INGLEWOOD — Canada leaves the CONCACAF Nations League with a third-place finish — and a smile after defeating the United States 2-1 on Sunday.
Before the game, Canada coach Jesse Marsch downplayed the backdrop of the political tension between the two North American rivals. But he showed his players the tape of the fight-filled start to the Canada-U. S. Four Nations Face-Off hockey game ahead of the match.
Canadians, no doubt, will savour the win over their neighbours to the south.
"Of course it's only a third-place game, but man that means a lot, I think to the people back home. It means a lot to me," said Canadian fullback Alistair Johnston, who was exceptional on the day. "And I'm really proud of the team. I'm proud of every single guy that went out there and stepped up."
Raul Jimenez scored twice — including one off a penalty in the 92nd minute — to give Mexico a 2-1 victory over Panama in Sunday's final at SoFi Stadium. Adalberto Carrasquilla scored on a first-half penalty for Panama.
Tani Oluwaseyi and Jonathan David scored for Canada, which finished the game with Marsch watching from a box at SoFi Stadium after receiving a red card in the 54th minute for a sideline blow-up at a lack of a penalty call.
David scored five minutes after Marsch was ejected.
"Jessie was sticking up for his team. And in the end, for sure, it galvanized the boys," said assistant coach Mauro Biello, who stepped in for Marsch in the post-game new conference. "They saw the trust and how much it means to him and we were able to come back and get that second goal."
David's exquisite strike came after Ali Ahmed found him in the penalty box. The Lille forward pivoted like a matador to get away from a defender and curled the ball past a diving Matt Turner for his record 32nd goal for Canada.
Marsch, who has been upset with the officiating at the tournament including a missed penalty in the semifinal loss to Mexico, saw red after Mexican referee Katia Garcia waved play on after David hit the turf in the U.S. penalty box.
Replays seemed to show David lost his footing as he attempted a quick turn to evade defender Max Arfsten. David had also gone down minutes earlier in the U.S. box under pressure from Tyler Adams with Garcia waving to play on.
The red card means Marsch will miss the first game of the CONCACAF Gold Cup this summer.
Canada was the more dangerous team on the day, holding on in the final minutes as the desperate Americans pressed for an equalizer. Goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair and centre backs Moise Bombito and Derek Cornelius made important late stops.
"I think we showed great character today, even in the difficult moments," said David. "We stuck together and ultimately got the win."
Patrick Agyemang scored for the U.S., which lost 2-1 to Canada the last time they met in a September friendly in Kansas City — the Canadians' first victory over the Americans on U.S. soil since July 1957 (a 3-2 World Cup qualifying win in St. Louis).
It marks the first time Canada has beaten the U.S. in consecutive matches since it won 2-1 in a World Cup qualifying/CONCACAF Championship game in November 1980 and 2-0 in an April 1985 friendly, both in Vancouver.
Canada placed fifth (2019-20), second (2022-23) and fifth (2023-24) in the three previous editions of the Nations League.
Canada, ranked No. 31 in the world, lost 2-0 to No. 19 Mexico in semifinal play Thursday, while the 16th-ranked U.S., conceding a 94th-minute goal, were beaten 1-0 by No. 36 Panama, ending their bid for a fourth straight title.
Canada outshot the U.S. 8-5 (4-2 in shots on target).
Canada lost captain Alphonso Davies in the 12th minute Sunday after the Bayern Munich star went down twice and needed medical attention for a knee issue. He was replaced by Niko Sigur with Johnston — who took over as captain — switching to the left side.
There was little flow to the game early on but Canada began to put the Americans under pressure.
Oluwaseyi opened the scoring in the 27th minute after Ahmed sent the ball into the U.S. penalty box. David's attempted shot squibbed off a player and it fell kindly to Oluwaseyi who knocked it in from close range for his first goal in 11 appearances for Canada. The goal survived a VAR check for offside.
Agyemang replied for the U.S. in the 35th minute after a slashing run by Tim Weah opened up the Canada defence. Weah slipped the ball to Diego Luna who found the Charlotte FC forward between defenders in the penalty box. A sprawling St. Clair got a piece of the ball but could not keep it out.
The Canadian men improved to 12-17-13 all-time against the U.S. — and 4-3-2 since 2019. Canada is 3-14-11 against the Americans on U.S. soil.
Marsch made three changes to his starting lineup with Mathieu Choiniere, Tajon Buchanan and Oluwaseyi coming in for Stephen Eustaquio, Jonathan Osorio and Cyle Larin.
U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino had promised changes in a bid to improve team chemistry and he opted for five new starters in Agyemang, Luna, Max Arfsten, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Mark McKenzie.
Canada improved to 6-4-5 record under Marsch, with one of those ties turning into a penalty shootout loss to No. 11 Uruguay and another to a shootout win over No. 47 Venezuela at Copa America.
This year's Nations League is worth $2 million (all figures in U.S. dollars) to the winner with the runner-up collecting $1 million. Third place is worth $600,000 with $200,000 going to the fourth-place side.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 23, 2025.
The Canadian Press
