Canada Grabs Canadian Shield Title Despite Shootout Loss to Ivory Coast
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By Kaus Pandey
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Summary:
- Canada wins inaugural Canadian Shield with 4 points, edging New Zealand and Ukraine.
- Despite a 5-4 shootout loss to Ivory Coast, Canada had already secured the title.
- Coach Jesse Marsch used the tournament to prepare the team for next summer’s World Cup.
Canada’s men’s national soccer team walked away with the Canadian Shield title on Tuesday, despite ending their final match without a win.
A tense 0-0 draw with Ivory Coast turned into a 5-4 penalty shootout loss, but it didn’t matter in the grand scheme.
Coach Marsch: “We Bent at Moments But We Didn’t Break.”
Canada had already done enough over the course of the inaugural tournament to claim top spot, finishing with four points, edging New Zealand and Ukraine (three points each) and sitting two clear of Ivory Coast.
That meant a celebration at BMO Field, with Queen’s “We Are the Champions” song blasting over the speakers, fireworks, and the team lifting the tournament trophy.
Coach Jesse Marsch got exactly what the meaningful minutes against strong opposition that he was looking for.
I know from where we were 10 days ago to where we are right now, we’re a much more prepared team for what next summer will require. And that’s been the goal of creating these friendlies… Ivory Coast challenged us in a lot of ways. We bent at moments but we didn’t break. So that part was great.
Reaching Penalties Secured the Title
The math meant Canada needed only to reach penalties to secure the title. The tournament format awarded two points for a shootout win, one for a shootout loss, and three for a regulation win.
Jonathan David, Mathieu Choinière, Derek Cornelius, and Ismaël Koné converted their spot-kicks for Canada, while Ivory Coast was perfect from the spot apart from one miss by Mory Gbane. Canadian keeper Dayne St. Clair couldn’t stop the others.
Earlier in the day, Ukraine beat New Zealand 2-1, leaving both sides locked with three points. That result meant Ivory Coast needed a win by two goals to snatch the title, something Canada ultimately denied them.
In Saturday’s opener, Canada downed Ukraine 4-2, while the Ivorians fell 1-0 to New Zealand.
Marsch made wholesale changes for Tuesday’s match, keeping only Cornelius in from the starting eleven against Ukraine.
Veteran Cyle Larin captained the side, while Daniel Jebbison and Jayden Nelson made their first starts. Richie Laryea, Jonathan Osorio, and Larin brought a wealth of experience to the field, with Osorio’s 85th appearance moving him into third on the national team’s all-time cap list.
Up next, the Canadians will play against Honduras in the CONCACAF Gold Cup starting June 17 in Vancouver.
