VANCOUVER, B.C. – Canada comfortably secured their place at this year’s Gold Cup, and a spot in the top group for the upcoming CONCACAF Nations League, with a 4-1 win over French Guiana at BC Place on Sunday afternoon.
The result always felt a formality for Canada, with the nature of the performance the more important measuring stick. In that regard, it was a solid display, with exciting flashes of what this Canadian attack is capable of and spells of proactive possession.
At times, though, it felt a little labored, and some sloppy defensive play saw Les Rouges concede their first goal in head coach John Herdman’s 14-month tenure. All in all, Herdman felt it was another “positive” step in the country’s development on the world stage.
“The most important thing was qualification,” Herdman told reporters after the match. “At times some of the football was just awesome to watch. We gave them a goal, to be fair, but don’t underestimate the quality of that opponent.
“You look at teams like Jamaica and El Salvador that have actually struggled. Canada’s played four, won four, with nearly four clean sheets in a row.”
Canada’s much-touted attack may have been missing the wing wizardry of Alphonso Davies, who missed the match with a knee injury, but they showed that they are far from being a one-man threat. Puebla FC striker Lucas Cavallini bagged a brace and KAA Gent forward Jonathan David made it four goals in four appearances for the senior team, as well as adding an assist on Cavallini’s first goal.
“There’s a cutting edge to our talent now,” Herdman said. “That attacking line, there a real edge to it. A real edge.”
Cavallini and David ran the show for Canada in an explosive attacking display in the first 50 minutes of the match, but one that stuttered to find the back of the net after that, and David felt it should have been a much larger scoreline by the end.
“It was a good performance overall,” David said after the match. “We dominated the game. Yeah, we scored four goals but we could have scored more, maybe six or seven.”
With qualification now officially secured, the focus for Canada now turns to this summer’s Gold Cup.
Canada had a decent showing at the tournament two years ago, losing out in the quarterfinals to Jamaica. It’s a big step up in class from the teams Canada have been playing in Nations League qualifying, but one David is looking forward to.
“It was a very important step because we know we have a good squad and this is a good opportunity to test ourselves against the best,” said the 19-year-old. “It was a massive step to qualify for the Gold Cup and also Group A, so we can play more competitive games and get ready for the future.”
It will certainly be a huge test defensively for the team. But for veteran midfielder Atiba Hutchinson, this Canadian attack is more than a match for whoever they face.
“We’re excited to go out now and play against some better opponents in the Gold Cup,” Hutchinson told reporters. “We have a team that’s been creating a lot of chances in the games we’ve been playing over the last year.
“[The step up in class] is not something that we’re really worried about. When those games come around, we’ll be confident. I think we’ll just continue to express ourselves. We’ve played in games like this in the past where we wouldn’t have created as many chances as we did today. There’s a lot of positives in the way that we go out and attack.”
