Canada look to close in on World Cup berth against El Salvador
Coming off an emotional 2-0 win over arch rivals USA, the Reds will travel to San Salvador to face El Salvador who themselves earned a 2-0 over one of their biggest rivals, Honduras, Sunday night.
Canada is certainly racking up the air miles on this current international window. With their first away match in Honduras , three days later they hosted the Americans in Hamilton, Ontario in Canada. Now, they are heading back to Central America to take on a pesky El Salvador side.
If you were to look up the term “next man up” a picture of the Canadian Men’s National team would be shown. With the absence of Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies, the roster does not have household names like Mexico or USA, but the lads from up North have determination and desire.
Every starter and each sub is making a difference for Canada in a positive way. John Herdman seems to be pushing all the right buttons and getting the most out of his roster.
El Salvador, before the World Cup qualification started, were not favored to qualify to Qatar. Currently sitting eight points back from an intercontinental playoff spot, El Salvador will be looking to play the spoiler role in their four remaining games.
Head-to-head in previous matchups, Canada have been able to get two wins in their last five versus El Salvador. The most recent fixture was a 3-0 win to the Reds at BMO field in Toronto on Sept. 8, 2021.
With their current form, the Canadians are expected to grab three points to end the international window. El Salvador will have different plans and even though they sit in sixth place, they have given teams fits.
El Salvador, through 10 games, have only allowed 11 goals and, most impressively, held the Americans to one goal in a losing effort last week.
The back line of El Salvador could be under threat during spells of the match with that explosive Canadian counter attack. Cyle Larin will look to add to his goal total as he became Canada’s all-time leading scorer on Sunday against USA.
Top of the leaderboard! #CANMNT #ForCanada pic.twitter.com/ExuAisqDPA
— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) January 30, 2022
If Canada were to win they would inch closer to Qatar but won’t officially be booked for their first World Cup appearance since 1986 and will have to wait thanks to Panama 3-2 win over Jamaica.