(Toronto) Do you believe it? No, but… do you believe it?
Posted at 5:55 p.m.
We will write the words so that their meaning becomes more concrete.
Canada is going to the Soccer World Cup. After a 36 year wait.
The Maple Leaf confirmed its qualification by winning 4-0 against Jamaica at BMO Field in Toronto on Sunday. And he did it in front of a crowd of 30,000 excited and bubbling fans, despite a cold Canadian weather.
It must be said: the result of this match was a formality. It was enough to know by which brand Canada was going to win. This is nothing to take away from Jamaica. But with the fate of the visitors already sealed in qualifying, and with a fully inflated Canadian group, the domination was total.
Cyle Larin opened the scoring in the 13and minute. Playing the offside line to perfection, he just had to wait for the perfect pass from Stephen Eustáquio in the middle. Larin finished the action with the right foot, putting on his 13and purpose of qualifications.
PHOTO PATRICK WOODBURY, THE RIGHT
Cyle Larin opened the scoring in the 13and minute.
The BMO Field was shaking. And the sun was coming out.
Canada continued to attack, never giving the visitors a break. The latter seemed to have come to Toronto as a boxer stepping into the ring only to take the blows and his cachet.
The only real issue for the locals was their lack of finishing. The gap could have been even greater during this first engagement.
PHOTO PATRICK WOODBURY, THE RIGHT
A crowd of 30,000 excited and bubbling fans attended the game, despite a cold Canadian weather.
But after a superb missed chance a few moments earlier, Tajon Buchanan finally hit the mark in the 43and minute. A ball struck from a free kick he had won himself made its way into the box. He introduced the leather into the net on a shot at the mouth, with the right foot.
The mark was finally beginning to represent the look of the game.
It almost feels bad to call the second half uneventful. Because it was, in fact, historic.
PHOTO PATRICK WOODBURY, THE RIGHT
John Herdman brought in his greatest leader Atiba Hutchinson, the heart and soul of this team, in the 62and. At 39, and having lived through all these years of misery in the Canadian selection, he was going to be on the field for his qualification for the World Cup.
There were 10 minutes left in the game, and the fans, noisy as throughout the game, celebrated. They were jumping. They were dancing. They were doing the “thunder clap”, this synchronized clapping of hands. And, again, made the enclosure tremble.
And that was before Junior Hoilett’s 3-0 goal, in the 83and minute. He got the ball in the area after the second pass from a corner. And made the crowd have a blast, and fireworks.
As if to put the icing on the sundae, Jamaica scored one in their own goal in the 88and. 4-0.
Do you believe it, dear readers?
Canada is going to the World Cup.