It took until the third match of the tournament, but Canada finally discovered its scoring touch at the Concacaf Gold Cup.
After its attack looked flat and uninspired in draws against Guadeloupe and Guatemala, the Canadian men’s team poured on the style in earning a 4-2 win over humble Cuba on Tuesday night in Houston.
Junior Hoilett, Jonathan Osorio, Jayden Nelson and Liam Miller scored for Canada, who finished in second place in Group D, just one point ahead of Guadeloupe and two points behind leaders Guatemala. By virtue of its top-two finish, Canada booked its spots in the quarterfinals.
Here’s what happened during Tuesday’s match between Canada and Cuba in case you missed it…
GAME RECAP IN A SENTENCE
A loss or draw to Cuba would have eliminated the Canadians, but John Herdman’s side admirably handled the pressure of the must-win situation with its best performance of the tournament, albeit against an opponent that sits 166th in the current FIFA world rankings, some 121 spots below Canada.
MAIN STORYLINE
Canada’s offence comes to life after tactical shift
Canada badly needed a performance and result like this after being limited to a pair of goals (one of which was an own-goal) through its first two games of the Gold Cup against vastly inferior sides.
Canadian coach John Herdman switched things up against the Cubans by changing his formation to a more traditional 4-4-2 after deploying a 3-5-3 setup against Guadeloupe and Guatemala. The tactical change paid off huge dividends, as the Canadians stormed out of the gate and turned the screws on Cuba right from the opening kickoff.
In their previous two outings, the Canadians were too focused on trying to create scoring chances from wide positions, mostly through wingbacks Richie Laryea and Liam Millar. While they achieved some success with that tactic, it came at a steep price as they were unable to penetrate into their opponent’s box when they tried working the ball through the middle. Too often, knocking crosses into the box from the flanks became the attacking crutch upon which the Canadians leaned on to prop themselves up. Too many crosses were over- or under-hit, oftentimes undoing Canada’s solid buildup play.
By going with a four-man midfield and two forwards up front, it allowed Canada to play more comfortably through the middle of the park, while still using its outside midfielders to exploit their speed down the wings. It also meant Canada had more runners higher up the pitch and in better positions to latch onto through balls.
Shifting Millar from his natural winger position to partner with striker Lucas Cavallini in the front line also gave Canada more speed up top to get in behind Cuba’s defence. Millar was also more involved in Canada’s buildup play compared to his previous outings, helping the team become more connected and centralized in attack.
What will be interesting to see in the quarterfinals is if John Herdman sticks with this formation with the 23-year-old Millar as the attacking centrepiece, or revert to the fluid 3-5-2 setup that he’s long preferred.
BEST MOMENT OF THE GAME
Jonathan Osorio gave Canada a 2-0 advantage in the 27th minute when he finished off a gorgeous, free-flowing attacking sequence by scoring his ninth international goal.
Canada won possession just inside Cuba’s half and then quickly went on the counter-attack via Liam Fraser’s outlet pass after playing a quick one-two with Junior Hoilett. Fraser’s pass found Liam Millar on the edge of the Cuba box, and he expertly cushioned the ball before playing into the penalty area for a streaking Lucas Cavallini. The Canadian forward immediately squared the ball across the box to the back post for Osorio to fire past the helpless Cuban goalkeeper.
STAT OF THE GAME
Junior Hoilett is the first member of the Canadian men’s team to score in four different Concacaf Gold Cup tournaments: 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2023.
BEST QUOTE
“I feel like these last three games, there’s been a lot of adversity for Canada, it hasn’t been easy. But we’ve played in really difficult conditions. … Coming out of this, I feel like the group is tight, it’s connected and they’re hungry.” – Canadian coach John Herdman.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR CANADA
It only gets more difficult for Canada from here, as it’ll face the United States, the tournament’s top seed and defending Gold Cup champions, in Cincinnati on July 9. Canada lost 2-0 to the U.S. in last month’s Concacaf Nations League final in Las Vegas. Canada sports an all-time record of 10-17-12 against the U.S.
“We were pretty clear coming into this match [about] which team we wanted to play and what game we wanted to experience in the Gold Cup. The football Gods have given us our derby match [vs. the U.S.],” John Herdman said after the win over Cuba.
THREE STARS OF THE GAME
1) Liam Millar (Canada): A breakout performance from the Basel star who scored his first goal for Canada, set up another, and was at the heart of the Canadian attack.
2) Junior Hoilett (Canada): Scored the Reds opening goal, assisted on Liam Millar’s to make it 3-0, and wore the captain’s armband with distinction.
3) Jonathan Osorio (Canada): The veteran midfielder was a constant thorn in the Cuban’s defence’s side by scoring one goal and registering a team-high three shots.
John Molinaro is one of the leading soccer journalists in Canada, having covered the game for over 20 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.