Jonathan David's 57th-minute goal helped the Canadian men's national team defeat Costa Rica 1-0 in front of a packed crowd at Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium on Friday night during the final round of Concacaf World Cup Qualifying.
With the win, Canada maintain their spot in the third and final automatic qualifying place in the eight-team Octagonal and remain undefeated through seven games (three wins, four draws), all halfway through the 14-game quest for a Qatar 2022 spot. They're now the only undefeated side in the final stage after Mexico fell 2-0 to the United States, also on Friday.
It wasn't easy for Canada as Costa Rica's defense proved to be stingy, but John Herdman's side started on the front foot and came within inches of opening the scoring 15 minutes after kickoff. A corner kick, whipped in by Stephen Eustáquio, was deflected onto the woodwork by Costa Rica's Orlando Galo – nearly resulting in an own goal.
Canada continued to press and, in the 54th minute, a spectacular acrobatic effort from New England Revolution winger Tajon Buchanan almost brought the house down, but his overhead kick hit the crossbar and stayed out.
Yet three minutes later, Canada found their breakthrough. A cross by Buchanan was dropped by Costa Rican goalkeeper Leonel Moreira and quickly cleaned up by David, who slotted home to make it 1-0 for Les Rouges. David, who leads Ligue 1 in scoring with Lille OSC this season, now has 18 goals in 23 appearances for Canada.
Goals
- 57' – CAN – Jonathan David
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: A deserved and important victory for Canada, overcoming a sturdy Costa Rican defense to pick up a valuable three points – setting up a marquee matchup with second-place Mexico on Tuesday night. Costa Rica, meanwhile, parked the bus for the majority of the game and will have to do more if they want to book their ticket to Qatar 2022. They currently sit seven points back of Canada with seven games remaining.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: Aitba Hutchinson's appearance in the 72nd minute saw the 38-year-old midfielder tie Julian de Guzman for the most caps in Canada men's national team history (89).
- MAN OF THE MATCH: Tajon Buchanan. He was all over the pitch for Canada, finishing second in passing percentage (95.2) and second in duels (18). Had the Revolution star finished his overhead effort, it would've been talked about in the same light as Alphonso Davies' solo run against Panama.
Next Up
- CAN: Tuesday, Nov. 16 vs. Mexico | 9:05 pm ET (Paramount+, OneSoccer)
- CRC: Tuesday, Nov. 16 vs. Honduras | 8:05 pm ET (Paramount+)
