Canada breeze past Cuba to sneak into Gold Cup knockouts | OneFootball

After a slow start to the group stage, Canada scraped their way to the knockout rounds of the 2023 Gold Cup with a dominant win over Cuba.

Scorers: Hoilett (PEN) 21′, Osorio 26′, Ahmed 47′, Millar 61′ ; Paradela (PEN) 45+3′

It was a desperate Canada side that took the pitch on their final matchday of Group B play.

Needing a win and results elsewhere to go their way, Canada started quick as they looked to take care of their own business.

After a handball in the box, Junior Hoilett stepped up a dispatched from the penalty spot to snatch the lead for the Canadians before the half-hour mark.

It quickly went from good to great for John Herdman’s men, as Jonathan Osorio capped off a superb team move by tapping home at the back-post to double their lead just five minutes after their opener.

While Canada appeared to be coasting to the break with their two-goal lead in hand, a late Cuba strike from the penalty spot cut the lead and provided a sting in the tale before half-time.

It did not take Canada long to reclaim their two-goal advantage after the restart, as Ali Ahmed pounced on a spilled save from the Cuban keeper before tapping home from close-range to put the Canadians back in the driver’s seat.

A late strike from Liam Millar was the icing on the cake for Canada, as they cruised their way to the final whistle.

The dominant win was enough to see Canada sneak into the quarterfinals after a disastrous start to the group stage, where they will face off with the United States next weekend.

Still to come