Day-After thoughts from the CanMNT’s dominant 4-0 win over Jamaica to clinch World Cup spot
The CanMNT is going to the 2022 World Cup after their 4-0 win over Jamaica on Sunday. In this, I look at my day-after thoughts from that one.
It still doesn’t feel real.
But it happened. And it happened in style, too, as the CanMNT officially finished a job 36 years in the making on Sunday - qualify for a World Cup.
Yet, that’s just been what this team has been building for this past year.
When they kicked off their World Cup qualifying journey back on March 25th, 2021, they knew that while it wasn’t going to be easy, there was no reason why they couldn’t snap their 36-year World Cup drought this cycle.
And then they went out and made it a reality.
First, they walked through round 1 of CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers with 4 dominant wins in 4 games, before taking care of business with a gutsy pair of wins across 2 legs against Haiti in Round 2. Then, they kept the good times going in what was supposed to be their reality check, the final round of World Cup qualifiers, the ‘Octagonal’, losing just 1 out of 13 games so far to not only book their spot at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, but do so earlier and more emphatically than anyone else in this region.
In fact, heading into the last matchday of this final round later this week, they’re the only team to have booked a spot in Qatar, and with just a single point on Wednesday in Panama, they can now guarantee that they finish atop the Octo, too.
So when reflecting back on Sunday’s game, in which Canada clobbered an already-eliminated Jamaica side in a 4-0 drubbing at a cold and snowy BMO Field, it only felt right that Canada booked their ticket back to the World Cup the way that they did, as it was just an extension of what their run to this point has been so far.
Knowing that a win or a draw at home would do the trick, they left no chance for anything bad to happen, ensuring that their home fans would not only be there to witness qualification, but do so while watching arguably what was their most complete performance of their 19-game journey to where they are now.
And speaking of that dominance, however, that’s reflected here in my day-after piece for Sunday’s match, as when looking back on what went down for Canada, dominance is a key theme.
So seeing that, here’s a look at some of what stands out when reflecting back on a day that will be forever etched in Canadian soccer history.
Canada gets the job done in style:
And to begin, when I say that Canada dominated this game, it’s worth noting that they really DOMINATED this game.
Not only did they play Jamaica off the park, but they did so while controlling nearly every aspect of the game, just overall giving them next to no scraps to feed off of at either end.
In fact, other than a couple of nice Andre Blake saves, and a Daniel Green chance offensively that he’ll want back, Jamaica really had nothing to look back fondly on from this game, other than the fact that their young team did well to hold possession at times, although they didn’t do much with it.
The numbers reflect that, too. Not only did Canada still win the possession battle despite Jamaica’s best efforts to combat that, holding 53.7% of the ball, but they made the most of that possession, too, outshooting their opponents 20-2, which is quite dominant.
Plus, it wasn’t as if Canada was employing a ‘spray and pray’ approach, as many of their chances were of high quality, as they created 2.8 Expected Goals (xG) and 3 big chances, with 14 of those 20 shots coming inside of the box.
And despite sending forward waves and waves of bodies in possession, really doing their best to overload Jamaica’s stout defensive posture off the ball, they did so without having to make any sacrifices at the back, either, keeping their opponents to just 0.15 xG from those two shots that they did get.
So when looking back at this game, you can really see how Canada was able to carve out a victory. Right from the opening whistle, they seemed to have blood in their eyes, and they made sure to play like it, giving zero scraps to their opponents.
But that’s what makes Canada such a good team. When looking back at their run throughout this Octo, they have just seemed to find ways to step up in these big moments, putting together some of their best performances in games where they had the most pressure on them.
Be it that 4-1 win over a plucky Panama side in October, or wins over Mexico in November and the US in January at home, as well as away wins against struggling Honduras and El Salvador away in January, whenever Canada really needed to put the pedal to the metal this round, they found a way to do so in style.
So in a sense, it really shouldn’t have been that surprising to come out and do the same in this game, as you just felt that they wanted to clinch that World Cup spot in style in front of their fans, and the performance only reflects that. Especially after how they suffered their first loss of the Octo a few days prior in Costa Rica, where they also could’ve clinched a spot in the World Cup with a win or a draw, you just knew that they’d come out on fire in this one to avenge that result.
And as the stats show, that’s just been what they’ve done this whole Octo, with this dominant performance just being the latest example of what they’ve done as the stakes have risen this round.
Left side has a good time:
But from within that complete team performance, there were some individuals that stood out in a big way, and none shone brighter than Canada’s two left-sided players in the 4-4-2 formation they used on Sunday, Sam Adekugbe and Junior Hoilett.
With Adekugbe in his usual left back spot, fresh off of a suspension, and Hoilett at left wing, also rested after playing just a few minutes off the bench in Costa Rica, they came out strong in this one.
From Adekugbe’s consistent overlapping threat, to Hoilett’s ability to make space for himself in tight areas, and how they combined those skills in tantalizing fashion, they made Jamaica suffer a lot down that side, popping up over and over again to create chances.
Because of that, Adekugbe was able to finish with an own goal assist, while Hoilett finished with a goal and a hockey assist, as they were fairly rewarded for their efforts.
But even beyond the main counting numbers, there was plenty to like about both of their performances.
For example, with Hoilett, while his goal will be what’s remembered most, he also did add 3 shots, made all 4 of his long balls, and completed 5 out of 5 dribbles, just finding different ways to cause problems for the Jamaican defence. Plus, on top of that, he was also pretty defensively responsible, too, finding a way to track back and help out Adekugbe if needed, finishing with 2 interceptions and 1 tackle, while winning 6 out of 7 of his duels, which is nothing to scoff at.
Overall, he just seemed to be everywhere down that left-hand side, and that really left Jamaica’s right back, Javain Brown (and later Tarick Ximines) stretched and all over the place, as they tried to chase Hoilett’s shadow all night.
And that’s thanks to that, Adekugbe was also able to do a lot of damage, as with the space created for him, he proved to be a threat all night, adding 3 key passes, 1 big chance created, 1 shot and 1 dribble to go along with his own goal assist. Along with his usual strong defensive play, which saw him make 5 interceptions, 2 tackles and win 5 out of 7 of his duels, it was just a strong all-around day at the office for him, continuing a strong run of games for him at the Octo.
Through that, it gave Canada control down that left-hand side, and from there, the rest was history.
So now, it’ll be interesting to see what happens with the pair going forward. Arguably, when everyone is healthy, at least one of them likely won’t be in the lineup, but as seen here, they’ll still be key contributors when called upon.
And their stock with this Canadian team is still rising, too.
For example, Hoilett might not start every game given how stacked Canada are in the attack, but he can be lethal off the bench, or in games like this where his team will be expected to hold onto a lot of the ball.
Then with Adekugbe, he always just seems to have at minimum a 7.5/10 game for Canada whenever he plays, and considering that his insertion usually frees up Alphonso Davies to go higher up the pitch, that shows why he’s considered so valuable to this team.
Because of that, it feels like this Sunday game won’t be the last of these pair going forward, as both are almost guaranteed locks in Canada’s Qatar squad for a reason, with their play throughout these qualifiers being a huge reason why.
How to handle Wednesday?
Now, for Canada, it’s important to note that while it feels like these qualifiers are over after their victory Sunday, they still have one game left to play.
And while it feels insignificant now, their trip to play an already-eliminated Panama on Wednesday could have pretty big ramifications on Canada’s future.
First, there’s just the fact that they could officially finish atop the Octo table, which means virtually nothing, yes, but is a huge potential pride point for this team. Having spent most of the Octo atop the table, a goal of there’s heading into this, it’d be nice for them to finish the job on Wednesday, giving them an incentive to want to get a result.
Then, there’s the fact that they owe Panama a good game after things got physical between the two in that 4-1 win in October, meaning that while Panama is eliminated, they might come out hard as revenge for those encounters, making it imperative that Canada is ready for that.
But most importantly, there is the fact that this game could potentially impact Canada’s place in the World Cup draw, which goes on Friday, as based on results this week, they could crawl up to pot 3 in that draw, theoretically giving them a better shot at a good group.
And while their fate pretty much remains in the hands of a couple of results in African and/or European qualifiers going their way, meaning that no matter the result they get in Panama, they can’t assure pot 3 without any help, a win would mean that less help would be needed for them to get to pot 3.
So with the double whammy that a win gets you atop the Octo table while increasing your odds at the World Cup draw, it makes a lot of sense for Canada to go to Panama and finish qualifiers in style, bringing an end to what’s been a memorable journey.
Otherwise, one thing to watch out for in that game is some new faces, as it is possible we see some rotation in the squad for Canada on Wednesday, as the travel is going to be brutal to get down to Panama, and some guys are going to be tired after two gruelling games already this window (and the celebrations of this weekend). Therefore because of that, Canadian head coach, John Herdman, might have to turn to some of his depth options, giving some new guys a chance to play.
And that’s not a bad thing. Part of the reason why Canada are where they are is because of that depth.
Every time a player goes down, it seems like there are two or three ready to replace him, so while it feels like Canada might not be able to throw in all of their usual faces for this game, they’ll still be more than capable of grabbing a result here.
Which seeing how important a win could be for Canada’s World Cup hopes, is a good thing, as Canada has every reason to want to go grab a result in this game, and should have the firepower to do so no matter who is available.
Looking Forward:
But speaking of the World Cup, one thing that Canada can do now after this Sunday game is to plan not only their trip there, but really start to get an idea of what their team will look like for that, too, as well as figure out what their goals and aspirations are for that tournament.
And the good news is that they’re playing with house money right now when it comes to all of that. With it being their first World Cup in 36 years, and knowing that they’ll be co-hosting the next tournament in 2026, it really feels like the fact that they made it this cycle is a bonus.
So although the goal will be for them to go as far as possible, hence the desire to want to push into the top three to give them a better chance at a draw that’d do that, even getting put in a group of death would be good for Canada, giving them a chance to test themselves against some top teams in high-leverage situations.
As they showed this Octo, they’re no longer scared of anyone in CONCACAF, but the World Cup is a whole different beast.
After all of the work that they’ve done, however, it’s a beast they now get to face, and based on what they’ve shown so far, you’d give them a shot, and that’s all you need.
Whenever they’ve needed to step up on this journey to Qatar, they’ve done so in a big way, which is why they can look back on that road with a smile, knowing that they managed each turn in a good way, leading to them to reach the final destination in style on Sunday.
Canada celebrates qualifying for the World Cup on Sunday (Canada Soccer/Martin Bayzl)