The Canadian men's national team won in Honduras for the first time since 1985 on Thursday evening, winning 2-0 at San Pedro Sula's Estadio OlÃmpico Metropolitano in the final stage of World Cup Qualifying.
Head coach John Herdman's group remains undefeated through nine matches, sitting atop the eight-team Octagonal with 19 points after nine of 14 matchdays, inching closer toward officially booking their ticket to Qatar 2022. Canada last reached a World Cup in 1986.
Les Rouges got off to a strong start thanks to a terrific run by former New England Revolution star Tajon Buchanan. In the 10th minute, the Club Brugge winger dazzled his defender with a flurry of stepovers before whipping in an inviting cross that was deflected home by Honduras' Denil Maldonado for an own goal, making it 1-0 for Canada.
Honduras bounced back and finished the rest of the opening 45 strong, and right before halftime, the hosts almost pulled one back when CF Montréal speedster Romell Quioto chased down a ball in behind. However, Canadian goalkeeper Milan Borjan was brave coming out to deny Quioto and keep Honduras off the scoresheet.
In the 70th minute, Borjan was called upon once again to save the day for Canada, and he did just that with a spectacular diving save to his left to stop Kervin Arriaga and rob Honduras from equalizing.
That stop proved to be even more vital for Canada because three minutes later, Lille forward Jonathan David was played in behind by former Toronto FC midfielder Liam Fraser. The Canadian striker took a deft touch off his chest before lobbing Honduras 'keeper to make it 2-0 for the visitors.
Honduras came close late when former Houston Dynamo FC forward Alberth Elis hit the crossbar, and Borjan was called on for another spectacular save deep into second-half stoppage time to preserve the shutout.
Goals
- 10' - CAN - Denil Maldonado (OG)
- 73' - CAN - Jonathan David
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: Canada continue to make waves in Concacaf by exorcising their Honduran demons, defeating Los Catrachos on home soil for the first time in nearly 37 years – all without Alphonso Davies and Stephen Eustaquio. John Herdman’s group inch one step closer to officially booking their Qatar 2022 spot, and now a home test against the United States awaits. Honduras, on the other hand, have lost five in a row and remain last in the Octagonal table with just three points. With only five matches left to play, Honduras have little shot at qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: Jonathan David's goal was a thing of beauty. A pinged-in pass from Liam Fraser was taken well in stride by David, who chipped the Honduran keeper – effectively bouncing the hosts from their faint World Cup Qualifying contention.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: Alistair Johnston. Canada's defense effectively won Les Rouges this match and there's nobody more important to that backline than Johnston, who once again recorded a seamless performance.
Up Next
- CAN: Sunday, Jan. 30 vs. United States | 3:05 pm ET (Paramount+, Telemundo, Universo in US; OneSoccer, Sportsnet in Canada)
- HON: Sunday, Jan. 30 vs. El Salvador | 7:05 pm ET (Paramount+, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo)
