The victory followed a week in which Canadian players lost two training sessions and refused to play a friendly against Panama in Vancouver due to an ongoing contract dispute. Canada, ranked 38th in the world, did not seem to have much rust to shake off on Thursday, however, pushing No. 79 Curacao just two minutes after the game. Alfonso Davis scored twice, including a penalty in the first half, while Steven Vitoria and Lucas Cavalini added one goal each. It was a quiet night for Canadian goalkeeper Milan Bourgeois, who did not receive a single shot on target. The Eloy Room made five saves for Curacao. Canada continues its games in the Nations League on Monday, when it will face the No. 82 of Honduras in San Pedro Sula. The Canadians closed 4-0 in the 86th minute. A pass in the box is sent by Sam Adekugbe to Cavallini inside the box. The ball is cleared off the boot of the defender, Vancouver Whitecaps. Cavalini passed from the bench in the 76th minute for Tazon Buchanan. Two unmarked protesters with “Save Old Growth” messages written on their bodies were briefly stuck at Curacao’s goalposts in the middle of the second half. They were removed from safety and taken off the field by the police. Canada exploded from the short break with another goal from a gift-and-go. Davis sent the ball to replace Ritchie Lariea deep in the penalty area and Larry quickly put it back in Davis’s foot. Davis hit the top of the box in the 74th minute for his second goal of the game. The crowd of 17,216 rose to applaud Davis when he was replaced by Ike Ugbo in the 76th minute. The Canadians controlled much of the action in the first half, closing Curacao in their own goal for long periods of time and beating the visitors 15-2 and 5-0 in shots on goal. Davis opened the scoring in the 27th minute after being pulled into the penalty area by Jurien Gaari. The 21-year-old Canadian star climbed to perform the kick, composing himself with a deep breath before sending a low rolling shot into the lower left corner of the net. He pushed his fist and threw a kiss to the crowd before his teammates kicked him in celebration. Davis has been playing his first game at BC Place since October 2018, when he was a member of the Vancouver Whitecaps. The “Caps” transferred the fastest midfielder to the German football giant Bayern Munich in a deal that broke the record of 22 million dollars. Davis helped Canada’s second goal of the night on Thursday with a corner late in the first half. Rum stopped the ball inside, but Curacao’s goalkeeper could not be held and Jonathan David collected the rebound. He sent a ball to Vitoria who with a header gave a 2-0 lead to Canada. Thursday’s match marked Canada’s first home game since winning the World Cup with a victory over Jamaica in Toronto on March 27. This is the first time Canada has qualified for the tournament since 1986. The team was due to play a friendly warm-up match against Panama in Vancouver on Sunday, but the match was canceled at the last minute when players refused to leave the pitch due to heated talks over a contract with Canada Soccer, the sport’s national governing body. The players issued a statement saying they wanted more transparency from the organization, a fair compensation structure for the men’s and women’s national teams and compensation for the World Cup which includes 40 per cent of the cash prize and a “complete package of friends and family” for the 2022 Tournament in Qatar. Canada Soccer has not yet reached a new agreement with the athletes, but the players returned to training on Monday and Wednesday, the organization’s interim secretary general, Earl Cochrane, said the negotiations were positive. The Canadians advanced to the final round of the CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers with a record of 8-2-4 – and went 14-2-4 in three qualifying rounds. They finished the qualifying round with a 1-0 defeat in Panama on March 30. Curacao kicked off their CONCACAF Nations League campaign with a 2-1 win over Honduras on Monday. The group stage of the 2022-23 tournament will serve as the qualifier for the Gold Cup 2023. The group game will continue in March 2023 and the Nations League finals are scheduled for June 2023. This Canadian Press report was first published on June 9, 2022.
