Confident Canada make sloppy USA pay with historic away victory

Two North American rivals went head-to-head on Saturday as Canada registered a historic 2-1 victory over the United States.

Scorers: De la Torre 66′; Shaffelburg 17′, David 59′

One side was still riding the high of a fourth-place finish at Copa América 2024, while the other was a mix of youth talent looking to find their identity under an interim coach.

Such a stark contrast in confidence led to the visiting Canucks beating the Stars and Stripes on their own turf for just the second time ever.

Canada controlled the game in the first half, registering a staggering 11 shots to one, and the first of two mistakes led to the opener.

A turnover gifted the ball to Jonathan David, who slipped it wide to Jacob Shaffelburg. The ‘Maritime Messi’ struck with his left foot into the far right corner beyond goalkeeper Patrick Schulte.

Looking a shadow of themselves, captain Christian Pulisic and Folarin Balogun guided a USA side averaging only 24 years and 164 days to finally find some fluidity. Unfortunately for the Americans, a second mistake turned things 2-0.

David earned himself a goal from a tight angle in the box after jumping on a missed effort from Cyle Larin. The opportunity again arrived from a USA turnover.

Interim coach Mikey Varas then turned to his bench, looking for firepower. The decision proved successful and it was Maxime Crepeau’s turn to pick the ball out of his net.

Luca de la Torre came off the bench and scored within two minutes after a late scramble, suggesting the comeback was on. It was the first national team goal for the midfielder arriving after 23 games.

The final 30 minutes of action proved nervy for both sides. The Americans drove forward in front of home fans but saw chances go wasted while Canada made strategic challenges and substitutions to wind down the clock.

A second substitute almost saw this one end all square but Crepeau denied a surging Ricardo Pepi a potential equalizer at the death seeing Jesse Marsch’s Canada hold on.

Feature image credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images