A Perfect CANMNT Performance and Win at BMO Field
ANALYSIS – A perfect CANMNT team performance was seen on Tuesday night as Canada finished the job against Suriname. Suriname had trouble dealing with Canada’s speed and passing and never really threatened Canada except for one moment late in the first half.
An Ideal CANMNT Team Performance as They Qualify for the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup
The Speed and Aggressiveness of Canada Was Too Much to Deal With
The speed and aggressiveness of Canada was notable from the get-go. This was especially true to start the game with both Jacob Shaffelburg and Richie Laryea, some examples of this include:
-??????????? Richie Laryea did a dummy, which gave Jacob Shaffelburg the ability to shoot the ball, with the shot going straight to the Suriname goalkeeper, Etienne Vaessen.
-??????????? Jacob Shaffelburg was aggressive, getting into Suriname’s box and making the defence work.
This relentless pressure is also a big reason why Suriname (nicknamed Natio) never scored a goal. Their only real chance came late in the first half when Gleofilo Vlijter’s shot went straight to the CANMNT goalkeeper, Dayne St. Clair. That shot was Nato’s only shot on goal for the entire match.
There were also other players getting in the act. On the defensive end, Laryea and Mo?se Bombito used their speed to snuff out any danger from Suriname. It was not just a few players; this game was a complete team effort.
Jesse Marsch was really impressed with the national team and said this in the post-game conference:
“Maybe the one-line pitch is that this team is no longer the underdog. This is a team of very talented players that has big potential. And my focus is giving these players the opportunity to show how good they are every time we're together,” Marsch said. “They've literally never let me down since I've been with them, they have never come flat on a performance. Since I've been here, they have, at every moment, been surprised and exceeded expectations. What a wonderful experience as a coach.”
Jacob Shaffelburg Was the Player of the Game
Shaffelburg was an aggressive player against Suriname, and he gave them all sorts of problems. He scored his first-ever brace and now has six goals scored in total for the national team. His two goals were:
Some fans could see these goals as easy goals to score. However, there is one important thing to note. Shaffelburg’s speed and chemistry with his teammates created the two goals for the player nicknamed “Maritime Messi.” There is a lot of credit that he deserves. This is what CANMNT head coach, Jesse Marsch said about Shaffelburg’s excellent play and what he can improve on:
“Yeah, I think he's got a lot of steps to go,” Marsch said. “What I like about him is he likes to run, you know, he's like a gazelle out on the left wing, and we use him to play to his strengths. But you know, understanding the right moments to be inside, to be outside, how to defend and make sure that he can sprint over and over and over in a match, that he can do it for 90 minutes.”
Certainly, Marsch sees Shaffelburg as a key player in the national team. If he can translate this to his club form, sooner rather than later, he might get that call-up to play in Europe.
Jonathan David Continues to Impress
David has been involved with scoring goals in nine of Canada’s last ten games. This included Tuesday night’s game against Suriname. In that game, he:
David also assisted in the game-winning goal for Junior Hoilett in the first leg against Suriname. He also stepped up in the other noteworthy game at BMO Field, as he scored one of the two goals against Panama at BMO Field last month. This is what Marsch said about David and his form right now:
"Yeah, I mean, it's always like, I've been saying that I think he's maybe one of the hottest strikers in Europe right now."
This statement is true, putting his stellar record to Canada on the side, he is stepping up for LOSC Lille, scoring big-time goals against top-notch clubs such as Atlético de Madrid and Real Madrid CF.
Other Factors: Defensive Backline Was Solid and What Is Next for Canada
While the defence was not under a lot of pressure, there were some big defensive plays made by Alistair Johnston, Kamal Millar and Bombito, who all played well, as well as Laryea making a great defensive play. Overall, Canada was solid at the back, allowing no goals in two games played against Suriname in November.
A few hours later, Canada would learn that they will face Mexico in the Concacaf Nations League next year. That game will take place on March 20, 2025, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. The winner of that game will face the winner of the USA-Panama game, which will also take place at the same location and venue. It is unknown what the times for each game are. The final and third-place games at the same location and venue in California, will take place on March 23, 2025.
Mexico overcame a two-goal deficit from the first leg and defeated Honduras 4-0 at the Estadio Nemesio Díez in Toluca, Mexico. They only finished with three points as a result in the two legs and were last of the teams advancing. Panama had four points, while Canada was the team that finished as the top team advancing as they had a better goal-differential than the three-time defending Concacaf Nations League champions, the U.S.
These games will most likely all be shown live on OneSoccer.
This is what Marsch said about trying to win a title next year:
"Of course, we can sit here and say, we want to win the trophy. We talked about it in September, you know, and I didn't make a big deal out of it publicly, because I just wanted our team to go on this like this mission of window after window, match after match, improvement and desire and commitment to maximize every moment we have together. And that is really my sole focus."
To do that though, Canada needs to face some world-class Concacaf opposition and that all starts with Mexico early next year. Also, Canada will also be part of the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup with the two wins against Suriname this month.
What is Next for Suriname
Meanwhile, Suriname has some important games of their own. They are currently in the second round of World Cup qualifying. They have six points from two games and are at the top of Group F. However, they must face El Salvador and Puerto Rico, who both have four points each, in June. Add to that, El Salvador and Puerto Rico already played each other, and these are the final two games of the second round of World Cup qualifying round, which makes it all the more important for Suriname.
This is what Suriname head coach, Stanley Menzo, said about the games in June and what he can use from the Canada games when this writer asked him about it:
“I'm sure that those two countries are not on the same level of Canada. So, we want to prepare ourselves to this level. We want to go to this level, and it will take time, but every step we make, we will improve, and every step we make will make us better to compete against countries like Canada, but also countries like El Salvador and Puerto Rico.”
Suriname will host Puerto Rico on June 6, before travelling to face El Salvador on June 10. Qualifying in the top two of their group means that Suriname would qualify to the third and final round of World Cup qualifying. Failure to finish in the top two though and the dream of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup for Suriname would be over.
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Photo Credit: CANMNT X Account on November 19, 2024.