Mark-Anthony Kaye was expelled from the game in the 34th minute and handicapped the Canadian selection which was looking for its first qualification for the World Cup since 1986.
A 1-0 loss to Costa Rica in San Jose on Thursday, in which Canada created a plethora of scoring chances, forces John Herdman’s troops to wait at least until Sunday’s game in Toronto against Jamaica to confirm its place in the great mass of soccer.
Midfielder Celso Borges scored the only goal of the game with a header redirected in action following a corner kick. He rattled the ropes in first-half stoppage time and caused Canada’s first defeat in the final stage of World Cup qualifying.
Kaye mowed down Ronald Matarrita in the 15th minute, in an action that was verified by video replay, and received a yellow card. Kaye, visibly pissed off, shouldered former Montreal Impact Johan Venegas a few minutes later and received a second yellow card.
In the 73rd minute, Keylor Navas won with a close range save, but Tajon Buchanan pounced on the rebound. His head redirect hit the horizontal bar head-on. Buchanan was once again first on the ball, but his volley went over the net.
19-year-old Montrealer Ismaël Koné made his debut for the national team when he replaced Jonathan Osorio in the 79th minute.
In the 88th minute, the Canadians again came up against their greatest enemy: the post. Jonathan David’s header completely thwarted Navas, but hit the frame.
The two teams met on November 12 in Edmonton, where the maple leaf won 1-0.
Canada (7-1-4, 25 points) proved to be the big surprise in Concacaf qualifying, as they top the standings ahead of Mexico and the United States (identical records of 6-2- 4, 22 points). Costa Rica (5-3-4, 19 points) edged Panama (5-4-3, 18 points) to take fourth place.
The countries occupying the top three positions at the conclusion of this international window will represent Concacaf in Qatar. The fourth-place team will face off against a club from the Oceania region in an intercontinental playoff duel to determine who will join these three nations.
Canada (33rd in the world) will host Jamaica (62nd) on Sunday at BMO Field in Toronto. He will end the qualifying leg by traveling to Panama (63rd) on March 30.