David stars as Canada bounces back with dominant performance vs. U.S.

Still stinging from its disappointing loss against Mexico, the Canadian men’s team responded on Sunday with a dominant performance against the United States in the third-place match at the Concacaf Nations League.

The Canadians overcame an early injury exit by captain Alphonso Davies and coach Jesse Marsch being red carded in the second half to earn a 2-1 win over the Americans at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Jonathan David scored the winner for Canada, while Tani Oluwaseyi bagged his first international goal in 11 appearances for his country.

“The mentality of this team is strong, and today was another big test for us against a very good American team and it showed. It showed that we're ready to compete and beat everybody in this region,” assistant coach Mauro Biello said.

Here are three observations from Canada’s latest victory over the United States. 

Man of the match: Canada’s Jonathan David

Canadian forward Jonathan David is rightly considered among the best players in the Concacaf region, rising to fame with French club Lille OSC courtesy of his consistent goal scoring form over the past several seasons. At the same time, he’s been criticized for not showing up in big games for his national team.

David ranks as Canada’s all-time leading scorer with 32 goals in 61 appearances, but he has failed to score for his country in previous World Cup, Gold Cup and Nations League tournaments. A poor showing in the semifinal loss versus Mexico meant those criticisms grew even louder, as David failed to exert any kind of influence and didn’t record a single shot on target.

If ever there was a time for the Ottawa native to rebound with a strong showing, Sunday’s contest versus the Americans was it. David responded with a man-of-the-match effort, as he had a hand in setting up Oluwaseyi’s opening goal of the game before scoring the winner.

In the 27th minute, David was in the right place at the right time when his shot from deep inside the box was blocked by an American defender. The ball fell to Oluwaseyi who slotted it home from close range past goalkeeper Matthew Turner to give Canada the lead.

Then just before the hour mark, with the game tied 1-1, Tajon Buchanan played a ball to the top of the box for Ahmed who found David inside the penalty area. The Canadian forward took two exquisite touches to pull away from a pair of American players near him and then curled a gorgeous shot inside the far post.

David also distinguished himself on the defensive end, as he routinely tracked back to help out his defenders, and broke up an American scoring chance in the first half with a timely tackle after making a great recovery run.

This was the Jonathan David that Lille OSC fans see on a regular basis in Ligue 1, and it’s this version who needs to show up more often for his national team.

Plenty of unheralded heroes for Canada

David and Oluwaseyi will garner the majority of the headlines after their goal-scoring heroics. But this Canadian win was also a result of the hard work and sacrifice of several other players who are deserving of just as much praise.

Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Ali Ahmed appeared overwhelmed by the occasion in Thursday’s semifinal loss to Mexico. Ahmed was far from his best against the Mexicans as he misplayed too many passes and was guilty of some heavy touches. But he had one of his best outings in a Canadian jersey in Sunday’s win. It was his ball across the box that led to Oluwaseyi’s opener, while he fed a sublime slide-rule pass for David on his game-winning goal.

Right fullback Alistair Johnston had to take over as Canada’s captain after Alphonso Davies left the game in the 12th minute with a knee injury. The immediate introduction of Niko Sigur for the absent Davies meant Johnston had to shift over to the left side of the defence. Despite never playing there before, the Celtic defender put in a hard-nosed shift with some physical defending that helped keep the Americans at bay.

Moïse Bombito and Derek Cornelius continued to show why they make up one of the best centre back pairings in Concacaf. Together they anchored a Canadian back line that gave away very little to the U.S. When the Americans threatened to score an equalizer in the dying minutes of regulation time, both Bombito and Cornelius made crucial defensive stops to help preserve the win for Canada.

Jesse Marsch loses his cool over pair of non-calls

Canadian coach Jesse Marsch entered this game on a steady simmer before completely boiling over in the second half.

In Thursday’s loss to Mexico, Canada was denied a clear penalty in the ninth minute when Edson Álvarez caught Derek Cornelius’ foot with a high kick as the two players challenged for the ball. Salvadoran referee Hector Martinez awarded Mexico a free kick on the play and the call wasn’t overturned via VAR review, something that stuck in Marsh's craw after the final whistle blew.

Still steaming from that injustice, Marsch lost his cool early in the second half against the U.S. after his team was denied two penalty claims. 

In the 48th minute, Jonathan David looked to have been fouled by U.S. midfielder Tyler Adams, but video replays were far from conclusive. Six minutes later, David was on another breakaway when American fullback Max Arfsten closed in on him inside the box. This time, video replays showed there was no contact and that David simply lost his footing.

But that didn’t satisfy an irate Marsch who had to be restrained by several Canadian players after he stepped onto the field as he loudly remonstrated at referee Katia Itzel García. The Mexican took a red card out of her back pocket and brandished it towards Marsch, who was expelled and had to watch the remainder of the match from a private box in the stadium. 

One can understand Marsh's frustrations after the Mexico game. And it has to be said that Canada seemed extra motivated in the immediate aftermath of his expulsion, as David scored the winner five minutes later. 

“Jesse was sticking up for his team, and in the end it galvanized the boys, and they saw the trust and how much it means to him and we were able to come back and get that second goal to win the game,” assistant coach Mauro Biello said.

Still, it was a poor look by Marsch, who was still shouting in misguided frustration while walking through SoFi Stadium after being sent off. Katia Itzel García got both calls absolutely correct and Canada didn’t have a legitimate claim for a penalty on either occasion. Marsch didn’t have a valid reason to go off like he did on the Mexican referee who handled what was at times an ill-tempered affair with aplomb.

John Molinaro is one of the leading soccer journalists in Canada, having covered the game for over 25 years for several media outlets, including Sportsnet, CBC Sports and Sun Media. He is currently the editor-in-chief of TFC Republic, a website dedicated to in-depth coverage of Toronto FC and Canadian soccer. TFC Republic can be found here.