Canada eliminate Cuba and advance to Round of 16

By Paul Nicholson in Houston

July 4 – Canada secured their progression to the Gold Cup Round of 16 with a 4-2 victory over Cuba on another 94-degree afternoon at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston.

Canada will next face Mexico, but will need to step up a gear in front of goal if they are to progress further.

Cuba arrived at the game with just 17 players on their 23-man squad, including three goalkeepers, as the other six players disappeared from their training base in the vast undocumented American diaspora on Independence Day . The Cubans put in an honorable performance and certainly don't lack athleticism.

Canada was looking for a win and goals to advance to the quarter-finals. They lined up with a back four protected by Moisie Bombito in the center of midfield and attacked with a high line from Lucas Cavallini and Liam Miller, with Junior Hoilettt and Jonathan Osorio joining from midfield.

That combination almost gave Canada the lead after 6 minutes. A ball fed into Hoilett overlapping on the left was driven along the goal line towards the inbound Osorio whose finish touched the underside of the crossbar and bounced down the line, but not into.

At 13', Ali Ahmed, increasingly impressive, shot outside the box. Ahmed has been a real find for Canada so far in this tournament.

In the 20th minute, Canada broke through. A handball from Eduardo Hernandez into the box saw Hoillet calmly send Cuban keeper Sandy Sanchez the wrong way.

Two minutes later, Canada should have been down to two, but Zac McGraw headed a free kick over the bar. Canada, as in their previous two games, again lost chances to put the game to bed.

In the 27th minute, Canada scored the crucial second goal needed to give them the goal difference and qualify. A Canadian counterattack saw Cavallini place the ball through the box to an incoming Osorio who this time made no mistakes.

In New York, Guadeloupe won against Guatemala and took the lead of the group.

In added time, Cuba retired a goal against the run of play. Canadian goalkeeper Dayne St Clair brought down Luis Paradela. Paradela scored from the spot and almost equalized a minute later, but his shot hit the side netting.

Canada had released the accelerator. In New York, Guatemala equalized. Canada still held second place in qualification and came back with a chance to claim first place, but not with the kind of defense that ended the first half.

Two minutes into the second half, Canada had restored their two-goal advantage. A horrific knockdown by Sanchez saw a busy Jayden Miller, in place of Bombito, steal the ball and calmly round the extended Sanchez to put his foot in it.

Canada kept the pressure on and at 55', a rebound from Miller hit the post and was taken out. Miller finally scored his fourth goal.

Cuba inexplicably replaced Sanchez with Nelson Johnston from a Canadian corner. Johnston missed his punch clearance from the corner and Miller ran through it to reward his afternoon blast and blast.

Cuba had a late surge, buoyed by Salvadoran support who were preparing for the next game. St. Clair knocked the bar down for a corner. VAR recalled the referee for a possible penalty which was given, much to the delight of the Salvadoran fans. Maykel Reyes scored in the 88' and the Salvadoran fans continued their celebration.

Osorio still had time to kick the ball well around Johnston but was ruled offside. Canada scored the Cuban goal in the last 8 minutes of added time, but in the end they were happy to comfortably take the points.

With Guatemala coming from behind to beat Guadeloupe 3-2, Canada now heads to Arlington to face Mexico in the quarter-finals.

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