With the win Canada moves to 2nd place in their group on goal differential, and their next match in the 4 round of qualifying is against El Salvador, in El Salvador on Tuesday.
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The last time the United States, Mexico and Canada senior men’s national teams all won competitive games on the same day: October 12, 2012, during qualification for the 2014 World Cup.
Junior Hoilett beat his marker down the left before crossing for Johnson, whose header went in after appearing to hit Larin on the line.
“It’s something that I know a lot of us have been thinking about”, midfielder Atiba Hutchinson said this week.
The second half saw no goals for either team, but Canada came within inches of adding a second in the 61st minute. “We have a new identity and we’re ready to hopefully compete on a more even basis with teams like Honduras and other teams that consistently make World Cups“. “The boys are prepared, the squad is looking good and I’m fully confident we’ll get the job done”.
The two top teams in each round-robin pool advance to the final round of qualifying, with the top three getting World Cup places, while the fourth take on an Asian country in a two-game playoff.
Prediction: This could well be the time for Mexico to garner its first victory in San Pedro Sula since 1965.
“We all wanted to try and forget about that, but obviously we wanted to get a little payback for that game”, said Hutchinson. In fact, there’s a Facebook group that’s been started to promote a boycott of the match in solidarity of the striking players, and one local official said he wouldn’t be surprised if only 15,000 fans showed up.
While the stunning rout at Estadio Olimpico got most of the attention, Canada did itself no favours four months earlier when Honduras secured a 0-0 draw in Toronto. “That’s why we played so hard tonight, because we’re trying to rectify that”. Friday, however, proved a pleasant surprise for Canadian lovers of “The attractive Game”.
“I think we were all bummed out by the opportunity we missed”, said Johnson.
“Home games are very crucial for us”, said de Guzman.
Canada, ranked 102nd in the world, nearly doubled its lead in the 63rd minute when Johnson hammered a free kick from 35 yards out that Valladares just got a touch on before it struck the post and stayed out.
Honduran midfielder Mario Martinez had a shot from distance in the 76th, but Canadian goalkeeper Milan Borjan did enough to push it over the crossbar.
While there will be delight at claiming three points to start this stage of qualifying, a trip to El Salvador on Tuesday beckons, where another result will be needed for Canada to stake further claims it can reach the hex.
“It was the most fun that I’ve had in a football match”, said defender and Vancouver Whitecaps residency graduate Adam Straith after the match. “It hurt us a lot”.
Notes: The temperature at kickoff was 9C….
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The Salvadorans are coming off a 3-0 loss to Mexico and need points to kick-start their campaign. Mexico tied with Honduras on the road but was defeated 2-1 at home.
