Canada has qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 36 years with an emphatic 4-0 victory over Jamaica in Toronto.
Goals from Cyle Larin, Tajon Buchanan, Junior Hoilett and Adrian Mariappa’s own goal secured all three points after Canada dominated throughout against a Jamaica side already eliminated from contention in the CONCACAF region’s qualifying tournament for this year’s finals in Qatar.
The win sparked wild celebrations at Toronto’s 30,000-capacity BMO Field, where an expectant sell-out crowd had gathered to watch,
Victory in Toronto means Canada are assured of finishing in one of the top three places in the final stage of Concacaf qualifying for Qatar 2022.
Their last World Cup appearance came at Mexico 1986, where they finished bottom of their group without scoring.
English coach John Herdman, who led the Canadian women’s team to successive Olympic bronze medals in 2012 and 2016, has guided Les Rouges to Qatar in his first qualifying campaign in charge.
“We just qualified for the World Cup, this is a legit football country,” said Herdman, who last worked in England as an academy coach at Sunderland more than 20 years ago.
He stated;
When I first took over and I said, ‘We’re going to qualify for the World Cup’, I don’t think they believed us. I’m happy for them because all of these fans have waited and waited and waited, and hung in with us – and we’re going.
Herdman expressed;
I think this country never believed in us because we’ve given them nothing to believe in. They believe now. This is the time for everyone to get behind football and unite because we can be a powerhouse.
United States, Mexico, Costa Rica and Panama are all in contention for the final two automatic Concacaf qualification spots for the 2022 World Cup, which starts on November 21.
Mexico and the US, who face El Salvador and Costa Rica respectively on Wednesday, need only a draw from their final qualification game to book their spots in Qatar.
Costa Rica, in fourth place, would need a big win against the US and for results to go their way to finish in the top three.
