World Cup 2022 qualifier: Canada 2-0 USA – as it happened

And here’s Joe Callaghan’s match report from today’s game in Hamilton:

Let’s wrap up with words that should make any US fan worry ...

If that was a dominant performance, I’d hate to see one that wasn’t dominant.

Did anyone imagine, after seeing the US win the Nations League and Gold Cup, that a US coach would call this performance a good one?

A baffling comment after a weak showing.

Something has gone seriously wrong. And the US doesn’t have years or even months to fix it.

Thanks for following along here, and let’s all welcome our new Canadian overlords. Next up: Olympics!

Waiting for postgame comments from any US coach or player on Paramount Plus ...

None yet, but here’s this ...

Say what now?

Ricky Gill writes: “Drown in your tears Beau. Your coverage was entertaining even if extremely condescending towards Canada. Canadian football is on the come up. Today they were clinical, well coached and professional. As a Canadian, I am going to enjoy the win and the saltiness. Have a good Sunday.”

Not sure whose coverage he’s reading. Canada was indeed all three of those things. The USA ... passed it around a lot. Did I somehow not make that clear?

Oh dear ... Canada has turned the USA’s favorite chant against them:

Time to panic?

Well, no. That’s just the second loss for the USA in this cycle. And maybe they’ll be encouraged by the fact that Jamaica just scored against Panama.

But how many points have the USA left on the field, and how many are left to be taken?

This team drew in El Salvador. They lost in Panama. They drew in Jamaica. And they’ve drawn and lost against Canada.

Next up is a home game against Honduras. That’s a game the US should and must win. If not, that should be the end of the Gregg Berhalter era.

In the last window, the US has to play at Mexico, then home to Panama, then on the road in Costa Rica. Can you imagine this team trying to get a result in Costa Rica if they haven’t clinched a qualification spot by then?

Here’s the second goal:

90+5 min: Last-ditch effort now. Acosta gives it away.

Canadian counter ...

90+3 min: Throw-in for Canada, and referee Ramos gestures at his watch as if to say the ball should be put back in play before sunset.

The US win it back and play forward. Borjan smartly waits to pick up the ball while the US forget to press.

90+1 min: Morris is clobbered 35 yards from goal. Can Pulisic deliver with the free kick?

He opts for the shot, which is mildly impressive but goes straight to Borjan, who knits a sweater and files his taxes before putting the ball back into play. Ask Erin McLeod if that’s a good idea.

90 min: Was Antonee Robinson fouled? Maybe.

Did Pulisic foul as Canada countered? Yes.

Canada’s bench, led by the ever-fiery John Herdman, is up to yell for yellows.

The US players and bench say and do nothing as Borjan takes all afternoon to come forward and play the ball.

Five minutes of stoppage time.

88 min: Rob Coughlin writes: “We’re American. “playing” for a team means you’re on the team. Pulisic is playing for Chelsea but he doesn’t play much.”

Yellow card to Buchanan.

Richards has not re-entered the game.

Canadians look happy.

Hoilett nutmegs Acosta, and it leads to a decent shot from Adekugbe.

87 min: CHANCE as Arriola tries a bicycle kick after a long spell of pressure. Might have been offside anyway, though.

86 min: McKennie takes on four defenders, watched intently by his immobile teammates.

Canada can’t clear, and Arriola ends up with a side volley blocked away.

85 min: Bad news that could’ve been doubly bad for the US. Chris Richards’ legs tangle with Ugbo’s, and Canada get a brief counter as the US defender drops to the turf.

No goal conceded, but how long will the US have to play 10 v 11?

84 min: Ugbo replaces David. That’s Canada’s last substitution window, so the 22 players on the field will go the distance.

83 min: Robinnottm writes: “The big question as a Chelsea supporter is will Pulisic return to His team fit after three World Cup games….”

Pulisic plays for Chelsea?

82 min: Speaking of MLS academies ...

Good talent development. But so far, we’re not seeing the grit that it takes to win in Concacaf qualifying.

80 min: One-way traffic, as they say. Well, it’s actually four-way traffic, as the USA pass the ball all over the place with nothing moving forward. Eventually, Pepi gets an awkward shot from an awkward angle that goes awkwardly out of play.

Here’s the Turner save sequence -- some disagreement over whether Larin was offside. It certainly would’ve been reviewed:

79 min: Pardon me -- I took a short nap while waiting for Tajon Buchanan to put the ball back into play.

77 min: The US attack has looked a little sharper since Pepi and company came in. Is there enough time?

75 min: A bicycle kick from Pepi adds a bit of novelty to the US attack.

On the next wave of attack, Antonee Robinson takes a pass from Pulisic down the left and tries a cross that Borjan snares. That’s better from the USA.

Paul Arriola replaces Musah. Reggie Cannon makes a rare appearance, replacing Dest.

73 min: Antonee Robinson barges into Laryea. Canadians are mad, which doesn’t happen often.

72 min: If you’re a US fan, this half is flying by all too quickly, and it’s been a while since the team has threatened.

Junior Hoilett replaces Larin.

70 min: CHANCE! A double-save from Turner, as a poor pass or two sets up a turnover and a shot from David. Turner gives up the rebound, and Larin gets a point-blank shot. Saved, but replay shows Larin was probably offside, anyway.

68 min: In fact, Adams has not yet been replaced, and a perplexed Matt Turner seems to want to know why.

Pepi replaces Zardes, who has been less effective in the second half. Morris replaces Aaronson. Pulisic has two new running mates.

Meanwhile, Canada have earned a free kick from 22 yards off to one side, but it sails high from Adehugbe.

66 min: To paraphrase George Harrison, here come the subs. Kellyn Acosta, Jordan Morris and Ricardo Pepi will make it a hockey-style line change. Tyler Adams is dinged up, though, and he hands the armband to Pulisic.

Acosta will go in for Adams. Morris and Pepi are not yet in for some reason.

65 min: Aaronson finds space in the box and falls. Unfortunately for him, he wasn’t fouled.

Learning how to dive properly is one area in which the US men could learn from the US women.

64 min: And there we go -- a long diagonal pass for Antonee Robinson. Doesn’t connect, but the Canadians did seem a little nervous.

Speaking of nervous, US fans are fretting now while Berhalter goes without subs past the 60-minute mark.

61 min: McKennie again flings the ball into the box, but it’s five yards shy of the nearest US player.

And again, it’s a dangerous Canadian counter, but Dest limits Buchanan.

Back to comparative development -- for a couple of decades now, “direct” has been a dirty word in US soccer. But doesn’t it, you know, work at times? Would it help if the US didn’t try to pass the ball 30 times before shooting, like a U-9 team under orders not to shoot because they’re already up 12-1?

59 min: CHANCE as McKennie slips the ball to Aaronson, who has a split-second to shoot from the top of the box. It’s well-saved by Borjan.

Just the third shot on target in this game. Borjan saved two. The other went in the US net.

58 min: Sub for Canada, with Fraser replacing Kaye in a like-for-like midfield change.

Interesting note on the width of the field:

Between McKennie’s throws and several corners, the US players are the only ones to take advantage of the narrow dimensions, though you could argue that it’s easier for Canada to close things down.

56 min: Space for the US attack at last, but Pulisic just haphazardly blasts it toward the goal with no end product in mind.

Jason Grant writes: “Seeing several offenses both on and off the ball that would be yellow cards in most of the domestic leagues I watch. And that Honduras-Canada match was much much worse. What is it with CONCACAF and the acceptable level of dangerous play? Who instructs and reviews these officials? Seems only a matter of time before a star player with a major European club suffers a serious injury through foul play.”

Perhaps, but maybe I’m just used to hearing English commentators who think everything short of a broken leg would have never drawn a whistle back in the day.

54 min: Dest is shielded off the ball by Buchanan. No call against Buchanan, and again, the referee is correct. But there IS a call against Dest, and that seems strange. The two players have some words at close range, failing to keep social distancing.

53 min: McKennie blows into his hand to warm it up before delivering another long throw-in. They should consider practicing that next time. (Well, maybe they did, but it’s not working, and we get a Canadian half-chance on the counter.)

50 min: Vitoria flirts with a second yellow, our commentators say.

Here’s a drop ball, the customary restart when play is stopped for injury, the referee says.

I’ll stand by my fellow man in yellow here. This is not your typical Concacaf bloodbath.

48 min: Now Canada has the ball, at least until being flagged for offside near the center circle.

From the world of analytics:

46 min: We start the second half much as we saw in the first -- US possession broken up before anything interesting can happen.

Final word of the halftime mailbag goes to Peter Oh: “Greetings from California! Early deficit for the USA, but still plenty of time in the game to raise their eh-, er, A-game. With that, I’ll make like a maple tree and leave.”

To our Canadian friends, we US people offer words you say far more often than we do: We’re sorry.

Scott Bassett offers a more immediate assessment: “Two things: Greggggggg reminds me of how the English press used to call Ranieri “the tinker man” in his Chelsea days--always mixing up his lineups, much to my frustration. And, on Zardes: in the “eyeball test,” he seems gangly, ungainly and headless-chicken like. But then the moneyball thinking comes in: So what if he’s graceful as hog on ice, (to quote Tom Waits)? He scores goals. I am always disappointed and hopeful at the same time when he plays. My brain hurts.”

Mine, too.

On US player development ...

Martin Shields: “But California has more residents than Canada. And they can play year round there!”

True.

But one thing to bear in mind with Concacaf is that MLS is giving players from around the region a nearby option in which they can continue their development. A lot of players from other Concacaf teams, including Canada, currently or formerly played in MLS. And a lot of Canadian players came up through MLS academies.

None of this should suggest the Vancouver Whitecaps and FC Dallas have become the equivalent of Barcelona. But the notion that Canada have found some special sauce that the USA have not requires a bit more evidence.

So in the remaining couple of minutes of the halftime interval, check out Canada’s Long Term Development Framework. The traits aren’t that different from what the US is preaching. And a lot of soccer know-it-alls hanging out their shingles as youth coaches here would reject most of it because it’s all about positivity and delaying sport specialization.

45+2 min: A slightly more dangerous attack from Canada, with Tajon Buchanan winning a throw-in deep in the US third. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. And now Buchanan wins a corner with what should be the last action of the half.

45+1 min: A Canadian longball brings Matt Turner out for to take one of his few touches of the half. Can’t remember him touching the ball with his hands other than to pick the ball out of the net.

45 min: Strange to see a referee reach out a hand to help a player to his feet, but that’s what happened after a US foul. Canada quickly lose possession, and the US take their time knocking it around.

Three minutes of stoppage time? From what?

43 min: Pulisic’s corner kick is ALMOST IN!

McKennie gets a head to it, and Borjan does very well to tap it off his own crossbar.

Best attacking moment for the US by a long way.

42 min: Better from McKennie, staying on his feet despite some contact and playing down the left flank to Zardes. They continue to work down the left and win a corner. Where’s Brian McBride when you need him?

41 min: A half-decent US buildup dies at the feet of McKennie, who does not look his best here.

39 min: One thing the US attackers are doing well is pressing. Canada might not be attacking with much commitment, but even so, the defenders aren’t finding much room to play forward.

McKennie draws a foul from Cyle Larin, who expertly grabs the Juventus man’s shirt.

38 min: Stats at ESPN: USA lead the possession percentage 64-36. They have five shots, none on target.

Canada have one shot. They lead 1-0.

The difference between the midfield play and the forward play is a bit like when I saw an ever-entertaining Cheap Trick opening for a desultory Robert Plant.

37 min: Pulisic takes the kick and ...

... how’s the NFL game going?

36 min: Dest wins the ball at midfield, and it ends up with Pulisic. The Chelsea man does better this time, fighting through one challenge and getting taken down for a free kick from 22 yards out.

33 min: A give-and-go between Pulisic and McKennie is gone, as the latter’s shambolic return pass misses the mark.

Too early to ask which sub(s) Gregg Berhalter will deploy in the second half? Pepi, perhaps? The poorest of the trio has actually been not Zardes but the megamillion man Pulisic, but I’d think Aaronson would be the one to give way.

31 min: YELLOW to Vitoria after Pulisic is hacked down (yes, with actual contact this time) as the USA try to break forward on a rare counterattacking chance.

30 min: Barry Ragin helps a fellow Irishman: “I certainly wouldn’t know from experience, but I’m told that a North American with a Paramount Plus subscription and a VPN might be able to get a stream of this match in Ireland. Regarding citizenship, it helps to have an Irish born grandparent. Fortunately, my wife had one, which is why I’m sitting here in Cork following your MBM, and maybe keeping up with the match through other means. Cheers! Barry”

Will get to other emails, maybe after this rare Canadian foray forward.

28 min: Zardes makes a strong run down the right and crosses into a mostly vacant Canadian box. The ball falls to Aaronson, but the shot is blocked.

Canada have barely moved into the US defensive third since the goal. Or before. The goal was very much an aberration in terms of who’s controlling the game, but it’s not as if the US attackers have threatened.

24 min: Musah is slow to get up after Laryea tumbles forward and catches the US midfielder’s midsection with his trailing leg. The US kick the ball out, and Canada sportingly returns it. Polite country.

22 min: The usual bleating over the state of US soccer development is well underway on Twitter. Pity they don’t realize Canada’s players have developed in the same league system as the US players.

Weston McKennie with another long throw that serves as a de facto corner kick, but again, the US attackers just aren’t winning anything.

20 min: Pulisic goes against three defenders after a pass from Aaronson, but he can only lunge at the ball after his own poor touch. So far, no one in the USA attack has distinguished himself.

Chris Richards slams a knee into the back of Canadian attacker Jonathan David’s leg. Wouldn’t have minded a yellow there.

18 min: Miller knocks over Aaronson in the Canadian box, but it appears to be shoulder-to-shoulder. Our referee is off to a good start, though I have sympathy for referees since I took up the whistle and dealt with a U-10 girls coach from Ohio who basically said she didn’t care if the other team got injured as the result of their “tough” play, which included a defender sliding through an attacker’s legs nowhere near the ball.

Where were we? Ah yes -- more USA possession. It’s a bit of a backwards game, with Canada doing most of the defending at home, but an early goal can encourage such behavior.

15 min: USA with possession. Pulisic brought down and ... no call? And yes, the replay shows nothing more than grazing contact. Stand up, young man.

Also on Twitter, “Zardes” is trending, as US fans continue their eons-long debate over the merits of the striker. But the best comment on the matter was posted a few days ago:

Quick reminder that the USA’s top-flight league is also Canada’s top-flight league.

Anyway, here’s the goal.

11 min: The “foul Pulisic” tactic is serving Canada well so far.

Vitoria picks the ball away from Zardes, and the US forward bundles it out for a goal kick.

Like Canada a few minutes ago, the US midfield briefly gets possession after the goal kick, but unlike Canada, they do not score.

9 min: Pulisic finds Zardes with a corner kick. His near-post header is deflected wide for another corner. Our officials take some time to sort out some unpleasantness, and the next corner goes nowhere.

Niall O’Keeffe writes: “Good on you for doing a minute by minute online. I lived in Toronto for 15 years and am trying to find a legal stream in the Republic of Ireland. Any tips from readers. Good thing for me is I have dual Irish and Canadian citizenship so hopefully will have a team to root for in Qatar. Comes in handy in the Snow Olympics. Ireland hardly a powerhouse in luge or the shooting/skiing event which presumably was invented by a stoned Scandinavian.”

I’ll have you know I’ve covered biathlon at the Olympics, and it’s my second favorite winter sport after Canada’s specialty, curling.

Also, where can I get Irish citizenship? Went there on my honeymoon and my 20th anniversary.

5 min: Weston McKennie takes advantage of the narrow-ish field to deliver a free kick into the area. It’s cleared, and Tyler Adams breaks up the counter attack.

Michael Vraney writes: “Today is the day the USMNT supporters finally accept that Zardes isn’t the problem, but possibly the answer - he scores in a 1-0 result for the red white and blue.”

Zardes is many things, but he is not predictable.

4 min: Pulisic draws a foul on Kamal Miller, earning a free kick about 35 yards out. Wrong place for the Canadian defender to send a message, but Pulisic’s kick is poor.

3 min: For all the people making a big deal about which players are in short sleeves, note that Canadian keeper Milan Borjan is in long pants.

1 min: Antonee Robinson gets up the left flank, but it’s not exactly a goal this time. It’s a cross that sails about 15 yards behind the goal.

USA also gets points for coach Gregg Berhalter’s footwear.

No. 1 vs. No. 2.

Neighbors along one of the longest land borders in the world.

Canada’s crowd at 50% capacity due to Covid restrictions. OK, that slightly dulls the narrative, but only slightly.

Kids in the Hall vs. the Groundlings.

Rush vs. Green Day.

Winner is in first place in the group. Loser might need to check into plans for the last-chance intercontinental playoff, just in case.

Anthems away, and the US team sings surprisingly well. Talented bunch here.

Canada has a better anthem, but they don’t sing quite as well. Early advantage south of the border.

Kickoff in a couple of minutes.

Send your comments to me on Twitter or by email.

This is not confidence among the US faithful:

But first, we get surprise announcements. Paramount commentator Clint Dempsey has been voted into the Soccer Hall of Fame, and he just learned it live on the air. Now he gets to surprise Shannon Boxx and Hope Solo. The oft-controversial goalkeeper was shockingly passed over in voting before, and she barely mustered a smile upon learning the news.

Paramount Plus, which is airing the game to subscribers in the USA, has punctuated its pregame coverage with a song from another Paramount-affiliated property, South Park -- the classic “Blame Canada.”

Unofficial theme song of a new rivalry? Until recently, the North American neighbors have saved their high-pressure battles for hockey, especially women’s hockey. Occasionally, the rivalry bubbles up in women’s soccer, especially in a controversial Olympic matchup we won’t mention.

After all, Canada and the USA have never played in the same World Cup. Never. Canada has qualified exactly once for the men’s World Cup, in 1986. The next time around, the USA qualified for the first time in 40 years, starting a streak of qualification that came to a screeching halt in 2017.

But now? They’re 1-2 in the Concacaf standings. Canada’s first. But Mexico is close behind, and Panama isn’t far behind the top three. The top three qualify to go to Qatar, while the fourth-place team must defeat the Oceania champion (almost certainly New Zealand) in June.

Hello all, and welcome to a vital January qualifier in which the big story is the weather: two feet of snow, 22 degrees Fahrenheit with a “feels like” figure of 9 degrees ...

Oh, I’m sorry. That’s the weather in Boston. New York isn’t much better.

In Hamilton, Ontario, about an hour’s drive from Niagara Falls, it’s 25 degrees (-4 for those who prefer Celsius) with a “feels like” of 19 (-7).

In other words, it’s the same conditions in which I’ve refereed youth soccer games in Northern Virginia in the last two weeks. These players can handle it.

Beau will be here shortly. In the meantime, here some team news from today’s game:

USA forward Timothy Weah was unable to travel to Canada for Sunday’s World Cup qualifier because he did not meet the vaccination requirements to cross the Canadian border, coach Gregg Berhalter said Saturday.

Weah, who was involved in the play that led to the only goal in Thursday’s 1-0 victory over El Salvador, has received one vaccine dose and was infected with Covid-19 before he could receive his second shot, Berhalter said.

Weah meets the vaccination standards in France, where he plays professionally, but is unable to enter Canada, Berhalter said.

“This is something we can’t control, the nuances of the Covid protocol, and we just have to deal with it,” Berhalter said. “It will be about the next man stepping up and doing their job.”

Berhalter said the team became aware of Weah’s situation “a couple of days ago” and had hoped it could be resolved before Sunday’s game.