Although he did make an error towards the end of the first half that could’ve led to a goal, if it wasn’t for his pair of saves against Irvin Herrera and solid goalkeeping throughout the match this could’ve easily ended in a loss for Canada.
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Canada’s Kyle Bekker, left, and El Salvador’s Richard Menjivar battle for the ball during th …
In the 36th minute of the tied 0-0 game, Larin rounded El Salvador goalkeeper, Derby Carrillo, and faced a wide open net, Sports Illustrated reported.
The first half was highlighted by Larin’s shocking miss, but it was El Salvador who enjoyed the better of the chances – with early substitute Herrera in the thick of the action. But his centring pass was cleared away.
Herrera then was the beneficiary of some fruitful El Salvador pressing, forcing a Canada turnover deep in the North Americans’ defence – before the forward unleashed a powerful shot, but it was at a comfortable height for Stamatopoulos.
The Spanish tactician also claimed his side were pushing for the win as much as the Salvadorans, who made Canada goalkeeper Kenny Stamatopoulos work for his clean sheet.
Canada’s opening opponents can’t be taken lightly, though, as they are coming off a 6-3 aggregate win over St. Kitts and Nevis in 2018 World Cup Qualifying.
The Canucks will vie with Costa Rica for top spot in the group and go into their fixture with El Salvador in determined mood after winning four on the bounce ahead of tournament kick off. “We are playing in the strongest group at the Gold Cup. We just have to keep working as a team and the goals will come”.
And El Salvador have reached the quarter-finals the last two Gold Cup tournaments (2011 and 2013), which illustrates their pedigree at the competition.
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“It was an exciting match even though it came out as a draw”.
