Canada suffered its first loss of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup, which will be held in Qatar, losing 1-0 to Costa Rica on Thursday in San Jose.
The representatives of the maple leaf therefore did not officially obtain their ticket for the international competition, but they still took a step closer to this objective, since Panama could not do better than a simple draw against Honduras.
In the duel on Costa Rican soil, a second yellow card for Mark-Anthony Kaye, which earned him an automatic red card and an expulsion, in the 34th minute, was fatal for Canada. The crowd favorites also took advantage of this one-man advantage to shake the ropes during stoppage time in the first half. Celso Borges then redirected a header from Gersont Torres, beating goalkeeper Milan Borjan.
Despite the absence of a player, the Canadians did not slow down offensively in the second half and even had a few good chances to tie the score, but without success.
In addition, the young CF Montreal player Ismaël Koné, who is in his first appearance with the national team, had the chance to experience his baptism of fire. The 19-year-old was called up by head coach John Herdman to replace Jonathan Osorio in the 80th minute. He thus spent about ten minutes on the ground.
This means that Canada will have the chance to secure its place at the next World Cup in front of its supporters, since it will play its next match in Toronto, on March 27, against Jamaica. The men’s team has not participated in this tournament, which takes place only in fours, since 1986.