Canada looked to carry momentum over from their draw against Costa Rica to a very important final group stage match against their rivals Honduras.
A win would have been nice but Canada Soccer supporters can’t ask for much more at this point as a 0-0 draw was enough to lock up second place in group A and a trip to the quarter finals.
Gold Cup Group A: Canada vs Honduras
Although no goals were scored in the match, some exciting moments occurred for both teams.
Marcel De Jong x 2
De Jong started the game on the left wing in place of teenage sensation Alphonso Davies. He provided defensive stability on the left side ahead of Sam Adekugbe which was a great decision by manager Octavio Zambrano. De Jong certainly had his share of chances in the game as his volley on a ball from Hoilett went off the post and a shot of his earlier in the match just skimmed wide of goal.
Milan Borjan
Borjan did what he normally does and that’s bail out the team in front of him. In the dying minutes of the match, a free header was taken to goal against Canada but Borjan was there point blank to make an excellent stop and keep the score tied for Canada.
Michael Petrasso/Steven Vitoria
Both players come together for this moment because they had very identical savior moments. In both instances where Borjan was not in position to make a stop, Petrasso and Vitoria were both alert and made goal line stops for their keeper.
Jonathan Osorio
Osorio came on late in the second half for his first appearance of the tournament and it didn’t take him long to make an impression under Zambrano for the first time. Osorio saw his well struck shot heading into the top corner but Honduras goalkeeper Luis Lopez was there to make an excellent fingertip stop to hold the score at 0-0.
A lot of us #CanMNT supporters were hoping for a win against their Central American rivals but it wasn’t an easy match. They had three days to recover from their hard fought draw vs Costa Rica and prepare for a very big game in the heat in which many of the players may not be used to.
Nonetheless, Canada sees themselves through to the quarterfinals of the Gold Cup for the first time since 2009. Fans wanted at least one goal? They got five. A point? Also five. Out of the group stage? Done. Canada finished second in group A with a record of 1-2-0, with five points and a +2 goal differential.
They go into Thursday’s match against Jamaica with the same stat line mentioned above and Alphonso Davies tied at the top of the leaderboard in goals scored so far in the tournament with three.
The boys will look to keep riding high on momentum as they look to get past a Jamaican team also in solid form.
Standouts: Junior Hoilett, Marcel De Jong, Michael Petrasso, Milan Borjan, Jonathan Osorio.
Next up: Jamaica; Thursday, July 20th, 7:30 PM, Glendale, AZ
