The Canadian men's national team earned a fifth consecutive Concacaf World Cup Qualifying victory, 2-0 over the United States on Sunday afternoon at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario.
Les Rouges now hold a commanding lead in the Octagonal standings, and with four matches remaining are edging closer to Qatar 2022 and their first World Cup berth since 1986.
Here are the player ratings for manager John Herdman's squad.
Canada Men's National Team Player Ratings
Borjan's exceptional denial of Weston McKennie changed the game just before halftime, and he was completely assured and calm throughout the second 45.
Johnston proved remarkably effective as the primary marker of Christian Pulisic for most of the afternoon. The CF Montréal defender also intervened at a critical juncture to prevent a potential USMNT counter late.
Vitória had some dodgy moments in marking and distribution during the first half and was beaten by McKennie on the corner leading to Borjan's sensational save. He seemed to settle after halftime and made one crucial late intervention against Gyasi Zardes.
Miller was solid in his role in Canada's back three and won the header that led to the opening goal. He made a couple of questionable decisions late as the US applied pressure, but more good than bad overall.
Just a sensational, man-of-the-match type performance from the relatively unheralded left wingback. Adekugbe was an absolute lightning rod on his flank all afternoon, providing more going forward than opposite number Sergino Dest. His individual effort in the dying moments made it 2-0, a memorable occasion in Canada Soccer history.
Not Buchanan's most dynamic performance in the final third against Dest, who seemed to be personally motivated by facing the New England Revolution product. But the Club Brugge winger also put in a relentless defensive shift and was often a crucial release valve.
Kaye had probably the only poor performance in a Canada shirt after a really good showing against the US back on Matchday 2. His exit in place of Liam Fraser in the 58th minute made sense, steadying Canada's midfield.
Not his loudest performance, but Osorio showed up consistently on the defensive end. The Toronto FC midfielder also provided the kind of veteran leadership the opposing roster was missing.
Laryea showed plenty of energy in midfield and occasionally got into dangerous spots going forward, but not a ton of finishing product. Still a solid all-around performance from the newfound Nottingham Forest man.
Larin had a somewhat quiet day but that's probably partly owed to his early goal, which necessitated his team taking a more defensive posture. We won't dock the Beşiktaş forward for doing what the job required.
For as little as David got the ball, he was relentlessly dangerous when he did and always chose the right pass. This was true of his give-and-go with Larin to set up the opener, and also his longball wide left to Buchanan that should've resulted in another dangerous chance.
What else can you really say about a team that has won an incredible five consecutive Concacaf qualifiers? That's almost unheard for any side in the region, let alone for a team that hasn't reached the World Cup since 1986. For the second consecutive match against the US, Herdman proved you don't have to control the ball to control the match.
Substitutes
Fraser was less noticeable than Kaye, though noticeable isn't always desirable from your No. 6. He also had one bad turnover that nearly resulted in an American break on a day where the visitors found more joy centrally than out wide.
Hoilett had one exceptional run from his own half that resulted in Adekugbe's wayward chance. Gave up one unnecessary foul in a promising position for the USMNT in second-half stoppage time.
Ugbo wasn't on the pitch long enough and seeing enough of the ball to make a fair evaluation. Maybe he'll get more run Wednesday night at El Salvador, with Canada having one foot in the door to Qatar.
