Final Score: Canada 2-1 Panama
Goalscorers: Larin 44′, David 87′; Fajardo 69′
International Friendly

The Canadian men’s national team made their return to BMO Field in style on Tuesday night, as a late winner from Jonathan David carried them past Panama in an international friendly. Over 23,000 fans were in attendance in Toronto to see Jesse Marsch’s side in person for the first time on what ended up being a huge night for Canadian soccer — including a national team debut for recent Canadian Premier League export Kwasi Poku.

For his first match on Canadian soil since taking over as head coach, Marsch made just a few changes to his team from the sides that played the United States and Mexico back in September. Mathieu Choinière got the nod in midfield alongside Stephen Eustáquio and Ali Ahmed, as Jacob Shaffelburg joined Jonathan David and Cyle Larin up front. Alphonso Davies and Richie Laryea slotted in as fullbacks, flanking the stalwart centre-back pairing of Moïse Bombito and Derek Cornelius.

Canada had the bulk of the early momentum, but they suffered a scare less than eight minutes in. A Panama corner found traffic in the box and bounced out to Yoel Bárcenas, whose shot deflected off Cornelius and into the Canadian goal, but Bárcenas was judged to have come from an offside position to pick up the ball and thus the score remained 0-0.

It remained a difficult game for both sides, as Canada looked for ways to open up Panama’s three-man backline. They found a few avenues to the final third, but the attacking sequences seemed inevitably to lead to a harmless shot directly at the goalkeeper’s hands — of which David and Larin both had at least one in the opening half-hour.

The Canadians were trying to play quickly to get through Panama’s block, and they attempted to create numerical overloads out wide, with the help of fullbacks Davies and Laryea. As they got closer and closer to goal, though, they did find themselves a little exposed at the back a few times, as Panama sent long balls forward to high-roaming attackers. However, Bombito and Cornelius, rarely beaten for pace, did handled the threats deftly.

Finally, Canada found their breakthrough shortly before halftime. With the attacking three pressing high to put Panama’s defenders on the back foot, Eustáquio and David together put pressure on Anibal Godoy, who coughed the ball up to Ahmed. The Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder immediately played a good through ball to Larin just inside the six-yard box, and Larin got the ball over the keeper to score.

It was a chilly, windy and occasionally damp night at BMO Field, which might have played a factor in some aspects of both teams’ performances, but neither side’s passing was particularly sharp. Panama often gave the ball away under pressure, while Canada made a handful of unforced errors with passes that couldn’t find their mark, also usually a symptom of trying to play quickly and not allowing the opposition to set.

That disjointed play did eventually come to haunt Canada in the 69th minute, as David couldn’t quite control a ball brought down in midfield. Cristian Martínez jumped on the loose ball and acted quickly, threading it between Cornelius and Davies where José Fajardo made a clever run. The striker took a touch into the box and flicked the ball past Maxime Crépeau to equalize for Panama.

Despite being a friendly, this match clearly meant a great deal to Canada, who showed a remarkable sense of urgency in the final 20 minutes to find a second goal and win the game. They were taking set-pieces quickly, moving off the ball, and putting every ball forward as soon as possible to try and create wave after wave of attacking phases.

Theo Bair came close to finding that winner for Canada, as he got his head on a cross and redirected it nearly into the top corner, but Panamanian keeper Orlando Mosquera made an excellent leaping catch to keep it out.

In the end though, it couldn’t be anybody but Jonathan David. The Lille star began a sequence with a lovely ball into the edge of the box for Liam Millar, who put it right back across goal where David continued his run and needed just one touch to redirect it perfectly into the back of the net.

The night became even more special as the game ticked into the 90th minute. Marsch chose to use his final two substitutions on a pair of Canadian Premier League alumni. Former Cavalry FC defender Joel Waterman checked into the match, as did ex-Forge FC striker Poku, who made his national team debut just a few weeks after making a CPL-record transfer to Belgian side RWD Molenbeek.

“I felt like it took us a little bit to get into the match, and even though we were pretty stable in the first half I wanted us to pick up the tempo and really push the way we were going at Panama,” Marsch told reporters postmatch. “Around the 30th minute is when that all started to click for us, and we were really able to start pushing the game. We rewarded ourselves with a goal at the end of the half.

“Then I still thought the start to the second half was also pretty good, but they created a bit of an opportunity coming down almost on a half-counter situation and finished the ball well. That moment then, it would’ve been easy for us to not be so sure; maybe the pitch isn’t the best and all the rest, but our mentality was strong. We actually got better after it was 1-1, and I thought that was our best stretch of the game.”

It may not have been the most comprehensive performance Canada have delivered, but Marsch was ultimately happy with the show his side put on in front of their fans. Certainly, the team continued to make strides under his guidance; players like David and Larin are continuing to develop their chemistry in different attacking roles, while Bombito and Cornelius are developing into one of the strongest centre-back pairings in Concacaf.

Box Score

Lineups

Canada: Crépeau; Laryea, Bombito, Cornelius, Davies; Choinière (Osorio 66′), Eustáquio (Saliba 79′), Ahmed (Poku 90+1′); Shaffelburg (Millar 66′), David (Waterman 90+1′), Larin (Bair 79′)

Panama: Mosquera; Anderson (J. Rodríguez 90+1′), Escobar, Ramos; Bárcenas, Harvey, Ayarza (Martínez 60′), Godoy (Carrasquilla 76′), Lenis (Murillo 76′); Fajardo (T. Rodríguez 73′), Góndola (Phillips 60′)

Goals

44′ — Cyle Larin (Canada)
69′ — José Fajardo (Panama)
87′ — Jonathan David (Canada)

Discipline

11′ — Yellow: Abdiel Ayarza (Panama)
36′ — Yellow: Stephen Eustáquio (Canada)
40′ — Yellow: Yoel Bárcenas (Panama)
51′ — Yellow: Mathieu Choinière (Canada)
58′ — Yellow: Freddy Góndola (Panama)
70′ — Yellow: José Fajardo (Panama)
80′ — Yellow: Derek Cornelius (Canada)

CanPL.ca Player of the Match

Jonathan David, Canada

The Iceman always seems to show up when Canada need him most. David was excellent on Tuesday in the attacking midfield role he’s often played under Marsch, contesting 10 duels and producing three shots on target, scoring the dramatic late winner to finish off a play he also helped start.

What’s Next?

Canada’s next challenge will be their Concacaf Nations League quarter-final clash with an opponent yet to be determined. They’ll play the home leg at BMO Field on Tuesday, Nov. 19.