Canada outscored Panama in Toronto 4-1, overcoming an opening goal against, and snatched third place from the Canaleros in the Concacaf Octagon for the Qatar 2022 World Cup, on a night where Alphonso Davies, Jonathan David and Tajon Buchanan.
After Wednesday’s victory, Panama is fourth with 8 points and Canada is third with 10.
The match turned to Panama shortly after the initial whistle at BMO Field in Toronto when Canaleros striker Rolando Blackburn took advantage of a fine pass from Michael Murillo near Canada’s penalty area and 5 minutes from Canadian goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau.
But the joy of the Panamanians was short-lived. The opening goal boosted the Canadians, who went unbeaten in the octagon after recording one win and four draws in the previous five games.
The team managed by John Herdman applied relentless pressure on the Canaleros, keeping them stuck in their own half with no chance of threatening Crepeau.
The Canadian pressure sometimes became suffocating without Thomas Christiansen’s men finding the formula to control the game.
Canada’s first serious warning came in the 15th minute with a dangerous shot from Alphonso Davies that Luis Mejía cleared. Five minutes later, Stephen Eustaquio fell in the Panamanian box due to protests from Canadian players who demanded a penalty.
Eric Davis was in trouble and wanted to reduce everything that fell on his left wing until in the 26th minute, after a heavy tackle on Davies, the Panamanian defender was shown a yellow card.
Canada did not relax and after two consecutive corners, the “canucks” managed to break through the door of Mejía in a third corner which hit the Panamanian Murillo in the back and lodged at the bottom of the network of canals .
It was only after the equalizer that the Panamanians managed to shake off the pressure from Canada and start playing in the half of the field.
Due to the greater verticality, in the 44th minute Panama scored their first corner kick of the game. But as Édgar Bárcenas prepared to kick the ball, the midfielder tripped over a Canadian bench player warming up on the touchline.
What seemed like a minor incident quickly turned into a brawl in which the benches of both teams intervened. Eventually cool heads took control of the situation and all players returned to their positions without the referee having to use the card holder.
The second half was a festival for the Canadians. The “canucks” came out convinced they could beat the Panamanians and kept their pressure on Mejía’s goal.
It was after a triple substitution ordered by Christiansen that the persevering Davies stole the ball from José Luis Rodríguez and began a gallop towards the Panamanian goal in which he first passed Fidel Escobar and finally Mejía himself to place the score 2-1 at minute 66.
Canada’s second goal completely unbalanced the Canaleros and just five minutes later a Tajon Buchanan header extended the Canadian lead to 3-1. Later, at minute 78, Jonathan David scored the fourth that closed the scoring.
– Data sheet:
4. Canada: Maxime Crepeau; Alistair Johnston, Kamal Miller, Steven Vitoria, Richie Laryea; Stephen Eustaquio (m.85, Samuel Piette), David Wotherspoon (m.65, Mark-Anthony Kaye), Jonathan Osorio (m.65, Sam Adekugbe), Tajon Buchanan, Alphonso Davies (m.81, Jacob Shaffelburg); Jonathan David (m.81, Charles-Andreas Brym).
Coach: John Herdman.
1. Panama: Luis Mejia; Harold Cummings, Fidel Escobar, Eric Davis, Michael Murillo (m.86, Freddy Gondola); José Luis Rodríguez (m.52, César Blackman), Christian Martínez (m.77, Gabriel Torres), Édgar Bárcenas, Alberto Quintero (m.52, Armando Cooper), Aníbal Godoy; Rolando Blackburn (d.52, Alfredo Stephens).
Coach: Thomas Christiansen.
Hits: 0-1, m.5: Rolando Blackburn. 1-1, m.27: Michael Murillo, in propia meta. 2-1, m.66: Alphonso Davies. 3-1, m.71: Tajon Buchanan. 4-1, m.78: Jonathan David.
Referee: Armando Villarreal warned Davis, Murillo and Cooper.
Incidents: Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifiers Concacaf octagon match played at BMO Field in Toronto.
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