Cyle Larin shot his way into the record book and Canada continued its march towards Qatar 2022 with a 2-0 victory over the U.S. in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying play Sunday.
The 40th-ranked Canadians went ahead early with an opportune goal through Larin and then stood their ground, bending but not breaking as the 11th-ranked Americans — who had more of the ball — probed the home defense without success.
It came down to Canada finishing an opportunity and the Americans unable to take theirs. Still it made for a tense finale as the U.S. pressed hard through five minutes of extra time.
Sam Adekugbe added the insurance goal in the 95th minute, on a solo rush after the Americans were caught deep in the Canada end. It was his first goal in 26 international appearances.
Canada (6-0-4, 22 points) remains atop the eight-team standings in the final round of qualifying in CONCACAF while moving another step closer to Qatar 2022. The U.S. (5-2-3, 18 points) lost ground and faced losing second place in the table to Mexico pending later results.
The match at Tim Hortons Field was Canada’s 16th in World Cup qualifying since last March, with John Herdman’s team improving to 12-0-4 while notching a fifth consecutive win.
Canada took the lead after just seven minutes when a Matt Turner goal kick hung up in the wind. Kamal Miller headed to the ball to Jonathan Osorio, who flicked it to Larin. The Besiktas striker played a give-and-go with Jonathan David and beat Turner with a right-footed shot as defenders struggled to catch him.
It was Larin’s record 23rd goal for Canada in his 46th appearance, moving him past Dwayne De Rosario atop the men’s scoring list. Canada’s Christine Sinclair is the world’s all-time leading goal-scorer with 188.
“Goooaall. Congrats Cyle Larin, well done young man and a great way to capture leading scorer,” tweeted De Rosario. “Keep it going.”
It was also the kind of rapid-fire goal the Canadian men, always dangerous in transition with their speed and finishing ability, have become known for.
The Canadian men were coming off a 2-0 victory Thursday in Honduras, their first victory there since 1985, while the Americans downed El Salvador 1-0 in Columbus.
Canada now flies south to wrap up the international window versus El Salvador in San Salvador on Wednesday while the Americans host Honduras in St. Paul, Minn.
The Canadian men will have three remaining matches after that. Come March, the top three teams will book their tickets to Qatar 2022 while the fourth-placed side will face an Oceania country to see who joins them in representing North and Central America and the Caribbean.
