Canada maintained their place atop Group A in CONCACAF Gold Cup play with a 1-1 draw against Costa Rica on Tuesday night. Here is how the Canadians' starters and substitutes stacked up on a steamy night at BBVA Compass Stadium:
Milan Borjan: 7.5. Coming off an eye injury, Borjan kept Canada in the game with several outstanding diving saves on both sides of halftime. If we’re nitpicking, distribution was questionable on a few occasions.
Sam Adekugbe: 4.5. Some shaky moments for the young fullback in his first senior-team start, including losing his man on the Ticos’ first-half goal.
Dejan Jakovic: 6. A solid night for the captain, including providing some calm coverage for his teammates along the defensive line.
Steven Vitoria: 5.5. Largely stood tall for a second straight game, but got beaten in the air on Costa Rica’s corner-kick goal.
Michael Petrasso: 5.5. Some stronger defensive play in his second Gold Cup match at fullback, plus his customary forward runs—including getting things going on Canada’s goal.
Samuel Piette: 6.5. Despite some crossed wires with teammates in the early going, put in one of his finer national-team performances by making plenty of crucial defensive interventions.
Mark-Anthony Kaye: 6. Showed little fear in his first Canada start, bringing a burst of energy and getting usefully involved on both sides of the ball all night long.
Alphonso Davies: 6. A slow start, but got a big confidence boost from his first-half goal, where his cleverness, acceleration and clinical finishing were on full display. His night ended prematurely with an apparent ankle knock.
Scott Arfield: 6.5. A calm and crucial presence in the Canadian attack, providing for teammates and also barreling through defenders on his own. He also notched another Gold Cup assist on Davies' goal.
Junior Hoilett: 6. Found himself as left-sided, right-sided and central forward at various points, before being subbed out. Plenty of energetic runs throughout, but could have been more unselfish at times.
Anthony Jackson-Hamel: 5. Tracked back well, but failed to make an offensive impact at the central forward position. He found himself subbed out early in the second half.
Tosaint Ricketts: 5.5. As expected, used his speed to trouble tired opponents after being subbed in, but put his best goal-scoring chance over the bar.
Fraser Aird: 5. An unexpected addition following Davies’ injury, he slotted into his natural winger position. He had little influence aside from a crunching tackle just outside the Costa Rica penalty area, however.
Lucas Cavallini: 5. Little for the big man to do in the game’s dying minutes, as Canada had reverted into full-on defend-for-your-lives mode to preserve the draw.
