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Posted by
Mat Rooney,
July 8, 2017 |
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Twitter
@rooney_matthew
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For the first time since 2011, Canada has not only won but scored at a Gold Cup. In a strong, if a little uneven performance, Canada bested French Guiana 4-2 in the opening match of the tournament.
After a bit of controversy regarding French Guiana’s desire to field Florent Malouda, the match went underway with a very strong showing from Canada in the first half. Lucas Cavallini, Alphonso Davies and Scott Arfield looked very dangerous to the French Guiana defense despite some issues with flow.
Early chances for Canada were a little wonky, especially a weak free kick from just outside the box by Junior Hoilett. Just before the half-hour mark, Dejan Jakovic knocked a shot by Arfield into the net giving Canada its first goal since 2011. Arfield would add another for Canada just before the half closed.
Canada’s luck continued early in the second as Davies scored his debut goal at the hour mark but the luck ended. French Guiana came at Canada very hard in the second half, with the full support of the Honduran fanbase that was flowing into Red Bull Arena. Following the subbing out of Milan Borjan (who left the game with injury), Canada’s game seemed to collapse as Roy Contout and Sloan Privat got French Guiana back into the game with two very quick goals against Maxime Crépeau.
After a rocky 20 minutes, Davies helped Canada recover and secure the victory and a decent goal differential with a late goal to give Canada a 4-2 win. He also showed a great deal of chemistry with late game sub Anthony Jackson-Hamel.
It was a decent showing and should give fans some faith in the upcoming games against Costa Rica and arch-rival Honduras and some hope for entering the quarter-finals.
Man of the Match
Alphonso Davies
All game the 16-year-old looked like a beast and his pair of goals proved that he might just be the future of this program.
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