Gold Cup: High-Scoring Canada Ready for US

The Canadian men's national team flies into the Gold Cup quarter-finals. But first, they'll face a major test against the United States on Sunday in Kansas City.

After securing a spot in the Octagonal Round, the 2021 Gold Cup presents an opportunity for Canada to continue their growth path and can be a proving ground for newer members of the men's national team. So far, so good - from both perspectives. After two matches, both won with the same scoreline, Canada sits atop Group B thanks to a +6 goal differential, achieving qualification to the Gold Cup quarter-finals for the 7th time irrespective of the result of the final group match.

Canada's Gold Cup had started last Sunday with a 4-1 win over Martinique with goals by Kyle Larin, Jonathan Osorio, Stephen Eustaquio, and Theo Corbeanu. The match (and therefore the tournament) didn't get off to an idyllic start with a defensive blunder leading to a goal by Martinique's Emmanuel Riviere. The star of the match was Tajon Buchanan, however, who proved to be a thorn in the opposition's side with blistering runs and dribbling past opposing defenders on the left side, revealing that Canada has options on left wing despite Alphonso Davies' absence.

Yesterday's match against 86th-ranked Haiti was the third in a little over a month - the last one was played on June 16, 2021 with a decisive 3-0 win that sent the Canadians to the Octagonal Round for CONCACAF World Cup qualifying for Qatar 2022. In the previous match the Haitians were edged only 1-0 by the United States, so winning this match was key to Canada's Gold Cup pursuit.