Despite being thirteen points apart, Canada versus El Salvador Wednesday night is an intriguing contest. It’s been a happy few days for both teams leading up. The Concacaf leaders showed their superiority this window, with wins in Honduras and against the USMNT. The latter especially as it was against the United States, shutting them out in a performance that’ll be talked about for years to come. La Selecta was able to notch their second victory of this World Cup Qualifying campaign, at rivals Honduras and eliminating them in the process. Let’s take a closer look at this game.
Canada look to stay unbeaten
John Herdman has done a remarkable job with this squad, seemingly able to push all the right buttons without fail. What’s more impressive is to see them continue to rack up wins without its best players in Alphonso Davies. There are not many household names on this Canada squad, but they do boast the best-attacking unit in the region.
Cyle Larin leads the team with five goals, his latest surpassed the great Dwayne De Rosario to become the all-time leading goalscorer in CanMNT history. But it’s not just him, it’s Tajon Buchanan down the wing, Kamal Miller holding it down at the back and substitute Junior Hoillet coming off the bench. This team is deep and relentless on the counterattack. Herdman will likely consider rotating the starting lineup, but there won’t be any dips in quality.
Canada will feel confident going into El Salvador after defeating them 3-0 at BMO Field back in September. They’ll look to exploit a backline that has conceded 11 goals in 10 games but has so far conceded only once in this window. If there’s one blip that Canada would like to improve, it is their road form. Despite earning six points on their travels, they’ve only won once away from home – the 2-0 win at Honduras last week. Canada will be heavy favorites but know they’ll be in for a tough battle against an El Salvador side who have proven to not be pushovers.
Top of the leaderboard! #CANMNT #ForCanada pic.twitter.com/ExuAisqDPA
— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) January 30, 2022
El Salvador have an upset on their minds
Hugo Perez and his players made history Sunday night. They scored the first-ever goals at Honduras in a World Cup Qualifier, which led to the first-ever win at San Pedro Sula in this competition. Nelson Bonilla got the party started with his seventh-minute opener and went the full 90 minutes. Darwin Ceren came off the bench to seal the result in stoppage time. The result now sees La Selecta eight points off the final intercontinental playoff spot in sixth place.
Houston Dynamo FC midfielder @CerenDarwin comes off the bench and scores in 2nd half stoppage time to help El Salvador to a 2-0 win.
🇸🇻 @LaSelecta_SLV first win over their Central American rivals in San Pedro Sula. #HoldItDown #LaSelectaEng pic.twitter.com/jOWt78txmm
— Victor Araiza (@victoraraiza) January 31, 2022
Qualification is a long shot but Perez won’t give up until they’re mathematically gone. But this will be their biggest test of the window. El Salvador has played five home games and won only once. Furthermore, they’ve only scored two goals at the Estadio Cuscatlan, Canada has scored four goals away from home. La Selecta only has one more home game after this so it’s imperative to come away with three points. A win would be the biggest upset in Concacaf in quite some time.
