Canada wary of Haiti challenge

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This article was published 28/06/2019 (2607 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Haiti, Port-au-Prince-based Le Nouvelliste proclaimed this week “is writing one of the most beautiful pages in its history at the Gold Cup.” Politics and religion may divide people, a Rezo Nodwes editorial stated on Wednesday, following Haiti’s historic win over Costa Rica, “but only sport can bring us together.”

These are the usual, enthusiastic platitudes relied upon whenever sporting success happens to capture the imagination of a place unaccustomed to good news. But that doesn’t mean they should be cynically disregarded, and especially in this instance — especially when they concern Haiti and especially when they’re being declared by Haitians.

That 2-1 defeat of Los Ticos — delivered emphatically by Djimy Alexis’s late, thumping finish from a tight angle — certainly and predictably electrified the Caribbean country, where, as Nodwes asserts, “football is the king of sports.” It also set up a Gold Cup quarter-final with Canada (today at 6 p.m., TSN 4) — a match that will make the occasion, for both countries, even more special.

Jose Duverger, Haiti’s backup goalkeeper, was born in Montreal, as was defender Jems Geffrard. Forward Mikaël Cantave was born in Ottawa. On the other side of the ball, Canada striker Jonathan David, who leads the tournament in scoring, could have played his international soccer for Haiti as both his parents are Haitian immigrants.

Given a Haitian diaspora that numbers more than 200,000 in Canada — mostly in and around Montreal — the crossover between the two teams is hardly surprising. Previous Canadian internationals Patrice Bernier and Olivier Occéan could have also represented Haiti. Indeed, the Canadian sporting landscape includes numerous hockey, basketball, gridiron football players and boxers of Haitian descent. This country’s 27th governor general, Michaëlle Jean, was born in Port-au-Prince.

The ties between Haiti and Canada create a sort of friendly rivalry for today’s match in Houston, even if the prospect of a semifinal would be of immense significance to both. Canada’s men’s national team hasn’t reached a Gold Cup final four since 2007; Haiti’s hasn’t accomplished the feat since finishing runners-up to Mexico in the old CONCACAF championship format in 1977.

“It’s going to be a tough match. This is a good Haitian team,” Canada head coach John Herdman said on Friday. “They won CONCACAF Nations League Qualifying and now they’ve been one of the tournament favourites. It will come down to the will and the desire to get the job done and the concentration, tactically, to manage their athleticism.”

Noting that victory “would be a very good thing for Haiti,” Grenadiers boss Marc Collat also conceded that anything beyond a possible semifinal would merely be a bonus for his side. “We will try everything to make a great game against Canada,” he said.

Any success for Haiti, who still enter this contest as underdogs despite winning Group B, will likely come from out wide. Bryan Alceus and, in particular, Derrick Etienne caused the Costa Rica fullbacks fits on Monday, and it was Etienne who brought the ball downfield before passing to left-back Alex Christian, who found Alexis for the 81st-minute winner. Assuming Herdman once again deploys a 3-4-3 formation at NRG Stadium, it will fall to a combination of Samuel Piette and Derek Cornelius to contain them.

Canada, meanwhile, will look to retain smart possession of the ball, as they did against Cuba to the tune of 62 per cent, and prevent those dangerous Haiti counterattacks from being launched in the first place. Jonathan Osorio and captain Scott Arfield seem to have established something of an understanding in the centre of the park, and attackers David, Lucas Cavallini and Junior Hoilett are benefitting from the transitional playmaking of the midfield and dribbling skills of Alphonso Davies down the left-hand side. Canada gave as good as they got in the second half of their 3-1 defeat to Mexico on June 19, and they’ll be eager to give the Gold Cup favourites a full 90-minute resistance in a likely semifinal.

But they won’t look past Haiti. At least they shouldn’t. These Grenadiers know — as the press back home has joyfully pointed out — that what they’re doing at the Gold Cup is so much more than just excelling at a major competition, even if they’ve taken that competition by storm. And that makes them an incredibly dangerous proposition for any opponent.

Women’s World Cup

The final pair of 2019 Women’s World Cup semifinalists will be determined today in France when two-time winners Germany face Sweden in Rennes (11:30 a.m., TSN) and reigning European champions Netherlands go up against surprise outfit Italy in Valenciennes (8 a.m., TSN). But can either of the teams that progress actually win the World Cup?

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On Tuesday, England and the United States will clash in the tournament’s first semifinal, and the winner will go into the July 7 final as heavy favourites. England haven’t conceded in France since their first group-stage match against Scotland and might have the most lethal attack of the competition. The United States, for their part, breezed through the group stage before being pressed to the limit by Spain and France. They won both games by 2-1 scorelines, with Megan Rapinoe scoring all four goals.

England’s forward trident of Nikita Parris, Ellen White and Toni Duggan will give the U.S. a challenge they have yet to face at this World Cup, and right-back Lucy Bronze and defender Steph Houghton are well-established big-game players. Since her five-goal performance against Thailand earlier this month, Alex Morgan hasn’t had much of an effect for the United States, and both she and Tobin Heath will have to be much more effective on Tuesday if the 2015 champions are to progress to another final.

In any event, the 2019 winner will almost certainly come out of this highly anticipated matchup.

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Twitter: @JerradPeters