Soccer in Canada is on the growth, mostly with today’s youth and given the instruction they receive from various well qualified individuals this shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone

Now we are hearing that Canada’s National Men’s Soccer Team put on an impressive show by defeating St. Kitts and Nevis 1 nil on a goal in the first half by Atiba Hutchinson keeping them within striking distance of first place in the Concacaf Nations League Qualifying.

Earning a spot in the 2019 Gold Cup in Group “A” of 2019-20 Concacaf Nations League is necessary with only one match week remaining.   

Canada managed to have a clean sheet in their final game of 2018 finishing the year with four clean sheets and a well deserved 4-0 record.

Head Coach John Herdman mentioned to the media “It was a resilient performance and at times you do have to dig in and grind out results in tough conditions and that’s what the players did tonight.”

After Atiba Hutchinson intercepted a SKN pass and played through to Junior Hoilett, Hoilett sent a ball wide to Russell Teibert allowing him (Teibert) the much needed space to cross into a waiting Hutchinson who headed the ball behind Archibald.

Former Whitecaps fan favorite Alphonso Davies managed a free kick from the top of the 18 following a Junior Hoilett foul, which was clearly Canada’s best chance of the first half before Hutchinson made it 1 nil.

Davies sent the ball over the wall as it continued rising going well over Archibald’s net, followed by a shot by Hutchinson who almost made it 2 nil match in the 56th minute.  

Canada’s best chance in the second half was in the 85th minute with Davies at the top of the box that saw Jonathan David with time and space on the left side.

David also had a chance during injury time only to have his shot off a headed corner from Teibert that went off the crossbar.

Canada started with Milan Borjan in goal; Alphonso Davies at left-back, Derek Cornelius and Doneil Henry at centre-back, Zachary Brault-Guillard at right-back; Ballou Tabla, Samuel Piette, Atiba Hutchinson, Junior Hoilett, Russell Teibert and Lucas Cavallini from midfield through attack.

Head Coach John Herdman replaced Tabla sending in Jonathan David in the 66th minute followed by substitutions with Hoilett and Liam Millar in the 77th minute and one last sub in the 74th minute that saw Cavallini and Cyle Larin trade places.

Listing among the 34 qualifying nations see’s Canada currently sit in second place with a +14 goal difference following the 1 nil victory, and away 8 nil win over US Virgin Islands followed by a home 5 nil win over Dominica.

The three wins along with the 14 goals in Concacaf Nations League Canada has them tied for second with Cuba (+14), sitting behind leaders Haiti (+15) and just ahead of Jamaica (+11) all on nine points through three matches.

Both Curaçao and Martinique have 6 points through a two games with only two matches left to be played on the 19th and 20th of November.

NEXT GENERATION

Canada’s next generation has also shown plenty of promise through the competition thus far. Jonathan David of KAA Gent in Belgium scored three goals and two assists in the first two matches while Alphonso Davies, now of FC Bayern München in Germany, recorded four assists.

Canada’s other teenagers with big European clubs are Zachary Brault-Guillard of Olympique Lyonnais, Liam Millar of Liverpool, and Ballou Tabla of FC Barcelona.

While Davies made his international debut in 2017, the other four have all made their debuts in 2018. Along with Alessandro Busti (Juventus), this marks the first time since 1984 that Canada has debuted five teenagers at the international “A” level in the same calendar year.

Other youngsters still 21 or younger are Derek Cornelius of FK Javor Ivanjica (Serbia), Liam Fraser of Toronto FC, and Marcus Godinho of Heart of Midlothian (Scotland).

Shamit Shome of Impact de Montréal also made the trip to St. Kitts & Nevis as a training player to ensure more top youth players are gaining experience in the Men’s National Team environment.

CONCACAF NATIONS LEAGUE QUALIFYING

The qualifying campaign runs through March 2019, after which the top nations will be ranked on points (three points for a win, one point for a draw), goal difference, goals scored, away goals, and then fewest yellow/red cards accumulated.

The top six teams will qualify for League A in 2019-20 Concacacf Nations League, and the top ten teams will qualify for the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup.

Canada will face French Guiana at home to close out the Qualifying Round on 26 March.

The 18 November match against St. Kitts and Nevis was the third all-time meeting between the two nations, with Canada having won a 2011 home match 4:0,and drawing 0:0 away at Warner Park in FIFA World Cup™ Qualifiers.

In 2018-19 Concacaf Nations League Qualifying, St. Kitts and Nevis won their home match 1:0 over Puerto Rico in September and then their away match 10:0 over Saint Martin in October.