VANCOUVER – The Canadian men’s soccer team left a dramatic week behind with a decisive 4-0 victory over Curacao to open its campaign in the CONCACAF League of Nations on Thursday.
The victory followed a week in which Canadian players missed two training sessions and refused to play a friendly against Panama in Vancouver due to an ongoing contract dispute.
Canada, ranked 38th in the world, didn’t seem to have much rust to shake off on Thursday, but pressed No. 79 Curacao just two minutes after the start of the match.
Alfonso Davis scored twice, including a penalty in the first half, while Stephen Vitoria and Lucas Cavalini added a goal.
It was a quiet evening for the Canadian goalkeeper Milan Boryan, who did not have a single shot from the goal. Eloy Room made five saves for Curacao.
Canada continues its match in the League of Nations on Monday, when they face number 82 Honduras in San Pedro Sula.
The Canadians confirmed the result at 4: 0 in the 86th minute.
Adekugbe himself passed to Cavalini in the penalty area and the ball bounced off the Vancouver Whitecaps striker as he fell to the grass.
Cavalini came off the bench in the 76th minute for Tajon Buchanan.
Two protesters without shirts with the words “Save the old growth” on their bodies briefly clung to the beams on the door of Curacao in the middle of the second half. They were removed by security and taken off the field by police.
Canada erupted from a short break with another goal after a hand.
Davis sent the ball to replace Richie Laria deep in the penalty area, and Laria quickly returned it to Davis’ feet. Davis hit from the top of the penalty area in the 74th minute for his second goal of the match.
The crowd of 17,216 rose to the applause of Davis when he was replaced by Ike Ugbo in the 76th minute.
The Canadians controlled most of the game in the first half, keeping Curacao at home for long periods and beating the visitors 15-2 and 5-0 on goal.
Davis opened the scoring in the 27th minute after being sent off in the penalty area by Jurien Gaari.
The 21-year-old Canadian star stepped up to execute the blow, calming with a deep breath before sending a low blow to the bottom left corner of the net. He clenched his fist and kissed the audience before being attacked by his teammates in celebration.
Davis has been playing his first BBC match since October 2018, when he was a member of Vancouver Whitecaps. The lids turned the fast midfielder of the German football giant Bayern Munich in a record deal for 22 million dollars.
Davis helped Canada’s second goal of the night on Thursday with a corner at the end of the first half.
His ball was stopped by Rum, but the goalkeeper of Curacao could not hold and Jonathan David managed to bounce. He sent the ball to Vitoria, who scored it with his head to give Canada a 2-0 lead.
Thursday’s match was Canada’s first to play at home after winning a World Cup spot victory over Jamaica in Toronto on March 27. This is the first time Canada has qualified for the tournament since 1986.
The team was scheduled to play a friendly warm-up match against Panama in Vancouver on Sunday, but the match was canceled at the last minute when the players refused to go out due to heated negotiations for a contract with Canada Soccer, the national governing body of the sport.
The players issued a statement saying they wanted more transparency from the organization, a fair compensation structure for both the men’s and women’s national teams, and compensation for the World Cup, which includes 40 per cent of the prize pool and a “comprehensive package for friends and family ”for 2022 Tournament in Qatar.
Canada Soccer has yet to make a new deal with the athletes, but the players returned to training on Monday, and on Wednesday the organization’s interim secretary general, Earl Cochrane, said the talks were positive.
The Canadians led the last round of qualifications for the CONCACAF World Cup with a record 8-2-4 – and passed 14-2-4 in three qualifying rounds. They finished the qualifying round with a 1-0 loss in Panama on March 30th.
Curacao opened its campaign in the CONCACAF League of Nations with a 2-1 victory over Honduras on Monday.
The group stage of the 2022-23 tournament will serve as a qualification for the 2023 Golden Cup. The group stage will continue in March 2023, and the finals of the League of Nations are scheduled for June 2023.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on June 9, 2022.
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