ANALYSIS + HIGHLIGHTS: CanMNT mark return to competitive action with gritty 3-2 road win vs. Guatemala in 1st leg of Nations League quarter-finals

For the first time since the World Cup, the CanMNT returned to competitive action Friday night, as they took on Guatemala in the first leg of their Concacaf Nations League quarter-final tie. 

Faced with a tricky trip to Guatemala City, Canada managed to survive the challenge of a hostile crowd and kick off their road towards a trophy on a positive note, as they picked up a gritty 3-2 road win. 

With that, they took one step closer towards the semi-finals, which they’ll look to officially reach on Monday, when they travel home to Toronto to play leg two at BMO Field. 

At the same time, they’ll rue that the scoreline from this game was not more commanding, as they cruised to a 3-0 lead in the first half before nearly letting it slip with a poor second-half showing - although they’ll be pleased that they managed to get the job done while scoring three away goals, which will give them a big edge with the away goal rule in effect for this tie.

Despite their strong first half showing, Canada had a far from ideal start to the match, as they got a quick reminder of how difficult it can be to play on the road in Concacaf. Within just five minutes, Guatemala striker Darwin Lom had a great shooting opportunity inside Canada’s box, forcing a great save from goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau. 

Then, to make matters worse for Canada, they’d also suffer a big loss on that play, as Alphonso Davies, who was making his first start for Canada in over 600 days, tweaked a muscle while trying to block Lom’s shot, leading to an early exit for the Bayern Munich superstar. That was a huge blow for Canada, who were looking forward to the return of their best player, who had only made one appearance for his country across those 600 days as he dealt with a major knee injury and a bunch of subsequent muscle problems that arose upon his return. 

Yet, while that appeared to be a big problem for Canada in the moment, they did well to pick themselves up and recover, as Ralph Priso stepped up and slotted into that left back position off the bench. 

Nearly 10 minutes later, Canada had a great chance to score, as Tajon Buchanan snuck behind Guatemala’s defence to get on the end of a nice Tani Oluwaseyi through ball, scoring a goal that would only be narrowly ruled out for an offside call.

Moments later, though, Canada would find a way to score for real, as they continued to threaten Guatemala’s backline. After a clever flick from Jonathan David, Oluwaseyi did well to pick up the ball in stride and drive into Guatemala’s box, before finding the bottom corner with a great finish - giving him his first Canada goal in over a year. 

From there, that seemed to loosen up Canada, who started to string the ball around and play some beautiful soccer despite the state of the pitch, which had already started to cut up before the game even hit the 20-minute mark. 

As a result, Liam Millar almost found the net in the 20th minute after cutting inside and firing a shot towards the far post, forcing a nice save out of Guatemala’s Nicholas Hagen, before Jonathan David just headed a shot over from close range after a dangerous Richie Laryea cross in the 23rd minute. 

That pressure would soon lead to another Canadian goal, as they used that momentum to their advantage to double their lead. This time, it’d be Millar, who played a fantastic 1-2 with David before bundling the ball home after hitting the post with his initial shot, poking home a rebound to score his first Canada goal in over three years. 

Despite having that two-goal lead, though, one that was quite valuable given the aforementioned presence of away goals in this tie, Canada continued to push for a third goal, one that would all but put this game out of reach. 

Buchanan came close to finding it in the 36th minute, as he once again slipped in behind to get on the end of a nice Oluwaseyi through ball, but he slashed his shot just wide. Then, moments later, Millar managed to find the space for a left-footed shot from a tight angle, but despite beating a surprised Hagen with his attempt, it hit the crossbar and stayed out. 

Eventually, though, Canada found that third goal, and it came at a great time for them, as they found it right before the end of the first half. This time, Buchanan played provider, as he intercepted a bad Guatemala pass and burst down the wing before whipping in a dangerous cross towards the near post, one that found the run of David, who had snuck behind Guatemala’s defence to score a tap-in. 

Buoyed by that goal, Canada picked up where they left off in the second half, as they looked to put this tie well out of reach. They almost found another goal early in the half, too, as the ball fell to Oluwaseyi in a great position inside the box, but he’d be unable to jam the ball home past Hagen, who did well to come out and make himself big and save the shot. 

Looking to end the game on a positive note, Guatemala looked for any sort of momentum to cling onto, and they found it in the 54th minute. After a series of Canada defensive mistakes, the ball found Óscar Santis at the back post, and from there, he managed to pull off an unlikely shot attempt, as he managed to head the ball with just enough curve and power to elude Crépeau and find the back of the net, as the Canadian goalkeeper was caught in an awkward spot inside his box. 

Filled with belief once again, Guatemala started to find their legs, and almost found another goal in the 59th minute, as Rubio Rubín almost jammed a shot past Crépeau, who did well to get down and put his body in front of the shot to keep the game at 3-1. 

Continuing a strong sequence, Matthew Evans had a pair of good chances around the 68th minute, as he almost slotted home a cross at the back post but sent his shot just wide, before he forced a fantastic save out of Crépeau with a shot from the edge of the box moments later. 

Having finally found their feet after that run of Guatemala chances, Canada started to play on the front foot again, though, and almost found a fourth goal in the 77th minute. Once again, it fell to the feet of Oluwaseyi in a great spot in the box, but his low shot was denied by Hagen, who battled to keep the game close for his team heading into the last 10 minutes. Then, Millar had another attempt in the 83rd minute, as he cut inside onto his right foot and curled a shot towards the back post, sending his attempt just wide of the goal. 

From there, though, Canada managed to settle things down, as they looked content to carry a 3-1 lead into leg two, instead of pushing for a fourth. As a result, the end of the match was a bit more of a slog, instead of the end-to-end spectacle it was for portions of the second half. 

Unfortunately, though, Canada wasn’t able to get their two-goal lead over the line. On a last-gasp Guatemala free-kick in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time, the ball fell to Evans at the back post, and he managed to fire a shot off Luc De Fougerolles and into the net for an own goal, one that gave Guatemala a crucial lifeline in this tie. 

Therefore, while it seems like a pretty positive result for Canada on paper, given that they were able to pick up a good win while scoring three crucial away goals, they’ll rue the way this game developed. 

With how they started the second half, they should’ve absolutely extended their lead to 4-0 with some of the chances they had in the minutes leading up to Guatemala’s first goal, which completely changed the momentum of this game. 

Given that Canada was missing some key defenders, which was always going to make it tough for them to see out this game with the sort of steely defensive resolve they’ve developed over the last two years, it could’ve gone a long way for them to offer a bit more protection to their lead with a fourth goal. 

Of course, for a team that scored three goals for just the second time in 19 games, that feels harsh to say, but given that they had the chances to score, they’ll have to look back on those missed opportunities with a bit more of a critical eye, given how costly those opportunities proved to be. 

Ultimately, for a team with ambitions to win a trophy, that’s the reality they’ve got to live in, one where just winning games that were once difficult for them to even get a result out of is no longer good enough - even if they remain in a good position relative to their goals for this tie.