Canada’s players were left wondering what went wrong against Jamaica in the second half.
OTTAWA – Tuesday’s shocking second-half collapse against Jamaica in the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal marked a step backwards for the Canadian men, who a year after making their first appearance in the World Cup for 36 years, took a step back.
Jamaica won the series on the away goals rule, and Canada lost 3-2 on the night, with the final score tied at 4-4 overall.
With a victory, Canada would have qualified for the Nations League semifinals and—more significantly—the Copa America the following year. The 45th-ranked Canadians are now eliminated from the CONCACAF competition and will have to defeat Trinidad and Tobago, ranked 99, in a play-in game on March 23 in Frisco, Texas, in order to advance to the South American championship.
“Very disappointing,” Mauro Biello, who is currently 0–2 in his role as temporary Canada coach, stated.
“Some of the performances in the second half are unacceptable to us. We injured our own foot,” he continued.
After a rain-delayed victory in Kingston, Jamaica on Saturday, the 55th-ranked Jamaicans were trailing the Canadian men 2-1 heading into the second leg. And to the joy of the announced 17,588 spectators at BMO Field, they increased the aggregate lead to 3-1 in the 25th minute thanks to a goal from Alphonso Davies.
In a wild second half, the Reggae Boyz completely changed the course of the series, defeating Canada on a contentious last-minute penalty kick that completed a three-goal comeback.
“All of us need to sit down, look each other in the observe what went awry. Since this is intolerable “Said Milan Borjan, the goalkeeper for Canada. “It is unacceptable for this team to have players who behave in such a way.
“I’m furious as hell. I apologize to the country as captain for not making it to the Nations League semifinals, but we have another opportunity in March for the Copa America, so we’ll do everything in our power to recover and try to please the people.”
After Shamar Nicholson’s goals in the 63rd and 66th minutes gave Jamaica an aggregate point draw, Ismael Kone’s goal in the 69th minute put Canada ahead.
After the ball struck Stephen Eustaquio’s arm in the 75th minute, Mexican referee Cesar Ramos signaled for a penalty. The Canadian midfielder attempted to get his arm down by his side to avoid contact, giving the impression that the call was harsh.
Bobby Reid’s video review and the decision held up.
Mark-Anthony Kaye, a midfielder, said, “Listen, it’s CONCACAF.”
Drama was increased when Jamaica’s Demarai Gray was sent off after receiving a second yellow card seven minutes later. Nine minutes of stoppage time were maintained by the Jamaicans.
All evening, the Jamaican defense struggled to contain the offensive line of Canada, which included Davies, Jonathan David, Cyle Larin, and Tajon Buchanan. However, the attack of the Reggae Boyz got stronger in the second half as defender Damion Lowe, who had moved into the midfield, proved to be a formidable opponent.
Davies finished off a quick counterattack to start the score.
Kone advanced the ball up the field and hit a pass that struck a defender but still reached Richie Laryea on the left. Goalie Andre Blake first blocked Davies’ attempt after Laryea sent the ball into the penalty area. However, the ball rebounded, struck the crossbar, and fell in for a goal, sending Davies to celebrate his 16th goal for Canada by running to the corner flag.
In the first half, Blake—a three-time MLS goalkeeper of the year for the Philadelphia Union—made a number of highlight-reel saves to keep Jamaica in the match.
In the 63rd minute, Jamaica reduced the aggregate lead to one goal by starting the second half with a purpose. After taking Eustaquio’s position, Lowe passed the ball to Nicholson, who fired a shot that went past Borjan.
Nicholson, who had also scored in the first leg, completed a Jamaican counterattack with a low cross to make it 2-1. In an attempt to recover the ball, the Canadian players protested in vain that Kone had been fouled by Jamaica.
Three minutes later, Kone exacted revenge with a glancing header following a cross from Davies.
With the quarterfinal losers competing to determine which two teams join them as CONCACAF’s guest teams, the four quarterfinal winners secure their tickets to Copa America.
Joining the 11th-ranked United States, No. 12 Mexico, and No. 44 Panama in the Nations League final four in March, Jamaica will also be the guest teams of Copa America in June of next year. At Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium, Mexico overcame a 2-0 deficit in the first leg by scoring a goal 11 minutes into stoppage time to tie the aggregate at 2-2. From there, they defeated No. 78 Honduras on penalties.
Coach Heimir Hallgrímsson, who led his native Iceland to the 2018 World Cup, stated, “This was probably the most important game for Jamaica in a long time.”
Beyond CONCACAF, which encompasses North and Central America as well as the Caribbean, elite opposition must be overcome in order to qualify for the Copa America field. Prior to co-hosting the 2026 World Cup, Canada is in dire need of this.
Seven of the ten CONMEBOL teams competing in Copa America are currently ranked higher than Canada, including Argentina (No. 1), the defending World Cup champion, and Brazil (No. 3).
The defeat ended Canada’s historic 17-game home winning streak (15-0-2) that dates back to a 3-0 setback to Mexico in a Vancouver World Cup qualifying match in March 2016.
Canada’s record, which dates back to a 2-0 loss to Peru in September 2010, was even better at BMO Field (15-0-7).
For the evening kickoff, the temperature at BMO Field was five degrees Celsius, which felt like two. It was a soggy evening.
Steven Vitoria and Sam Adekugbe were replaced by Derek Cornelius and Alistair Johnston in Biello’s two changes.
Jamaica was without Michail Antonio, the star forward for West Ham, who was hurt during the first leg on Saturday. However, Gray—who plays for Al-Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia—returned to the starting lineup following an injury that kept him out of the first game.
Prior to the Gold Cup last year, former Canada coach John Herdman had cautioned about the threat posed by Jamaica, as the Reggae Boyz were scouting England for players who held dual citizenship.
Leon Bailey (Aston Villa), Ethan Pinnock (Brentford), and Reid (Fulham) are three of the eleven Jamaican starters who are currently playing in England.
It probably didn’t help the Canadian cause either to miss the September international window and play only once in November because of Canada Soccer’s financial problems.
Canada had an 11-6-7 all-time record against the Reggae Boyz going into the match. In their previous meeting at BMO Field, Canada won 4-0 to secure World Cup qualification.
