Suspended head coach Jesse Marsch looked on from the booth, and all the injured Alphonso Davies could do was embrace his Canadian men’s national team teammates as they walked off the pitch.
Even without two of the most important figures, Canada got off to a flying start in the Concacaf Gold Cup, thrashing Honduras 6–0 in Vancouver on the same pitch where they could play up to four World Cup matches next summer.
“I’m really proud of the team's performance. I can't look at one guy and find someone who had an off game. Everybody came out with the right mentality, and we played within our identity,” assistant coach Mauro Biello said, filling in for Marsch post-game.
“We were not able to give them much, and we scored goals. That's part of who we want to be. And I think for this first game of the tournament, super happy to get it started in that way.”
While the score flattered Canada, it also demonstrated the team’s ability to employ a variety of attacking approaches while adjusting to the physical matchup that inevitably arises when facing an experienced Concacaf side, like Honduras.
They thrived despite the grandiose talk of ending a 25-year trophy drought, outplaying their opponents in every realm, with opportunities arising from frantic high pressing, set pieces, and overlapping runs down both wings.
Meanwhile, combinations out wide and a new-look midfield duo of Mathieu Choinière and Nathan Saliba stood out, with Canada overwhelming Honduras over the full 90 minutes.
“It took us a little bit of time to size them up and see the type of game this was,” Biello added. “But once we figured it out, our aggression took over, we were winning a lot of balls, we had a lot of transition moments in that first half.”
Buchanan, Sigur Thrive Out Wide
Tajon Buchanan, who opted to join the Canadian group rather than link up with Inter Milan at the FIFA Club World Cup, scored twice and continued to showcase his form after a standout performance in a 4–2 friendly win over Ukraine last week.
Working down the right wing, he continuously overlapped with 21-year-old Niko Sigur, building opportunities with methodical overloads, not only helping him get a brace but also helping Sigur score his first goal for the national team.
Yet, the right wing only saw 30 percent of Canada’s attacking opportunities and produced half the goals. In contrast, the left-wing duo of Toronto FC defender Richie Laryea at left-back and Vancouver Whitecaps FC winger Ali Ahmed accounted for 46 percent of Canada’s attacking movements, providing two setups that led to goals.
For Sigur, it presented a special opportunity as well. Currently playing as a mix of a midfielder and fullback for Hajduk Split in Croatia, he returned to BC Place for the first time since 2019, when he served as a ball boy for a Canada match against French Guiana.
“I've been away a long time. It's not always easy being away from family and friends. I don't often get to play in front of my family and friends,” he told reporters after the match. “In Croatia. I may have to give tickets to two or three people, but tonight was a little different.”
“It’s one of those days that is symbolic, because I grew up here, played for the Vancouver Whitecaps, grew up going to BC Place, and I scored my first goal for Canada here, so it’s nice.”
The strong play out wide raises questions for Canada heading into the rest of the Gold Cup, though. They are set to reintroduce Celtic FC fullback Alistair Johnston, who joined the team late after his honeymoon, and will need to establish a setup that can get the best of Davies when he returns in the fall.
However, for now, they can be happy, knowing the depth and dynamism they have out wide.
“In the way we play, [Marsch] tells the fullbacks to be aggressive, because we know we've got guys beside us and behind us,” Sigur said. “We can have a lot of success, as we saw tonight.”
Depth of Scoring
While the wings and midfield pairing thrived, the variance in Canada’s attack is one of the factors that make them a true contender in this year’s Gold Cup.
Thirteen players have scored the last 14 goals for Canada, with Buchanan the leading scorer among them. However, he’s not one of the five strikers currently on the roster.
It leaves Canada with not only questions of who can score and contribute, but also how they can best approach the striker positions in the 4-4-2 to get the best out of Jonathan David and whoever is to line up alongside him.
On Tuesday, Minnesota United standout Tani Oluwaseyi started and scored. Meanwhile, Cyle Larin and Promise David came on as substitutes, with P. David scoring his second Canada goal in just his third cap.
“With the World Cup just around the corner, no one wants to miss it, and everyone wants to get in,” Jonathan David said of the motivation and internal competition. “There are only 26 or 23 spots, and there are a lot of guys competing, so it just makes everybody that much more hungry to be on the roster for the World Cup.”
Considering the relative youth across the strikers and entire roster, expect Canada to look to nearly every option over the Gold Cup, with hopes of coming out of the tournament with a clear idea of which players produce the most and elevate Canada’s most important attacking talent in J. David, who remains one of Europe’s most sought-after strikers.
The Road Ahead
With the win secured to open the tournament, Canada now heads to the suffocating heat of Houston, Texas, to take on Curaçao and El Salvador in Group B action, before looking to what they hope to be a generation-defining knockout round.
They managed to dominate Honduras in Vancouver’s relatively cool temperatures, but the humidity and heat will undoubtedly cause some issues at Shell Energy Stadium. Yet, they hold confidence, especially knowing their depth and the new standard they’ve set.
“The first game always sets the tone for the tournament, and we wanted to get off to a good start,” Biello added. “We know that there'll be tough games ahead, and we'll have to deal with that, but it was a really promising performance by the group.”
