Whether the Canadian men’s national team and its fans come away feeling good about September’s series of World Cup qualifiers hinges on whether it can beat a feisty El Salvador side on Wednesday night at BMO Field in Toronto.
Canada has collected two points after two draws to open the final round of 2022 World Cup qualifying in the CONCACAF region. The first match was a 1-1 tie at home to Honduras, followed by a come-from-behind draw against favorites USA. Canada currently sits in third place in the standings; the top three finishers earn automatic berths to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and fourth-place advances to an intercontinental playoff.
While Les Rouges would have preferred a home win against Honduras, a win against El Salvador would result in a five-out-of-nine-points haul: an acceptable start to Canada’s return to the final round of World Cup qualifying after a 24-year wait. In the next set of matches in October, the Canadians will face trips to Mexico and Jamaica, along with a home game against Panama.
But El Salvador can make life difficult for opponents. It has already grinded out two 0-0 home qualifying draws against the USA and Honduras and has 11 shutouts in 15 matches played this year. The new-look Salvadoran side relies on compact spacing, committed defending, hard work, ball pressure and quick attacking combinations to hurt their opponents.
MORE: CONCACAF World Cup qualifying standings & schedule
“They’re a good team,” Canada coach John Herdman said. “There has to be a level of commitment and intensity that our players bring because what we’ve seen from El Salvador is the sum of the parts is greater than the whole. They really do operate in a cohesive way and can run all day. And they’re a real threat on transition. So we’re really going to have to be on our game to get a result.”
How to watch Canada vs. El Salvador
- Date: Wednesday, Sept. 8
- Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
- TV Channel: Sportsnet
- French-language TV: RDS
- Stream: OneSoccer.ca
The match will be broadcast in Canada on Sportsnet (English) and RDS (French) with the stream available on OneSoccer.ca.
The event will be held at BMO Field in Toronto in front of a sellout crowd of 15,000.
🔴🔴🔴 We’re creating a Sea-of-Red at our SOLD-OUT BMO Field fortress on Wednesday. Wear your red/Canada colours, bring your flags, scarves, and contribute to the ‘Red-Out’. 🔴🔴🔴#SeaOfRed #CANMNT #WCQ pic.twitter.com/u9i0J3lR0n
— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) September 7, 2021
Canada vs. El Salvador: projected lineups
The knee injury Alphonso Davies picked up against the USA will keep him out of the El Salvador match, and while it will be hard to directly replace his specific skill set, Canada has other dangerous fill-in options. The projected lineup below has Jonathan David playing the left-sided forward role with Sam Adekugbe serving as left wingback.
Canada projected lineup (3-4-3, left to right): 18-Milan Borjan — 4-Kamal Miller, 15-Doneil Henry, 2-Alistair Johnston — 3-Sam Adekugbe, 14-Mark-Anthony Kaye, 7-Stephen Eustaquio, 22-Richie Laryea — 20-Jonathan David, 9-Lucas Cavallini, 11-Tajon Buchanan
El Salvador projected lineup (4-3-3, left to right): 1-Mario Antonio Gonzalez-GK — 13-Alexander Larin, 5-Ronald Gomez, 4-Eriq Zavaleta, 21-Bryan Tamacas — 6-Narciso Orellana, 15-Alex Roldan, 7-Darwin Ceren — 17-Jairo Henriquez, 12-Marvin Monterrosa, 11-Joaquin Rivas
Canada vs. El Salvador: Odds & prediction
Even without Davies and with the fatigue from two intense matches in their legs, the Canadians still have the firepower to take care of El Salvador. Their combination of size, speed and one-on-one ability should allow them to create multiple opportunities against a Salvadoran side that will also be feeling the effects of the congested schedule.
Adding to the urgency for Canada, this is one of those matches in which Les Rouges can aim to boost their goal difference. That is the first standings tiebreaker in CONCACAF qualifying and, given how evenly matched CONCACAF qualifying has proven so far, goal difference is likely to be a factor. The Canada -1.25 Asian Handicap is probably the safest play (Sports Interaction has it priced at +101), but the more adventurous one would be Canada scoring three or more goals (+190).
Prediction: Canada 3, El Salvador 0
Odds courtesy of Sports Interaction
- Canada to win: -240
- Draw: +332
- El Salvador to win: +659
- Total goals over 2.5: +107
- Canada -1.25 Asian Handicap: +101
- Canada -1.5 Asian Handicap: +129
- Canada to win at halftime & full time: -105
- Canada to score in both halves: +147
- Canada 3+ total goals: +190