Miracle Hour – Canada has qualified for the World Cup
By Jim James
Hello all, and welcome back to the blog. Yesterday was pretty much the best day in modern Canadian Football history. A 4-0 win at BMO Field in Toronto against Jamaica saw Canada qualify for its first World Cup in 36 years. I still can’t describe just how I’m feeling. It’s a feeling I only really felt when the Toronto Raptors won the 2019 NBA Championship. 199 days ago, on September 10, I posted something titled “Miracle Hour: Can Canada finally qualify for the World Cup?”. Well, it turns out we can and did, past me. I remember looking at those games at the end of March and thinking “Holy cow, that’s a long way away”. It feels like just yesterday I was saying this, but here we are, the end of March, and Canada has done it. WE’VE DONE IT! In this post I’ll talk about how we did it, game by game. Let’s begin.
Canada started from the very beginning, The very, very beginning. We started in round one in a group with Aruba, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, and Suriname. Our first game was in late March 2021 against Bermuda in our first game since January 2020, a 1-0 Friendly loss vs Iceland. It was going swimmingly, 2 goals by Cyle Larin to put us 2-0 up at half time, a goal by Richie Laryea putting us 3-0 up early into the 2nd half, but then Bermuda scored. Canada very easily could have overreacted, but they didn’t. Larin completed his hat-trick, and then a goal from debutant Theo Corbeanu sealed the deal. A 5-1 win in our first game.
Then it was a game vs the Cayman Islands, and we were up 6-0 by half-time. 6 different goalscorers in that half alone. We held on pretty well, a 2nd half hat trick by Lucas Cavallini as well as goals by Mark-Anthony Kaye and Alphonso Davies sealed a monstrous 11-0 win.
A game vs Aruba would have a feeling that winning would seal us top. Lucas Cavallini and Junior Hoilett put us up 2-0 at half time. However, the second half didn’t go well. It did SPECTACULARLY. Lucas Cavallini scored again, as well as Zachary Brault-Guillard, Alphonso Davies, Cyle Larin, and Jonathan David. A 7-0 win was more than enough to put us through with 1 game to go.
The last game was against Suriname, and well, we are already through so I don’t have to go too in depth. 1-0 lead by half time, followed up by a Jonathan David hat trick in the second half. 4-0 was the score, then it was a 2-legged play-off vs Haiti to qualify for the Octagonal. 1st leg away, and a Cyle Larin goal in the 14th minute put us 1-0 up, and that was it. We go to Canada for the second leg, and it was still 1-0 on aggregate going into half time, then in the 46th, disaster. Josue Duverger, a Hatitian player, scored. However, it was an own goal. 2-0 Canada. In the 74th, Cyle Larin made it 3-0, and in the 89th, Junior Hoilett made it 4. We’re going to the Octagonal, baby!
We had quite the show in the Gold Cup, with only a goal in the 9th minute of 2nd half stoppage time by Hector Herrera stopping us from going to at least extra time vs Mexico in the Semis. We had quite a good showing, telling the other teams that when the World Cup Qualifiers came along, we’d be the team to watch.
Our first game was against Honduras, and after 38 minutes Buchanan brings down Najar in the box, and Alexander Lopez converts. 1-0 Honduras. Then Canada gets a pen of their own, and also converts. 1-1 at full time, a very disappointing showing.
It didn’t help that the next game was against the USA. Early we had some great chances, with Matt Turner needing to make a superhuman save in the 14th minute, but then the Americans started to get into their own, a 40th minute shot beating Borjan and clanging off the post. It finally paid off in the 55th minute when an Antonee Robinson cross found a lunging Brenden Aaronson to make it 1-0. However, 6 minutes later an almost identical run saw Davies cross it to Cyle Larin to equalise. 1-1. That was how it ended.
The last match was against El Salvador, where Canada needed a win. They would have a great start when in the 6th minute, Richie Laryea crossed it to Mr. Canada Atiba Hutchinson to make it 1-0. It got a whole lot better in the 11th minute when a cross on the other side by Tajon Buchanan found the head of Jonathan David. 2-0. 59th minute, a defensive error made it a 2-on-1 with Jonathan David passing it to Tajon Buchanan, who scored. 3-0. Great stuff.
The start of the next qualifying round saw us play Mexico at the Azteca. In the 21st minute it all went wrong when Jorge Sanchez put it past Crepeau. 1-0 Mexico. In the 42nd minute Jonathan Osorio, off a pass from Davies, leveled it at 1 a-piece and that’s how it stayed. After the game I posted “Canada draws Mexico: Why that may be the result to put us through” in which I talked about the remaining games in the international window and why Canada might be set for Qatar after that game.
The next game was Jamaica, and I don’t want to beat around the bush, we had a tough time against the Reggae Boyz. So much so that we drew against them. A 0-0 draw, not ideal AT. ALL.
The last game of the window saw a must-win against Panama. We needed to win in order to cement our place in the top 3. However, 5 minutes in, goal Panama. A pass across the 18 found Rolando Blackburn who scores. Not good. In the 28th minute, though, a corner from Davies found the head of Tajon Buchanan who equalised. However, in the 66th minute, magic. A bad pass by Panama saw Davies barrelling down the right side in pursuit of the ball, firmly looking like Panama had it. However, tardiness saw Davies get there in time, barely stop the ball from going out, run into the center and score – all by himself. A goal of the absolutely finest quality puts us up 2-1. This put fire in the bellies of the Canadians as 5 minutes later a cross from Richie Laryea got to Tajon Buchanan who scored his 2nd header of the night, and 8 minutes after that a wonderful long through ball by Davies was put to Jonathan David who was alone, and made it 4. An emphatic win by the Canadians.
To start the next window was a game vs the pesky team from Costa Rica. It was all Canada for the first 56 minutes until a routine catch by Pereira – the Costa Rica keeper – was spilled and fell to Jonathan David who converted. 1-0. That was the final score, and we were in dreamland.
There was only two games that window, and this last game – the most important game – of 2021 was to be played in Canada. The second game against Mexico. It was a very snowy day there, likely flustering the Mexican side, and in stoppage time, an Allistair Johnston shot was saved but the rebound fell to Cyle Larin who put it in. WE LEAD AGAINST MEXICO. In the early stage of the 2nd half, a Stephen Eustaquio free kick found Cyle Larin’s right boot, and he put it past Ochoa beautifully. 2-0 us, and it also made the famous celebration of Samy Adekugbe diving into that snowbank. However, then Mexico woke up. They had a wide range of chances, and in the 90th minute a cross from Tecatito Corona was nodded in by Hector Herrera, and Mexico had one back. In the 3rd minute of added time Mexico had a corner. Another header flustered the Canadian defense but not Borjan. He saved the ball millimetres before it crossed the goal line. That’s how it ended. 2-1 Canada.
For these next 3 games I already did a post on them, but I’ll copy/paste them on here.
Canada vs Honduras
Okay, we were off to a pretty good start with this game, and it started quite well, with a Tajon Buchanan cross pinballing off Denil Maldonado to make it 1-0 and Canada getting quite a few more chances in the next 10 minutes. Then Honduras dominated the rest of the first half, with a lofted free kick even going over Milan Borjan right before halftime but being cleared by Vitoria before it went in. Honduras continued to get plenty of chances in the second, with a free kick in the 70th minute having to be wonder saved by Borjan to stay out. Canada continued to work on the counter, and a few minutes later it worked as a super ball by Liam Fraser found Jonathan David who had an amazing finish to make it 2-0 Canada. The only reply Honduras had was a fantastic save yet again by Milan Borjan from Alberth Elis in the 92nd minute to keep his clean sheet. A dropping of points by Panama meant that Canada was firmly locked in the top 3.
Canada vs USA
The best game of the break, This was sweet. You knew it was going to be a hard to watch game when the USA produced two good chances early and a Matt Turner goal kick was counter attacked by Canada for Larin to score in the 7th minute. I went absolutely crazy, and so did Alphonso Davies on his live stream. That was his 23rd, and he was now firmly atop the Canada all time top goalscoring list at just 26, overtaking Dwayne de Rosario (May I point out that 22-year old Jonathan David has 20 already). We’re getting off topic here. Anyway, the first half ended with another amazon save by track pants Borjan from Weston McKennie’s header. Canada had a few good chances in the second half, with a miracle save by Matt Turner who was on the floor to stop Larin’s chance in the 70th. However, it was the Americans that held the majority of the chances, with the most crazy one being a Paul Arriola bicycle kick in the 87th minute that I thought had gone in, and was on the verge of tears. However, the sigh of relief was massive when I saw it had flew past the near post. Then, in the 89th minute, Canada had another counter, David saw Adekugbe who let it rip at the edge of the box, but it went just over. That would have been his first Canada goal, and Bob and I were talking about how important of a 1st ever national team goal that would have been. In the 90 + 2nd minute, the USA had a free kick from 35 yards, and Christian Pulisic shocked everyone by shooting from it. He caught Track Pants Borjan off guard, but he saved it in the end. Then, in the 90 + 5th minute, Canada got the ball back, Kamal Miller played a long ball to Sam Adekugbe, who ran for a while, let it rip on the edge of the box, and this time he scored. The sealer. After 88 minutes of hyperventilating in a brown paper bag, I could finally relax. We had beaten our famous foes from down south.
El Salvador vs Canada
Ok, I admit it. I didn’t watch this game. I was sleeping for the majority of it. However, Canada had the majority of chances, in the 22nd minute, Stephen Eustaquio’s free kick required some great hands by Kevin Carabantes, but that was it for the close calls. Then, in the 66th minute, a miracle. Substitute Cyle Larin ran down the wing with the ball, crossed it in to Atiba Hutchinson, the cross was low so Hutchinson dived, he got contact, but it was seemingly saved by Carabantes. However, it rebounded off the post, Carabantes didn’t know where it was, the ball hit of all people, Eriq Zavaleta, then it hit Hutchinson again and it went in. My summary doesn’t do it justice, you should watch the highlights of that game if you haven’t already, because that was one of the strangest goals I have ever seen. In the 90 + 3rd minute, El Salvador had a chance, it was lobbed over Milan Borjan, seemingly, but he just tipped it over the bar for a corner. In the corner Jonathan David intercepted it, and ran the length of the field to score from just outside the box to seal it.
The next game we needed a win or draw to seal qualification. Vs Costa Rica here. Panama had dropped points, so just don’t lose, boys. There wasn’t much action in the first 35 other than Marc-Anthony Kaye shouldering a Costa Rica player to get sent off, the first red card in any of Canada’s qualification games. In the 1st minute of 1st half stoppage time, Talbot put the ball in the back of the net from the header, and they led. That would be it. We hadn’t qualified, or not yet, anyway.
Then we go to yesterday’s game. The must win vs Jamaica. Synonymously Canadian conditions (Cold and Snow), in the synonymously Canadian city of Toronto, and Canada flags as far as the eyes could see. Canada had seemingly a billion first half chances, but the real one came in the 13th minute, as a run from Adekugbe found Hoilett who played it across to Eustaquio, who played a through ball to Cyle Larin, and he made it 1-0. We looked like we were going to the World Cup. Then it was a flurry of chances, and it should have been 4 or 5 by the 38th minute. However, a free kick by Eustaquio was headed to David, who crossed it to Tajon Buchanan who controlled it and put it in. 2-0 at half time. There weren’t any more chances. Not until the 83rd minute anyway, when Buchanan, on the left side of the box put it to Hoilett who dinked it in. 3-0 Canada. That sealed it. To make it utterly embarrassing, miscommunication at the back meant Adrian Mariappa dinked it into his own goal. 4-0. That was it. We were through.
That is it, everybody. Thank you for reading this UNIT of a post, over 2400 words. I’ve gotta catch my breath. I’m Jim James, until next time.