The final score wasn’t as lopsided as some may have predicted, but Canada ultimately did enough to put themselves in a good position after their first game of the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign.
Orlando City striker Cyle Larin scored his second goal for the national team and earned the chance for Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Russell Teibert to notch his first as Les Rouges struck for a 2-0 win in Dominica on Thursday evening. While the scoreline could have been greater and Canada finished with 10 men after a red card, head coach Benito Floro appeared to be satisfied with the final result.
“We developed a strong pressing game, and at the same time we have had at least 12 or 13 scoring chances,” said Floro. “Unfortunately, we only scored once from open play, and the penalty. The result was not correspondent with the play, but it was good.”
While the game, played in front of few spectators on a cricket pitch, will hardly go down in Canadian soccer history, it was still a special occasion for Teibert, who scored his first national-team goal on a penalty kick earned by Larin.
“It feels great,” said Teibert. “It’s a special feeling, and I’ll always remember this day.”
Teibert and the rest of the team are now looking ahead to the second leg at Toronto’s BMO Field on Tuesday. Canada, with another positive result, would advance to the third round of CONCACAF qualifying, a home-and-away series to be played in September.
Floro is hoping the team can give itself a bit more breathing space in the second leg than they did on the road.
“We have to score enough goals to be happy and hopefully enough to give two or three players other chances to play,” he said. “But it has to be a very good game for us.”
Larin, who hails from the Toronto suburb of Brampton, is taking the same approach, with an extra bit of emotional attachment.
“We just need to keep doing what we’re doing tactically, and I think we’ll be fine in the next game in Toronto,” said Larin. “I’ve never played at home in Toronto, so I hope it will be good.”
