It took a while but Canada proved too much for Suriname on Friday with substitute Junior Hoilett’s 82nd-minute goal the difference as the Canadians emerged with a 1-0 win in the opening leg of their CONCACAF Nations League quarter-final.
The teams meet again Tuesday at Toronto’s BMO Field.
Canada dominated play, outshooting No. 136 Suriname 13-2 (5-0 in shots on target) with 67 per cent possession and a 7-1 edge in corners.
But goals remain elusive with Canada unable to convert two gilt-edged chances in the first half. The 35th-ranked Canadians have nine goals in 12 games under coach Jesse Marsch.
“It’s a little bit the story of our team because we don’t find a way to get that goal in the first half with some big chances, the game is in the balance. And then we have to put a lot of energy into it,” said Marsch. “And it doesn’t put us in the position that we want in the series but it’s a tough place to play down here.”
The breakthrough came after captain Stephen Eustaquio won the ball back and found Jonathan David in the corner of the penalty box with a perfectly lofted long ball. David paused, then found Hoilett streaking towards goal and the 34-year-old deflected the ball past Suriname goalkeeper Etienne Vaessen for his 16th Canada goal.
“His savviness and understanding on how to break plays in the last third is why we brought him,” Marsch said of Hoilett.
The 18th-ranked U.S. and No. 39 Panama won their opening leg matches Thursday with 1-0 decisions at No. 61 Jamaica and No. 50 Costa Rica, respectively.
No. 77 Honduras upset No. 16 Mexico 2-0 in a later start Friday in San Pedro Sula.
The quarter-final winners advance to the Nations League Finals in March at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., and qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup. The Canada-Suriname winner will face either the U.S. or Jamaica in the semis.
The Canadian men fell at this hurdle in last year’s competition, losing to Jamaica on the away goals rule after the two-legged series finished knotted at 4-4.
Located on the northeast coast of South America between Guyana and French Guiana, Suriname was granted independence in 1975 by the Netherlands. As a result, its football has a Dutch flavour.
Suriname has star power in forward Sheraldo Becker, who scored Sunday in Real Sociedad’s 1-0 win over Barcelona in Spain’s La Liga. The Suriname starting 11 also included players from clubs in Cyprus, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia, Serbia, Sweden and Turkey.
Canada was without captain Alphonso Davies, who did not make the trip as a precautionary measure “due to physical fatigue.” And Marsch, no doubt with an eye to Tuesday’s rematch, had veterans Jonathan Osorio, Kamal Miller, Cyle Larin, Max Crepeau and Hoilett on the bench to start.
The Canadian starting 11 had a combined 299 caps with Alistair Johnston, Richie Laryea, Eustaquio and David accounting for 209 of them. Johnston celebrated a milestone 50th cap.
Minnesota United’s Dayne St. Clair started in goal, earning his eighth cap. He is still involved in the MLS playoffs while Crepeau, the normal starter, and Portland were eliminated Oct. 23.
There were also starts for CF Montreal centre back Joel Waterman, Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Ali Ahmed and Minnesota forward Tani Oluwaseyi.
The four had 30 caps between them going into the game. Waterman replaced the injured Derek Cornelius.
The Canadians spent the week training in Florida, in part to prepare for Suriname’s heat. The temperature at kickoff on the artificial turf at the intimate Franklin Essed Stadion was 28 C, feeling like 31 C.
Attendance was announced as 4,500.
Vaessen, who plays his club football in the Netherlands for Groningen, made a fine save in the 16th minute to deny Ahmed after Jacob Shaffelburg won the ball. And Oluwaseyi’s shot hit one goalpost, then the other and somehow stayed out in the 33rd minute after he was put behind the Suriname defence by David.
The home side finally threatened in the 59th minute when Gleofilo Vlijter’s header off a corner hit the crossbar.
Canada sent on Larin, Osorio, Buchanan, Hoilett and Mathieu Choiniere as the second half wore on. Buchanan was making his return to the national team after breaking his leg in In training at this summer’s Copa America.
Canada is 4-3-5 under Marsch, albeit against some elite opposition, with one of those ties turning into a penalty shootout loss to No. 14 Uruguay and another to a shootout win over No. 44 Venezuela.
Canada had faced Suriname twice before, both in World Cup qualifying play, winning 4-0 in suburban Chicago in June 2021 and 2-1 in Mexico City in October 1977.