CANADA CONQUERS QUALIFYING

Michael Nardi

This match will go down as the greatest in Canadian men’s soccer history, as the red and white won 4-0 to secure their spot for the 2022 World Cup. Canada’s performance against Jamaica proved why they're going to Qatar this upcoming winter through their dominant play from start to finish. Right off the hop, Canada already earned a dangerous chance through Cyle Larin, however, his efforts would be denied by goalie Andre Blake.

The game's opening goal finally came in the 13th minute on a nice ball from Stefan Eustaquio, finding Larin in the middle who made no mistake with the finish. Canada would continue to put on the pressure in the half with David, Larin, and Buchanan all missing golden opportunities to kill the game off. Until near the end of the first half on a free kick, the ball suddenly fell to the feet of Buchanan and he would make no mistake ending the first half in style.

In the second half, Canada looked to take the sting out of the game and manage the ball on route to full time. The group would continue to play up their passive approach until suddenly bursting to life again with some great football in the 82nd minute as Junior Hoillet scores a brilliant goal to make it 3-0. To make things worse for Jamaica, the team surrendered an own goal in the 88th minute from Adrian Mariappa following a poor clearance.

Canada’s display was incredible. They were the best of the qualifiers in my opinion, playing with great style, fluidity, and aggression that gave their latest victim in Jamaica no chance. It felt as if John Herdman’s training sessions had finally paid off this season, with the team looking great in possession and organizing pressure through their unique man-to-man style. Stefan Eustaquio provided his team with some much-needed quality in this match, benefiting from the long stretches of ball possession, picking up great spaces, and linking the play well as a modern-day holding midfielder does.

Another top performance came from Jonathan David who’s become a household name throughout Canada’s qualifying run. He didn’t get on the scoresheet, but his linkup play was sensational in this one, as well as his movement off the ball- dragging defenders with him to open up space- that was critical in the attacking and buildup phases for Canada.

The last player I want to highlight is Junior Hoillet, an individual who embraces quality on the ball, but lacks game time due to Alphonso Davies. His dribbling was immense in the win and his linkup with Sam Adekugbe was even more impressive- one that led to many great Canadian chances.

That being said, the best performance came from the fans not only yesterday but throughout the qualifiers as the support continuously grew for this team. From the cold games in Edmonton to the great turnout against Jamaica, the fans played a key role in this team’s success. Canadian football is only getting better with so many young talents on the way. This success will only help the program succeed to bigger and better things to come.