TORONTO – While the Canadian women’s side has garnered the nation’s attention with its exploits at the FIFA Women’s World Cup on home soil, the men’s team have become a forgotten entity.
But coach Benito Floro’s side on Tuesday night moved one small step closer towards qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup with a convincing 4-0 win over Dominica before 9,749 fans at BMO Field.
Youngsters Tesho Akindele and Cyle Larin both scored and effectively linked up in attack, putting in man-of-the-match calibre performances for Canada. Tosaint Ricketts also chipped in with a pair of goals.
The Canadians won this two-game series 6-0 on aggregate and now move on to the third round of World Cup qualifying in the CONCACAF region. Canada earned a 2-0 victory in Dominica last week in the opening leg.
Canada has a long way to go before booking its spot at the World Cup in Russia. There are many obstacles and top teams in the CONCACAF region to overcome, especially for a Canadian team that has a long history of scoring problems. But maybe the combined play of Akindele and Larin offers Canada a bit of hope for the future. The dynamic youngsters were clearly on the same attacking wave length against Dominica, and have developed some chemistry after only playing two games together.
“It feels good. He’s a really good player. The first time we played with each other, we clicked. I know what he’s going to do and I know what I’m going to do,” Larin said of his budding partnership with Akindele.
Akindele made his debut for the Reds last week, finally deciding to commit to Canada after being courted by the United States. Born in Calgary, Akindele expressed an interest in playing for the U.S. (he grew up in Colorado) after receiving his American citizenship last year.
“I couldn’t be happier about my decision (to play for Canada),” Akindele stated.
Despite the ease of the victory, Floro charitably declared “we consider Dominica not a bad team” in the post-match conference. The Reds dominated its meagre opponent right from the opening kickoff, hardly a surprise considering the visitor’s soccer pedigree.
Dominica, not to be confused with the Dominican Republic, is a tiny island nation in the Caribbean, located between Guadeloupe and Martinique. It has a population of approximately 73,000, roughly the same size as Prince George, B.C.
Canada is 109th in the current FIFA world rankings. Dominica is 168th. Dominica beat the British Virgin Islands in a two-legged playoff in the first round of World Cup qualifying to get to this point.
The Canadians opened the scoring in the fourth minute through Akindele, who lashed a powerful shot from just outside the box that nestled inside the post. It was Akindele’s first international goal after making his debut for the Reds in Dominica.
“It’s a great feeling. There’s nothing better than scoring your first goal in front of the home crowd. You feel everybody’s energy; it was just the perfect game for me,” Akindele said.
Dominica oalkeeper Glenson Prince was kept busy for the remainder of the first half, called upon to make 11 saves. Prince was nearly caught off his line when Canadian defender David Edgar launched a shot from just inside his half, but he scrambled back in time to prevent it from crossing the goal-line.
The visitors fashioned a scoring chance in the 23rd minute when Randolph Peltier latched onto a defence-splitting pass. Canadian goalkeeper Kenny Stamatopoulos came up big to deny the Dominica forward on the breakaway, and then stopped Peltier’s rebound attempt as Canada’s defenders were caught flat-footed.
Larin put the game out of reach just before halftime, turning quickly after having his back to goal and firing a long-distance shot that beat Prince. Larin has now scored in three consecutive matches for Canada.
Akindele turned provider in the 52nd minute, scampering down the left flank after beting his man before delivering a perfect cross into the middle for Ricketts to tap home.
“At half time (Ricketts) told me to beat my guy down the line and he’d be there far post. It happened right away in the second half just like we planned it,” Akindele explained.
Moments later Dominica was called for a hand ball inside its area. Edgar stepped up to the spot, but his powerful attempt was well read and parried away by Prince, who was mobbed by his teammates after making an excellent save.
Ricketts added his second goal in the 77th minute, taking an exquisite through ball from Toronto FC’s Jonathan Osorio and charging into the box before chipping the ball over Prince. Ricketts now has 10 goals for Canada.
FC Edmonton defender Mallan Roberts made his debut for Canada when he came on as a substitute for Julian de Guzman in the 84th minute.
NOTES: Canada and the other nine second-round winners move on to the next round of CONCACAF qualifying where they will be joined by Jamaica and Haiti for another home-and-away series later this summer… The six winners from the third round will then join the six top ranked nations in CONCACAF—Costa Rica, the U.S., Mexico, Honduras, Panama and Trinidad and Tobago—in the semifinal stage in November when the 12 teams will be divided into three round-robin groups. The top two in each group will advance to the final hexagonal round-robin… From the final round, which kicks off in late 2016, the top three qualify directly for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The fourth-place side will play a two-game playoff against a team from South America, Oceania or Asia for a World Cup berth.