Canada overcome Trinidad & Tobago to punch 2024 Copa América ticket
Canada have booked their place in this summer's Copa América, grinding out a 2-0 victory vs. Trinidad & Tobago on Saturday afternoon at FC Dallas' Toyota Stadium in their 2023-24 Concacaf Nations League Play-In match.
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Lewis Morgan went wild, multiple road teams stole late points, and big clubs continued a race to the bottom. Let’s talk it out.
WHOOOOOOO. BOY.
A beatdown. But that’s not what’s important here. Yesterday’s Daily Kickoff told you the Red Bulls might need to score one or two or three or four against the Herons and Lewis Morgan would lead the way if it happened. The Red Bulls added one, then two, then three, and then four with Morgan delivering a hat trick and Dante Vanzeir collecting four assists.
We had this conversation a lot during his first few years in the league, but Morgan is an outstanding player. At least in even-numbered years. In 2020 he scored five times for Miami and delivered eight assists in 23 games. In 2021 he had two goals and four assists. But in 2022 he went for 14 and four. He spent 2023 injured. And in 2024 he has five goals in just three starts. This man abhors years that aren’t divisible by two.
Anyway, Inter Miami looked cold and wet and miserable in this one. It’s still MLS and road games are still hard, even for a team as talented as Miami.
Hey, remember that thing about road games being hard? This is a great point for the Fire against a Revs team desperate for their first win of the season. Chicago got their point, got DP striker Hugo Cuypers on the board for the second straight game and have a respectable five points through their first five games. We’re not saying that makes them an Audi MLS Cup Playoffs-level team, but five points feel like 60 compared to how things felt for this team 80 minutes into last week’s near-loss to Montréal.
Meanwhile, the Revs are officially allowed to hit the panic button. They have one point from 15 possible in their first five games. They’ll get a weekend off before they have to get right back to it in Concacaf Champions Cup. Considering the extra travel and resources they’ll have to devote to dealing with Club América, they could easily miss out on points in their next two league games. And one point in 15 to start the year is already something close to a death blow.
Well, in the same way we said Lewis Morgan might make an impact, we said Derrick Jones would make an impact as well. And, to be fair, he technically did! But his 26th-minute red card (just a few minutes after coming on as an emergency sub) derailed Columbus on the road in Charlotte. From there, Charlotte survived some shenanigans and broke through late thanks to Ashley Westwood.
It’s a great win for Charlotte, who continue to be outstanding in front of one of the best home crowds in the league. It’s a road game for Columbus.
You can only hold on for so long when Luciano Acosta is on the field. He finally broke through in the 57th minute and Cincy rolled to a 1-0 home win. They look like a Supporters’ Shield-caliber team for a second straight year. NYCFC look like a team that just can’t figure it out in attack for the second straight year. They’ve scored three goals in five games.
That’s more like it, Orlando. The Lions picked up their first win of the year despite a heavily rotated lineup and can finally start working their way back up the table. Taking care of business at home against underwhelming teams is a great way to do it.
Congrats to Jack Lynn on his first MLS goal, by the way.
Speaking of taking care of business at home…
Atlanta aren’t an underwhelming team, but they’re certainly less threatening when they’re missing a little more than half of their best XI. Toronto never truly looked threatened and Lorenzo Insigne (before injuring his hamstring) and Federico Bernardeschi looked lively.
The Reds now have three wins and 10 points through five games. I’m far from prepared to declare this team a contender – those three wins haven’t come against the stiffest competition – but they’re definitely not heading towards a second straight Wooden Spoon. Every goal for this team centered on progress. They’ve clearly already taken a step forward.
Oof, that is a tough, tough loss for Vancouver. You can’t be out here giving up one-goal leads at home.
On the flip side, holy smokes what a moment for RSL. Anderson Julio found the equalizer via an outstanding assist from Fidel Barajas. Fullback Alexandros Katranis found the winner via an absurd shot (?) that curled into the side netting moments later. It doesn’t get much better than coming back to earn three points on the road.
This is about as perfect an encapsulation of this Galaxy team as you’re going to get.
Sporting KC were cruising along, minding their own business up 2-0 and suddenly the Galaxy popped out of nowhere to ambush SKC and put three on them before they realized what happened. They are so dynamic, so talented, so fun and so not great defensively. It’s an outstanding combination and they’re rapidly rising up the Watchability rankings.
They also might be really good. The Galaxy have nine points through five games and haven’t lost a game. If they could sort things out defensively, just a bit, they could easily find themselves on top of the Western Conference when all is said and done.
Oh, and we should mention for the second time in a week how Dejan Joveljic is a genuine Golden Boot presented by Audi candidate. He’s scored in all five games this season. It’s the first time that’s happened since 1998.
We got exactly what we expected and a little more. Both teams created a ton of quality chances, there were car crashes all over the field and then, to top it off, we got a chaotic ending filled with… let’s call it “gamesmanship” as players did their best to skirt the rules as the clock (already 10+ minutes into stoppage time) wound down. I’m not sure what we learned, but I am bummed we won’t see this matchup again for a while. Both these teams have quality and a ton of energy.
What got into road teams last night?
Houston swiped all three points in Colorado thanks to a swift counter in stoppage time that ended with a Brad Smith winner. The Dynamo have seven points through four games now and should be feeling a little better after a tough start to the year.
LAFC got on the board early, Nashville had to chase and that was that. Once LAFC found an opening, they took it. After not scoring for three straight games, they put five past one of the best defensive teams in the league. Or at least a team that used to be one of the best defensive teams in the league? They sure didn’t look the part last night. Everything felt uncharacteristic. There’s a lot of work to do in Nashville.
Either way, LAFC’s attack (and especially Dénis Bouanga) finally got on the board again. Maybe they’ve finally woken up?
That’s exactly what Philadelphia needed. They looked far more like themselves. Julián Carranza led the way with a brace and Quinn Sullivan (another of our players to watch in yesterday’s DKO) added a goal of his own. A big road win despite missing multiple starters in midfield could have the Union side back on track.
The Timbers… I think they’ve been a bit of a mirage early on. This felt like coming back down to Earth. At least Jonathan Rodríguez got his first goal.
The Sounders went down two early, fought their way back into the game, finally scored an open-play goal and immediately gave up the game-winning goal to Jeremy Ebobisse. I mean, immediately.
The Quakes earned their first points of the season with the win. The Sounders are four games into this and still looking for a win. We’re not going to slam the panic button yet, but we’re prepared to hit it at any moment. They’re in last place in the West and there’s only so far you can fall behind early on before your place in the standings becomes a genuine worry. Remember, SKC’s remarkable run to the playoffs is the extreme outlier for teams who faceplant to start the season.
I dunno, y’all. I think it’s notable how bad the general feeling around this team is right now. The Seattle aura is gone. It’s weird. Something is just broken here.
- Fidel Barajas showed signs of a "great future" in his first Real Salt Lake start.
- FC Cincinnati sta Luciano Acosta joined a prestigious MLS club.
- Lorenzo Insigne exited Toronto vs. Atlanta at halftime due to injury.
- Lewis Morgan stole the show against Inter Miami.
- Canada got their "dream progression" to Copa América 2024.
Good luck out there. If they don’t get the message the first or second time, try a third.
