Gold Cup great opportunity to build Canada-U.S. rivalry

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This article was published 16/07/2021 (1829 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As international rivalries go, Canada-U.S.A. isn’t exactly a classic.

Not like in women’s soccer, where the 2012 Olympic semi-final was combustible and controversial enough to serve as recent history for the next decade. And certainly not like in hockey, where both women’s and men’s games are must-watch TV — often with a medal or championship on the line.

No, the men’s soccer matchup between the neighbouring countries does not approach arch-enemy territory, especially for the United States, whose No.1 is Mexico, and by some distance. They’ve also tended to dominate Canada, losing just once in more than 30 years.

Both teams need to pull their weight for a contest to become a rivalry, and the fact is that Canada mostly hasn’t.

Until now.

In October 2019, in a CONCACAF Nations League match in Toronto, Canada scored twice after the hour-mark to prevail 2-0 at the final whistle of a nervy, high-intensity affair. It was their first victory over the United States since 1990, when John Catliff scored the only goal of a North American Championship encounter in Burnaby.

The United States got back to winning ways with a 4-1 win just a month after their defeat at BMO Field, but the message had been sent: this generation of Canadian players would not be the typical pushovers. In fact, they might be a worthy opponent, even a rival.

Exactly how worthy will be determined Sunday, when the two sides meet in a Group B encounter in the ongoing CONCACAF Gold Cup (4 p.m., OneSoccer).

Level on six points from two matches played, Canada actually hold the tie-breaker over the Americans by virtue of goals scored. In other words, a draw will be enough for them to win the bracket and progress to a quarterfinal against the Group C runners-up — either Costa Rica or Jamaica.

Both are ranked at least 20 places higher than Canada on the FIFA list, which means a place in the final four will be a hard-won thing. But these Canadians, who haven’t lost a match this calendar year, all the while outscoring their opponents by a combined 39-3, are a different group. They’ve become accustomed to winning, and they seem to genuinely enjoy being together.

Even without talismen Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David, both of whom are in Europe ahead of the upcoming club season, this is a team rich in confidence and wealthy with goals. They opened the Gold Cup with a 4-1 win over Martinique last weekend, and on Wednesday they put the disappointment of the 2019 competition behind them once and for all when they thumped Haiti 4-1 in Kansas City.

Cyle Larin, heroic in Besiktas’ title-winning season of 2020-21, scored twice in the win and, with the brace, set a new Canadian record for goals in a calendar year with 10. He also found the back of the net against Martinique and is the only player at this Gold Cup with three goals. Against Haiti he played up top with Lucas Cavallini, but it was Junior Hoilett alongside in the Martinique match, and Hoilett will likely be recalled to the starting line-up against the United States.

Manager John Herdman, who praised his team’s “professional” performance against Haiti, in “a game that was so physical,” has resisted the temptation to chop and change his XI at this tournament — something that tends to be his way.

Instead, he has remained consistent with defenders Kamal Miller, Steven Vitoria and Alistair Johnston in front of goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau, and midfielders Mark-Anthony Kaye and Stephen Eustaquio have started both matches as well. No doubt Herdman has the upcoming World Cup qualifiers in mind as he surveys his side, and he’ll likely have some difficult decisions to make ahead of September’s match with Honduras. That’s a good thing.

One player who has particularly stood out is Tajon Buchanan, who has excelled in the Davies role on the left-hand side. The 22-year-old put his blistering speed and admirable passing ability to work in setting up two goals against Martinique, and he followed-up the eye-catching performance by producing Larin’s first against Haiti.

Buchanan, who currently represents New England Revolution of Major League Soccer, is reportedly a transfer target of several European clubs, among them Sporting CP. No doubt his profile will only rise further with another standout showing against the United States, where he’ll go up against Tenerife’s Shaquell Moore.

Manager Gregg Berhalter’s USA side is even more experimental than Canada’s, what with the Nations League already in the bag and World Cup qualifying forthcoming. Weston McKennie, Christian Pulisic, Sergino Dest and the entire XI that beat Mexico in the spring were left out of the Gold Cup squad as Berhalter sought to have a look at some different players.

He’ll have so far liked what he’s seen from Orlando City striker Daryl Dike, and Seattle Sounders midfielder Cristian Roldan and New York City FC defender James Sands will have also caught his eye.

But the Americans’ squad experiment is Canada’s opportunity.

No, Davies and David are not available for Canada, but a lot of the first-choice internationals remain. Unlike Sunday’s opposition, they’re accustomed to playing together and are getting more and more adept at doing so. In fact, there’s an argument to be made that Canada should actually be favoured to win at Children’s Mercy Park.

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Should they do so, they’ll be the first Canadian men’s team to beat the Americans on their own turf since 1957. That’s far too long ago for this match-up to be considered a classic rivalry, but it would be something of a start, even building off that victory from 2019.

As Canada ascends, more and more regional adversaries will look to them as a serious prospect.

Geography mandates that the United States be foremost among them.

jerradpeters@gmail.comTwitter @JerradPeters