The Canadian men's national team capped off the winter World Cup Qualifying window with a third straight 2-0 victory, defeating El Salvador on the road Wednesday night. They've only conceded two goals in their past six WCQ matches, and John Herman's side has all but booked a ticket to Qatar 2022.
With the three points, Canada remain atop the Concacaf Octagonal standings and look set to make their first World Cup since 1986.
Canada Men's National Team Player Ratings
Borjan came up huge in stoppage time with a stunning tip-over-the-bar save. The veteran goalkeeper kept three clean sheets in three matches over the winter World Cup Qualifying window.
The Nottingham Forest defender didn't have much to deal with, but was up to the task when called upon and helped Canada keep La Selecta's attackers at bay.
Henry made his first appearance for Canada in this winter window and put in a solid shift along the backline, never looking rusty or out of place.
It was a quiet night for the 24-year-old defender, but Kennedy was a set-piece threat going forward while maintaining his composure when needed.
After a breakout performance against the United States on Sunday, Adekugbe had a relatively quiet evening and struggled to assert himself in attack.
In his return to the starting XI, the Porto midfielder showed his quality on set pieces and in the center of the pitch but lacked precision in the final third.
The 38-year-old opened the scoring with a stunning goal, smashing a header against the post, only for the ball to ricochet off a defender and spin into the back of the net. “Captain Canada” always seems to be in the right place at the right time.
The Toronto FC midfielder failed to make an offensive impact and couldn't quite link up with his teammates up top, despite his best efforts. He was replaced by Tajon Buchanan in the 57th minute.
Miller exited the match midway through the second half for Cyle Larin, which ultimately turned out to be decisive. He'll probably wish he would've done more with his chances.
David missed a golden opportunity to get the go-ahead goal midway through the first half, but redeemed himself by putting the match to bed in the dying moments with a stunning solo breakaway and chip shot over the goalkeeper.
A rather quiet performance from the Reading FC attacker, who was replaced after registering just one single shot on the night.
You could argue it was a lucky three points for Canada, but Herdman’s side continues their miraculous unbeaten run in World Cup Qualifying. With just three matches left in the Octagonal cycle, Canada have their sights firmly set on Qatar 2022.
Substitutes
Brought in as an offensive move, Buchanan was lucky not to concede a penalty kick midway through the second half.
The CF Montréal defender came on to allow Buchanan to move forward and commit to attack. He did everything that was asked of him, locking down his side.
Larin entered the pitch midway through the second half and generated Hutchinson's goal with a brilliant run and service from the right-hand side.
Brault-Guillard, added to Canada's roster for the El Salvador game, was a late substitute to preserve the win.
