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Winnipeg Free Press
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
For Canada, the real Gold Cup starts now
Opinion After getting some rest, dressing their wounds and departing the heat of southeast Texas, the Canadian men's national team will shortly get back to doing what they entered the Gold Cup to do. That is, playing football. Ah yes, the football. Twelve days is a long time in summer tournaments — more than half of this present championship — but that's how long it's been since Canada played an actual game against opponents actually interested in playing that game. In that regard, credit to Honduras. They might have lost 6-0 back on June 17, but at least they turned up to play. It's a pretty low bar, and yet neither Curaçao nor El Salvador scaled it in Canada's next two Group B contests. Even worse, they didn't try to. The Curaçao match, which took place at baking Shell Energy Stadium, was less a game of football than a battle of attrition — something Canada should typically avoid. They were bullied by the Caribbean side and lucky to draw 1-1. But there was nothing they could do on Tuesday against El Salvador, who had no interest in passing, dribbling, shooting and tackling — at least tackling fairly. They were out to hurt people, plain and simple, and their thuggery earned them two red cards and a 2-0 defeat. La Selecta left the Gold Cup with zero points, zero goals, three shots on target and 45 fouls. Good riddance. All told, four points from six in scorching Houston, while not ideal, is still a decent return. Head coach Jesse Marsch will have been pleased to see both Jonathan David and Tajon Buchanan score against El Salvador, and 21-year-old Niko Sigur continues to impress with his versatility, smarts and tactical nous. Jacob Shaffelburg is also worth a pat on the back for his performances to date. A hypothetical pat, mind, as his entire body must be bruised from the punishment he took on Tuesday. He suffered for the team, for the win, and there is something inspiring in that. Now, as they enter the knockout rounds, Marsch and his players will be hoping the suffering is over, that they can get back to playing an honest 90 minutes against sincere opposition. Well, they're in luck. On Sunday, in the rather more agreeable environment of Minneapolis, Canada will face Guatemala at U.S. Bank Stadium (3:00 p.m., TSN & OneSoccer). It will be their toughest match to date, though not of the sort they encountered back in Houston. Guatemala, while sturdy, are first and foremost a footballing outfit, and a proud one. Speaking to Prensa Libre earlier this month, manager Luis Fernando Tena remarked that his team's recent performances had gained them considerable respect. In another interview, he said — and not for the first time — that he wanted the country to be proud of his squad, win or lose. Well, job done. Under Tena, Guatemala have not only got at least as far as the quarterfinals in successive Gold Cups, but they've also earned promotion to the top tier of the CONCACAF Nations League and advanced to the final stage of 2026 World Cup qualifying. To be clear, he had some work to do in resuscitating Los Chapines' reputation. It wasn't so long ago that the Federación Nacional de Fútbol de Guatemala was serving a FIFA suspension for government interference in sporting matters, and in the decade before Tena's appointment they failed to progress beyond a single Gold Cup group stage. It's in that context that Tena wants to showcase what he sees as a revival of Guatemalan football, and his players have so far obliged. D.C. United right-back Aaron Herrera has been especially good this month and will look to contain the energetic Shaffelburg on Sunday. Jonathan Franco, a 21-year-old anchor midfielder, has likely played well enough to earn a transfer from local club Municipal, although he's under contract until 2028. Guatemala's biggest challenge, quite unfortunately, was recently their greatest strength. Goalkeeper Nicholas Hagen, who plays his club football for Columbus Crew, might have been playing himself into the Gold Cup all-star team before sustaining a midweek muscle injury. His replacement, Kénderson Navarro, will make only his third international appearance when he starts against Canada. The assignment for David, Buchanan and Canada's other attacking players, then, would seem to be to shoot early and often and ensure Navarro doesn't become the unlikely hero. It'll help that Stephen Eustáquio is back from the Club World Cup as his teammates have struggled to control the centre of the park in his absence. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. Helpful, too, will be the confidence Canada can take from playing a team that doesn't approach the beautiful game like MMA with a ball. Guatemala will be a challenge, but for all the right reasons. For Canada, the real Gold Cup begins now. jerradpeters@ @
Globe and Mail
2 days ago
- Sport
- Globe and Mail
Canadian men to face No. 14 Colombia in October friendly
Canada will face No. 14 Colombia in a men's soccer friendly during the October FIFA international window. The game is scheduled for Oct. 14 at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, N.J., the home of the New York Red Bulls. 'We look forward to facing more South American competition following our experience at the 2024 Copa America,' Canada coach Jesse Marsch said in a statement. 'Colombia is the type of high-level opponent that we want to be competing against as we continue our preparations for the upcoming World Cup.' The 30th-ranked Canadian men, who finished fourth at last summer's Copa America, have played Colombia three times before. Canada defeated the South Americans 2-0 in the final of the 2000 Gold Cup at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and lost in two friendlies: 1-0 in October 2014 at the same New Jersey venue and 3-0 in March 1988 in Armenia, Colombia. Colombia was runner-up to top-ranked Argentina at last year's Copa America, losing 1-0 after extra time. Colombia captain James Rodriguez, who plays for Mexico's Leon, earned the Best Player Award and was named to the tournament all-star team along with Colombian defender Davinson Sanchez (Galatasary, Turkey). Fullback/wingback Alistair Johnston (Celtic, Scotland) was the lone Canadian on the Copa all-star squad. The Canadian men will play a second game in the October window in Montreal against a yet-to-be-announced opponent, Canada Soccer said. The Colombia fixture adds to a Canadian calendar that includes games against No. 45 Romania on Sept. 5 in Bucharest and No. 29 Wales on Sept. 9 in Swansea. Canada is currently at the CONCACAF Gold Cup where it faces No. 106 Guatemala in quarterfinal action Sunday in Minneapolis. The Canadians went 2-1-0 in the Gold Cup group stage, defeating No. 75 Honduras 6-0 and No. 81 El Salvador 2-0, and drawing 1-1 with No. 90 Curaçao. With two matchdays remaining in South American World Cup qualifying, Colombia stands sixth at 5-4-7, four points ahead of No. 47 Venezuela and five ahead of No. 80 Bolivia in the 10-team table. The Colombians, who drew Argentina 1-1 in Buenos Aires in their last qualifying outing, are scheduled to host Bolivia and visit Venezuela in the September window. The top six South American teams automatically qualify for the expanded 48-team World Cup. The seventh-place side has a chance to join them via an inter-confederation playoff. Colombia winger Luis Diaz, who plays his club football for England's Liverpool, leads South American qualifying in scoring with seven goals.
CBC
2 days ago
- Sport
- CBC
Canadian men to face No. 14 Colombia in New Jersey friendly during FIFA October window
Canada will face No. 14 Colombia in a men's soccer friendly during the October FIFA international window. The game is scheduled for Oct. 14 at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, N.J., home of Major League Soccer's New York Red Bulls. "We look forward to facing more South American competition following our experience at the 2024 Copa America," Canada head coach Jesse Marsch said in a statement. "Colombia is the type of high-level opponent that we want to be competing against as we continue our preparations for the upcoming World Cup." The 30th-ranked Canadian men, who finished fourth at last summer's Copa America, have played Colombia three times before. Canada defeated the South Americans 2-0 in the final of the 2000 Gold Cup at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and lost in two friendlies: 1-0 in October 2014 at the same New Jersey venue and 3-0 in March 1988 in Armenia, Colombia. Colombia was runner-up to top-ranked Argentina at last year's Copa America, losing 1-0 after extra time. Colombia captain James Rodriguez, who plays for Mexico's Leon, earned the Best Player Award and was named to the tournament all-star team along with Colombian defender Davinson Sanchez (Galatasary, Turkey). Fullback/wingback Alistair Johnston (Celtic, Scotland) was the lone Canadian on the Copa all-star squad. The Canadian men will play a second game in the October window in Montreal against a yet-to-be-announced opponent, Canada Soccer said. WATCH | Jonathan David says 'we've matured and got better' ahead of 2026 World Cup: Jonathan David: 'We've matured and got better' ahead of 2026 World Cup 15 days ago Duration 8:54 Anastasia Bucsis sits down with Canadian soccer star Jonathan David to talk about the 2026 World Cup, captaining at the Gold Cup, transfer rumours, and his impact at Lille in France. The Colombia fixture adds to a Canadian calendar that includes games against No. 45 Romania on Sept. 5 in Bucharest and No. 29 Wales on Sept. 9 in Swansea. Canada is currently at the Concacaf Gold Cup where it faces No. 106 Guatemala in quarterfinal action Sunday in Minneapolis. The Canadians went 2-1-0 in the Gold Cup group stage, defeating No. 75 Honduras 6-0 and No. 81 El Salvador 2-0, and drawing 1-1 with No. 90 Curacao. With two match days remaining in South American World Cup qualifying, Colombia stands sixth at 5-4-7, four points ahead of No. 47 Venezuela and five ahead of No. 80 Bolivia in the 10-team table. The Colombians, who drew Argentina 1-1 in Buenos Aires in their last qualifying outing, are scheduled to host Bolivia and visit Venezuela in the September window. The top six South American teams automatically qualify for the expanded 48-team World Cup. The seventh-place side has a chance to join them via an inter-confederation playoff. Colombia winger Luis Diaz, who plays his club football for England's Liverpool, leads South American qualifying in scoring with seven goals. Canada shuts down El Salvador, wins Group B at Gold Cup 2 days ago Duration 2:28 Goals by Jonathan David and Tajon Buchanan proved to be the difference in a rough final Group B match at the Gold Cup, as Canada defeated El Salvador 2-0.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 days ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Canada men to face No. 14 Colombia in New Jersey friendly during FIFA October window
Canada will face No. 14 Colombia in a men's soccer friendly during the October FIFA international window. The game is scheduled for Oct. 14 at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, N.J., the home of the New York Red Bulls. 'We look forward to facing more South American competition following our experience at the 2024 Copa America,' Canada coach Jesse Marsch said in a statement. 'Colombia is the type of high-level opponent that we want to be competing against as we continue our preparations for the upcoming World Cup.' The 30th-ranked Canadian men, who finished fourth at last summer's Copa America, have played Colombia three times before. Canada defeated the South Americans 2-0 in the final of the 2000 Gold Cup at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and lost in two friendlies: 1-0 in October 2014 at the same New Jersey venue and 3-0 in March 1988 in Armenia, Colombia. Colombia was runner-up to top-ranked Argentina at last year's Copa America, losing 1-0 after extra time. Colombia captain James Rodriguez, who plays for Mexico's Leon, earned the Best Player Award and was named to the tournament all-star team along with Colombian defender Davinson Sanchez (Galatasary, Turkey). Fullback/wingback Alistair Johnston (Celtic, Scotland) was the lone Canadian on the Copa all-star squad. The Canadian men will play a second game in the October window in Montreal against a yet-to-be-announced opponent, Canada Soccer said. The Colombia fixture adds to a Canadian calendar that includes games against No. 45 Romania on Sept. 5 in Bucharest and No. 29 Wales on Sept. 9 in Swansea. Canada is currently at the CONCACAF Gold Cup where it faces No. 106 Guatemala in quarterfinal action Sunday in Minneapolis. The Canadians went 2-1-0 in the Gold Cup group stage, defeating No. 75 Honduras 6-0 and No. 81 El Salvador 2-0, and drawing 1-1 with No. 90 Curaçao. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. With two matchdays remaining in South American World Cup qualifying, Colombia stands sixth at 5-4-7, four points ahead of No. 47 Venezuela and five ahead of No. 80 Bolivia in the 10-team table. The Colombians, who drew Argentina 1-1 in Buenos Aires in their last qualifying outing, are scheduled to host Bolivia and visit Venezuela in the September window. The top six South American teams automatically qualify for the expanded 48-team World Cup. The seventh-place side has a chance to join them via an inter-confederation playoff. Colombia winger Luis Diaz, who plays his club football for England's Liverpool, leads South American qualifying in scoring with seven goals. — This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 26, 2025
The Herald Scotland
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Alistair Johnston's honest admission about life in Glasgow
Johnston has emerged as a key leader in Celtic's squad and has won seven domestic trophies in his two and a half years at the club. Read more: While, for the most part, things have gone swimmingly for the Canadian on the pitch, off it, that wasn't initially the case. He said [One Soccer]: "It's something that I actually learned as I got to Celtic. It was something that you hear about, you know, it's a fishbowl, all these different things. "You never really truly feel it or can understand or grasp it until you're actually living it. So, I think through about the first six months to a year, I just kind of was taking everything in. And after that, it started to weigh on me. "I could tell performances were lagging a little bit and I just felt like I was a little overwhelmed. And that's when I actually started speaking to a sports psychologist and they really helped me with understanding, okay, yeah, being out in public in Glasgow is really difficult. It's taxing and understanding that. "And don't feel like you need to constantly put on a face, but understand that, okay, that is when you leave your front door, it's gonna be like that. So, you need to have alternate ways to just completely decompress. And that's when I decided I was gonna move from a flat in the West End and move out and get a house with a private garden and everything, so that we could have the dog running about and just have a bit more privacy. "And that's something that I learned is that it was those smaller sacrifices, kind of things like that, that made a big difference for me. Having your own personal space and just finding ways to get away from it. And again, I'm only famous in a 20-mile radius of Glasgow." Johnston is currently on international duty with Canada, as they aim for Gold Cup glory. Jesse Marsch's side are into the quarter-finals of the tournament, in which they will take on Guatemala this Sunday.
