USMNT falls to Canada 2-0 in Concacaf Nations League group play

TORONTO (Oct. 15, 2019) – The U.S. Men’s National Team dropped a 2-0 result to Canada in Concacaf Nations League A, Group A play in front of 17,126 fans at BMO Field.

Alphonso Davies and Lucas Cavallini scored for the home side to give Canada a cushion atop Group A before the nations meet again next month when CNL group play concludes.

• READ: Five Things to Know on the Nations League

The USA and Canada traded chances throughout the night with Jordan Morris and Christian Pulisic creating opportunities for the Stars and Stripes in a back-and-forth first half, while Jonathan David and Alphonso Davies looked dangerous for the home side.

While both teams went close in the first half, the hour mark passed before the opening goal was scored by Canada’s Davies in the 63rd minute.

Trailing 1-0, USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter turned to his bench, bringing on Gyasi Zardes for Cristian Roldan and Nick Lima for DeAndre Yedlin in the 66th minute after having already introduced Paul Arriola in the 60th for Christian Pulisic, who was withdrawn having experienced flu-like symptoms in the days leading up to the match.

However, it was Canada in the final moments that scored the final goal through Cavallini to record a 2-0 win ahead of the rematch next month in Orlando.

A total of seven players made their away debut in official competition for the U.S. tonight: Long, Daniel Lovitz, Weston McKennie, Cristian Roldan, Josh Sargent, Steffen and substitute Nick Lima.

Next on the Schedule: The USA gets a quick rematch when it hosts Canada at Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Fla., on Friday, Nov. 15 (7 p.m. ET; ESPN2, TUDN & UniMas) before concluding CNL Group A play vs. Cuba at Truman Bodden Stadium in George Town, Cayman Islands on Tuesday, Nov. 19 (7:30 p.m. ET; FS1, TUDN & UniMas).
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Goal Scoring Rundown:
CAN – Alphonso Davies (Scott Arfield), 63rd minute: Canada collected a USA turnover 30 yards from goal and played the ball into the right side of the box to Arfield, who hit a low cross through the goalmouth. Davies arrived from behind two defenders to redirect the ball towards goal. Steffen nearly recovered to punch the ball away but it had already crossed the goal line. USA 0, CAN 1

CAN – Lucas Cavallini (Jonathan Osorio), 90+1: A long ball by Canada was headed down by Lucas Cavallini to the feet of Jonathan Osorio. As Cavallini spun to run behind the USA defense, Osorio lifted the ball over the USMNT’s backline. Cavallini brought the ball down and hit a low drive between Zack Steffen in the U.S. goal and the right post. USA 0, CAN 2 FINAL

Key Saves and Defensive Plays:
USA – Zack Steffen, 11th minute: Canada attacker Alphonso Davies collected the ball out wide before cutting inside, bouncing off a challenge and hitting a low drive toward the bottom right corner that Steffen track the entire way and slid down to collect well.

USA – Zack Steffen, 16th minute: A soft back pass was pounced on by Canada’s Jonathan David at the top of the U.S. box. Steffen read the danger well, faced down the attacker and was well positioned to make a kick save on David before forcing the forward into a wide angle shot from the left side that went wide of the right post.

CAN – Scott Arfield, 17th minute: The U.S. put together a flowing offensive move with Christian Pulisic getting on the ball in the middle of the field, driving toward the top of Canada’s penalty area and dishing to Jordan Morris. The Seattle man carried the ball past one defender before unleashing a left-footed drive that was blocked away at the last moment by a recovering Arfield.

CAN – Milan Borjan, 51st minute: Jordan Morris ran down a flick-on from Josh Sargent, touched it past a defender and brought it down before drawing the remaining Canada defense. Morris then fed a wide open Christian Pulisic whose shot from the left was right at Borjan.

Additional Notes:

• The USMNT is now 14-9-11 all-time against Canada and 7-7-4 in official competitions against Les Rogues.
• Berhalter made four changes to the starting XI that faced Cuba, inserting Zack Steffen in goal, Aaron Long and DeAndre Yedlin on the back line and Michael Bradley in central midfield.
• Seven players made their away debut in official competition for the U.S. tonight: Long, Daniel Lovitz, Weston McKennie, Cristian Roldan, Josh Sargent, Steffen and substitute Nick Lima.
• The USA’s Starting XI had an average age of 25 years, 219 days and 37 caps.
• Ream captained the USMNT for the fourth time tonight. The team is 2-1-1 when he wears the armband.
• Having returned from groin surgery, Yedlin made his first USMNT appearance since the 1-1 draw against Chile on March 26.
• Toronto FC midfielder Michael Bradley became the first USMNT player to feature in an away game in his current club’s home stadium.
• Coming off his hat-trick performance against Cuba, Weston McKennie earned his 10^thappearance of 2019.
• Following a goal against Cuba on Friday, striker Josh Sargent started his third-straight match for the USA.
• Christian Pulisic and Jordan Morris tied their career high appearance number in a calendar year. Pulisic earned his 11^th cap of 2019 matching his 2016 total, while Morris earned his 12^th, tying his 2017 mark.
• With teams limited to dressing 23 players, midfielder Brenden Aaronson was a healthy scratch from tonight’s lineup.

– U.S. Men’s National Team Match Report –

Match: U.S. Men’s National Team vs. Canada
Date: October 15, 2019
Competition: Concacaf Nations League – League A, Group A
Venue: BMO Field; Toronto, Canada
Attendance: 17,126
Kickoff: 7:36 ET
Weather: 55 degrees; mostly cloudy

Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA                          0 0 0
CAN                          0 2 2

CAN – Alphonso Davies (Scott Arfield)        63^rd minute
CAN – Lucas Cavallini (Jonathan Osorio)    90+1

Lineups:
USA: 1-Zack Steffen; 2-DeAndre Yedlin (16-Nick Lima, 73), 23-Aaron Long, 13-Tim Ream (capt.), 5-Daniel Lovitz; 15-Cristian Roldan (9-Gyasi Zardes, 73), 4-Michael Bradley, 8-Weston McKennie; 11-Jordan Morris, 19-Josh Sargent, 10-Christian Pulisic (7-Paul Arriola, 60)
Substitutes not used : 12-Sean Johnson, 22-Brad Guzan, 3-Matt Miazga, 6-Wil Trapp, 14-Jackson Yueill, 17-Sebastian Lletget, 18-Corey Baird, 21-Tyler Boyd, 20-Reggie Cannon
Head coach: Gregg Berhalter

CAN: 18-Milan Borjan; 23-Richie Laryea, 5-Steven Vitoria, 4-Derek Cornelius, 17-Kamal Miller; 14-Mark-Anthony Kaye (11-Liam Millar, 9), 6-Samuel Piette, 8-Scott Arfield (capt.), 21-Jonathan Osorio, 12-Alphonso Davies (10-Junior Hoilett, 66); 20-Jonathan David (19-Lucas Cavallini, 66)
Substitutes not used : 1-Jayson Leutwiler, 22-Maxime Crepeau, 2-Juan Córdova, 3-Samuel Adekugbe, 7-Russell Teibert, 13-Liam Fraser, 15-Amer Didic, 16-Stephen Eustaquio
Head coach: John Herdman

Stats Summary: USA / CAN
Shots: 7 / 9
Shots on Goal: 3 / 5
Saves: 3 / 2
Corner Kicks: 5 / 1
Fouls: 15 / 11
Offside: 0 / 4

Misconduct Summary:
CAN – Liam Fraser (caution)             24^th minute
USA – Weston McKennie (caution)   33
CAN – Samuel Piette (caution)          74
CAN – Lucas Cavallini (caution)       77
USA – Josh Sargent (caution)          84

Officials:
Referee: Daneon Parchment (JAM)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Carlos Mora (CRC)
Assistant Referee 2: Ainsley Rochard (TRI)
4^th Official: Keylor Herrera (CRC)

Budweiser Man of the Match: Weston McKennie