Canada in second place after 3:1 loss to Mexico at 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup

Canada remained in second place after a 3:1 loss to Mexico in the group stage of the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup, ending a record six-game win streak dating back to last year. With an opportunity to face the Concacaf champions for the first time since 2016, Canada’s young squad gained some important tournament experience in front of 52,874 fans at Mile High Stadium in Denver on 19 June. Lucas Cavallini was the Canada goalscorer in the second half.

Canada will need a result when they face Cuba in the group finale on 23 June at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC. The Canada-Cuba match will kick off at 18.00 ET / 15.00 PT on TSN and RDS. Extended coverage is featured across Canada Soccer’s digital channels including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Fans are encouraged to follow Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team every step of the way by using the social media handle #CANMNT. 

“A good test for us and never happy to be on the losing side but we learned a lot about ourselves and particularly the Mexicans,” said Men’s National Team Head Coach John Herdman. “We will have a very strong and fresh line up against Cuba ready to get the points we need to take us through to the quarterfinals.”

Through two matches, Canada have a win and a loss with five goals scored and three conceded. Alongside the Cavallini goal, Jonathan David (two), Junior Hoilett and Scott Arfield have also scored for Canada. On Wednesday, young David also picked up an assist on the Cavallini goal.

“I thought we were organized as a team and were unfortunate to give up the first goal before half, which kind of opened things up,” said Canada captain Atiba Hutchinson. “Toward the last 15-20 minutes we created more and we take a lot of positives for that. Overall we will learn our lessons from this game and look forward to our next opportunity. Moving forward in this tournament we have to continue to play the way we’ve been playing and continue to do what we’ve been doing and we’ll be ready.”

Canada came out in a defensive formation in the opening minutes of the first half and Mexico spent the first fifteen minutes in possession without any real opportunities. The compact 5-4-1 defensive lineup allowed Canada to keep Mexico in front of them and shots from outside the box. In attack, Canada found some space in the middle of the field, drawing fouls in dangerous areas but were unable to test Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa. With Canada briefly reduced to ten men with Derek Cornelius temporarily on the sideline, Robert Alvarado opened the scoring in the 40^th minute after a defensive scramble wide and a failed clearance.

Canada’s best chance of the half came minutes later after a save by Milan Borjan with his long throw to Lucas Cavallini putting the striker in on goal before his shot was saved.

After a similar start to the second half with Canada compact and defending Mexican possession, Alphonso Davies found some space to get Canada’s best chance of the match. However, just a minute later Mexico’s Andres Guardado doubled Mexico’s lead to two goals on a left footed strike outside the box. With 30 minutes remaining, substitutions by Jonathan David, Scott Arfield and Jonathan Orsorio combined with a formation change to give Canada more chances.

Osorio created a chance for himself on the dribble in the 65’ and Arfield’s defensive play near the half-way line in the 67’ sparked a 4 v 3 counter with David losing possession. Osorio again came close in the 73’ putting the ball just wide of Ochoa’s post. David forced a turnover in the 74’ and drew Ochoa off of his line before sliding it to Lucas Cavallini to cut Mexico’s lead in half to 2:1. However, Mexico came back just a minute later off a defensive scramble with Guardado getting his second of the night on a deflected shot off Davies’ leg and off the post behind Borjan in the 77’. 
 

Canada’s starting XI featured Milan Borjan in goal, Zachary Brault-Guillard at right back, Atiba Hutchinson, Doneil Henry and Derek Cornelius at centre back, Russell Teibert at left back, and Will Johnson, Mark-Anthony Kaye, Alphonso Davies, Cyle Larin and Lucas Cavallini from the midfield up through to the attack. In the second half, coach John Herdman replaced Larin with Jonathan David (57’), Teibert with Jonathan Osorio (60’), and Johnson with Scott Arfield (60’). 

The Concacaf Gold Cup is the official national team championship of the confederation. Drawing large crowds and millions of television viewers from across the region, the Concacaf Gold Cup is a celebration of soccer, sportsmanship, and culture. For the first time, the 2019 Concacaf Gold will feature 16 participating nations, three host countries, and 17 venues.

Beyond the Concacaf group phase, the top-two teams from each group will advance to the Quarterfinal matches on 29-30 June. The Concacaf Semi-finals are 2-3 July and the championship Final is Sunday 7 July. 

Canada are two-time Concacaf champions, having won the Concacaf Championship in 1985 and the Concacaf Gold Cup in 2000. In winning the 1985 Concacaf Championship, Canada qualified for the 1986 FIFA World Cup Mexico™; in winning the 2000 Concacaf Gold Cup, Canada qualified for the FIFA Confederations Cup Korea/Japan 2001.

Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Youth Teams, meanwhile, have won two Concacaf titles: both the 1986 and 1996 Concacaf Men’s Youth Championships. Canada have qualified for eight editions of the FIFA U-20 World Cup and six editions of the FIFA U-17 World Cup.

Canada’s National Teams have embarked on an incredible month of competition during the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019™ and the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup. Your National Teams are united as “Together We Rise” with the momentum for our game stronger than ever. We urge Canadians to rally behind your National Teams as our Canada Soccer Nation strives for best-ever performances.

Two teams, one badge, standing shoulder to shoulder.  

Beyond the Concacaf Gold Cup, Canada will participate in the first edition of Concacaf Nations League this Fall with Group A matches against USA and Cuba. Canada will play host the Cubans 7 September at BMO Field in Toronto, ON before traveling to play away at Cuba on 10 September. Canada will then host United States at BMO Field on 15 October before playing the away leg in United States on 15 November. The top team in Group A will advance to the 2019-20 Concacaf Nations League Semifinal while the third-place team will be relegated to League B for the 2020-21 Concacaf Nations League campaign.

Tickets for Canada’s Concacaf Nations League home matches are on sale on Wednesday 19 June at 10.00 ET / 07.00 PT via Ticketmaster.ca and by phone at 1.855.985.5000.

Individual match tickets are available starting at just $20 and fans will have the opportunity to save 20% by purchasing a two-match package for both games. Groups of 10+ are eligible for discounts of up to 30% and dedicated sections will be allocated for Canadian supporters as well as those from both Cuba and the United States. For complete ticket information and to submit a group ticket order visit migmultidev-canada-soccer.pantheonsite.io/tickets.