not at all live up to the action on the field.
The moment felt like a defining one: all those failures of the past? They were not authored by players like this.
It is not just that the men’s team hasn’t made a World Cup since Glass Tiger was on the airwaves. It’s that the team has struggled to be even the least bit relevant on the global soccer stage. Other than a shocking Gold Cup win 20 years ago, the Canadian men have all but lurched through World Cup qualifying cycles with painful regularity. And in the rare moments when they have achieved a spot of success to give themselves a decent chance at advancement, they have been smacked down in a dispiriting loss.
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How Canada got to the women’s soccer final: A journey that was a decade in the making
In qualifying for the 2014 World Cup, they needed just a draw against Honduras in San Pedro de Sula to move on, but lost 8-1. On the way to the 2018 tournament, they pulled a record crowd of almost 60,000 to a match against Mexico in Vancouver in what was setting up to be a landmark night — and were promptly spanked 3-0. The years since haven’t been much kinder, with the team shuffling through managers before eventually bringing in John Herdman, the Englishman who had led the Canadian women’s national team to such great effect.
Herdman finally has the team clicking. Buoyed by the addition of spectacular young talent such as Davies, David, Buchanan and Cyle Larin, this is a group that seems capable of setting a whole new Canadian standard. They tied Mexico in Azteca Stadium last week, an extraordinarily rare feat for a visiting team. Canada’s goal in the 1-1 draw was the first it had scored on that storied pitch since 1980. A 1-1 draw on the weekend in Jamaica wasn’t as impressive, but it kept the undefeated streak alive in the qualifiers and set up a match at BMO Field, in front of a big home crowd for the first time in forever, that gave them a chance to reach an excellent position in their group after six games.
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But when Panama scored early, off a counter-attack in the fifth minute that felt like the first time the visitors had touched the ball, there was an uncomfortable familiarity to it all. Canada had ushered in a new era with dazzling stars — and then thrown up a little on themselves just at the worst time.
Except this time really was different. As the Panamanians celebrated their goal in the corner, the men in red took their positions and Davies was raring to get going in the centre circle. They had conceded a shocker, but they looked anxious to get it right back. And they almost did.
A beautiful sequence of passes sent David rushing toward the Panamanian keeper, but the forward made one pass too many, directing the ball backward instead of trying a shot. Canada attacked in wave after wave, with Davies in particular flashing dizzying skill on the ball.
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Though it was late at night back in Munich, if his coaches with Bayern were watching they were probably having a serious rethink about playing the kid, as they do, as a fullback. The eventual equalizer came when Davies blasted a series of swinging corner kicks and the third eventually spilled in off a defender. It was a wholly different Canada, playing with flair and skill and, in every way but the score, running their guests off the pitch.
It would be Davies who eventually did the literal running that sent Canada on its way, and ultimately sent all those red shirts out, fat and happy, into a warm fall night in Toronto. This is a thing that, for this program, just doesn’t happen.
But this team is here now, and as they try to make it to Qatar, they are going to be a problem for anyone.
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Sports
Champions Trophy host Pakistan says it’s not been told India wants to play cricket games elsewhere
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.”
Pakistan hosted last year’s Asia Cup but all India games were played in Sri Lanka under a hybrid model for the tournament. Only months later Pakistan did travel to India for the 50-over World Cup.
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.
___
AP cricket:
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Inter Milan winger Tajon Buchanan, recovered from a broken leg suffered in training at this summer’s Copa America, is back in Jesse Marsch’s Canada squad for the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal against Suriname.
The 25-year-old from Brampton, Ont., underwent surgery July 3 to repair a fractured tibia in Texas.
Canada, ranked 35th in the world, plays No. 136 Suriname on Nov. 15 in Paramaribo. The second leg of the aggregate series is four days later at Toronto’s BMO Field.
There is also a return for veteran winger Junior Hoilett, who last played for Canada in June in a 4-0 loss to the Netherlands in Marsch’s debut at the Canadian helm. The 34-year-old from Brampton, now with Scotland’s Hibernian, has 15 goals in 63 senior appearances for Canada.
Midfielder Ismael Kone, recovered from an ankle injury sustained on club duty with France’s Marseille, also returns. He missed Canada’s last three matches since the fourth-place Copa America loss to Uruguay in July.
But Canada will be without centre back Derek Cornelius, who exited Marseille’s win Sunday over Nantes on a stretcher after suffering an apparent rib injury.
The Canadian men will prepare for Suriname next week at a camp in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
“We are looking forward to getting the group together again with the mindset that there is a trophy on the line,” Marsch said in a statement. “We want to end 2024 the right way with two excellent performances against a competitive Suriname squad and continue building on our tremendous growth this past summer.”
The quarterfinal winners advance to the Nations League Finals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., with the two semifinals scheduled for March 20 and the final and third-place playoff March 23, and qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Thirteen of the 23 players on the Canadian roster are 25 or younger, with 19-year-old defender Jamie Knight-Lebel, currently playing for England’s Crewe Alexandra on loan from Bristol City, the youngest.
Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies captains the side with Stephen Eustaquio, Jonathan Osorio, Richie Laryea, Alistair Johnston and Kamal Miller adding veteran support.
Jonathan David, Cyle Larin and Theo Bair are joined in attack by Minnesota United’s Tani Oluwaseyi.
Niko Sigur, a 21-year-old midfielder with Croatia’s Hadjuk Split, continues in the squad after making his debut in the September friendly against Mexico.
Suriname made it to the Nations League quarterfinals by finishing second to Costa Rica in Group A of the Nations League, ahead of No. 104 Guatemala, No. 161 Guyana and unranked Martinique and Guadeloupe.
“A good team,” Osorio said of Suriname. “These games are always tricky and they’re not easy at all … Suriname is a (former) Dutch colony and they’ll have Dutch players playing at high levels.”
“They won’t be someone we overlook at all,” added the Toronto FC captain, who has 81 Canada caps to his credit.
Located on the northeast coast of South America between Guyana and French Guiana, Suriname was granted independence in 1975 by the Netherlands.
Canada has faced Suriname twice before, both in World Cup qualifying play, winning 4-0 in suburban Chicago in June 2021 and 2-1 in Mexico City in October 1977.
The Canadian men, along with Mexico, the United States and Panama, received a bye into the final eight of the CONCACAF Nations League.
Canada, No. 2 in the CONCACAF rankings, drew Suriname as the best-placed runner-up from League A play.
Canada lost to Jamaica in last year’s Nations League quarterfinal, ousted on the away-goals rule after the series ended in a 4-4 draw. The Canadians lost 2-0 to the U.S. in the final of the 2022-23 tournament and finished fifth in 2019-20.
Canada defeated Panama 2-1 last time out, in an Oct. 15 friendly in Toronto.
Goalkeepers Maxime Crepeau and Jonathan Sirois, defenders Joel Waterman, Laryea and Miller and Osorio took part in a pre-camp this week in Toronto for North America-based players.
Canada Roster
Goalkeepers: Maxime Crepeau, Portland Timbers (MLS); Jonathan Sirois, CF Montreal (MLS); Dayne St. Clair, Minnesota United FC (MLS).
Defenders: Moise Bombito, OGC Nice (France); Alphonso Davies, Bayern Munich (Germany); Richie Laryea, Toronto FC (MLS); Alistair Johnston, Celtic (Scotland); Jamie Knight-Lebel. Crewe Alexandra, on loan from Bristol City (England); Kamal Miller, Portland Timbers (MLS); Joel Waterman, CF Montreal (MLS).
Midfielders: Ali Ahmed. Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS); Tajon Buchanan, Inter Milan (Italy); Mathieu Choiniere, Grasshopper Zurich (Switzerland); Stephen Eustaquio, FC Porto (Portugal); Junior Hoilett, Hibernian FC (Scotland); Ismael Kone, Olympique Marseille (France); Jonathan Osorio, Toronto FC (MLS); Jacob Shaffelburg, Nashville SC (MLS); Niko Sigur, Hadjuk Split (Croatia).
Forwards: Theo Bair, AJ Auxerre (France); Jonathan David, LOSC Lille (France); Cyle Larin, RCD Mallorca (Spain); Tani Oluwaseyi, Minnesota United (MLS).
—
Follow @NeilMDavidson on X platform
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
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