The Canadian men’s national soccer team secured its fifth consecutive World Cup qualifying victory Sunday afternoon after topping the United States 2-0 in Hamilton.
Playing under a mostly sunny sky, the temperature at kickoff was minus 6 degrees Celsius, feeling like minus 11 with the wind chill.
Cyle Larin brought the vocal crowd of 12,000 fans at Tim Hortons Field to their feet by scoring in the seventh minute, blasting a right-footed strike into the left side of the goal past American keeper Matt Turner.
Larin’s goal was his 23rd as a member of Canada’s national team, breaking Dwayne De Rosario’s long-standing Canadian men’s record.
Canadian keeper Milan Borjan, who was born in the former Yugoslavia and grew up in Hamilton, made a mesmerizing save in the 43rd minute when he swatted away a headed ball by American Weston McKinnie to preserve the home team’s one-goal advantage.
Despite enjoying the bulk of possession the 11th-ranked Americans (5-3-2) could not unlock Canada’s defensive scheme, or handle the pace of the Canadian transition.
Samuel Adekugbe sealed the contest on a breakaway in extra time when he delivered a powerful shot past a defenceless Turner.
With four games remaining in the CONCACAF qualifying schedule, Canada (6-4-0) is the only unbeaten team in the eight-team tournament, with 22 points after 10 matches.
The top three teams will earn an automatic berth in the 2022 World Cup tournament in Qatar, which begins in November.
40th ranked Canada has qualified for the FIFA World Cup once in 1986.
Next up for Canada is a match on Wednesday night in El Salvador.
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