Canada looks to advance to Gold Cup knockouts on TSN4
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After being the only team in the group to claim all three points on Matchday 1, Canada is in the driver's seat in Group B as Gold Cup action continues on Saturday night from Shell Energy Stadium in Houston.
A win over Curacao will clinch Canada a spot in the knockout round as the Red and White look to claim their first continental title since 2000.
Watch Gold Cup: Curacao vs. Canada LIVE Saturday night at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on TSN4, the TSN App, and TSN.ca.
Canada's first match couldn't have gone any better with a 6-0 demolition of Honduras in Vancouver on Tuesday night. Promise David, Nathan Saliba and Niko Sigur all scored their first international goals, while Tani Oluwaseyi stayed hot and a resurgent Tajon Buchanan bagged a brace.
"I feel confident," Buchanan, who spent last season on loan with Villarreal from Inter, said. "Enjoying my football, that's the most important thing. Playing with a smile on my face. And just got to keep pushing hard and keep improving."
Canada was without manager Jesse Marsch, who was serving the first of a two-match ban for getting sent off during the third-place game at the CONCACAF Nations League Final back in March. Mauro Biello, who served as interim manager between the departure of John Herdman and appointment of Marsch, helmed the side in his place.
"We played within our identity, and we were able to not give them much and score goals," Biello said of the win. "And that's part of who we want to be. And I think for this first game of the tournament, super happy to get it started in that way."
Despite not being on the touchline, Marsch couldn't escape controversy at BC Place. On Thursday, CONCACAF announced that Marsch and Canada Soccer were under investigation for allegedly disregarding the rules applicable to suspended officials and directing abusive language towards CONCACAF officials. TSN's Matt Scianitti confirmed that Marsch was in attendance at the match, but seated in a private box above the press area. It remains to be seen if any further discipline is meted out coming out of this.
Saturday evening's opponents, Curacao, were also in action this past Tuesday in a 0-0 draw against El Salvador, the other team in Group C. The match extended Curacao's undefeated streak to eight games. The team last lost in a Nations League game to St. Lucia last fall.
A former Dutch colony and an island nation with a population just north of 150,000, Curacao's squad is made up mostly of unheralded players, but they're certainly not without experience or quality. The team is managed by former Netherlands, Belgium and South Korea boss Dick Advocaat. The 77-year-old Dutchman also has an extensive management background at the club level with stints at PSV, Rangers, Borussia Monchengladbach, Sunderland and Fenerbahce among others.
A majority of the Curacao squad is Dutch-born and European-based with several players competing within the Dutch football pyramid. First-choice goalkeeper Eloy Room won an MLS Cup with the Columbus Crew in 2020 before a return to Europe. He currently plies his trade at Cercle Brugge. Veteran right-back Cuco Martina spent five years in England with Southampton, Everton and Stoke City. All-time leading scorer Rangelo Janga has extensive European experience in Belgium, Switzerland, Romania and the Netherlands.
Canada and Curacao have met three times before with Canada coming out with victories on each occasion. The CanMNT has won the three matches by an aggregate score of 8-1. The teams last played in Nations League action in 2023 when Canada claimed a 2-0 win in Willemstad on goals from Jonathan David and Cyle Larin.
Honduras and El Salvador meet in the group's other game on Matchday 2 later on Saturday night, also in Houston. Action in the group wraps up on Tuesday night when Canada takes on El Salvador and Curacao faces off with Honduras.