10-man Canada eliminated in Gold Cup quarterfinal after penalty shootout loss to Guatemala
CBC
The CONCACAF Gold Cup is over for Canada. But the learnings will continue.
Canada, reduced to 10 men when winger Jacob Shaffelburg was sent off in first-half stoppage time, stumbled in the first knockout round Sunday, beaten 6-5 in a penalty shootout by No. 106 Guatemala after the quarterfinal finished knotted at 1-1 after 90 minutes.
Tied 5-5 after six rounds of the shootout, 19-year-old Canadian defender Luc de Fougerolles hit the crossbar. Jose Morales stepped up and beat Dayne St. Clair to send Guatemala into the semifinal.
Promise David, Daniel Jebbison, Derek Cornelius, Mathieu Choiniere and Nathan Saliba scored for No. 30 Canada in the shootout. Kenderson Navarro stopped Cyle Larin.
Oscar Santis, Nicola Samayoa, Aaron Herrera, Darwin Lom and Pedro Altan also scored for Guatemala in the shootout.
WATCH | Short-handed Canada exits Gold Cup after shootout loss to Guatemala:
Guatemala captain Jose Pinto had a chance to win it in the fifth round after Larin's spot kick was saved but sent his penalty over the bar.
Guatemala will play either the 16th-ranked U.S. or No. 54 Costa Rica in Wednesday's semifinal at Energizer Park in St. Louis. The Americans and Costa Ricans met in the nightcap of Sunday's doubleheader at U.S. Bank Stadium, home of the NFL's Minnesota Vikings.
Leading 1-0, Canada was in control of the contest until Shaffelburg saw red after getting two yellow cards nine minutes apart.
"Obviously I feel for Jacob but he's got to learn from that and the team does, too. It's important for us to learn from this, because I think we lost because we beat ourselves and we can't do that in important matches and we certainly can't do that next summer [at the World Cup]," said Canadian coach Jesse Marsch.
"We've made a lot of progress since I've been the national team coach and I really like this group and I really believe in them," he added. "But we have to find a way now to make sure we're at our best in the toughest games and in the toughest moments. And we're going to figure that out. And I promise you we will learn from this and we will move forward."
Canada came into the game with a 10-2-2 all-time record against Guatemala and was unbeaten in the previous five meetings (4-0-1), dating back to a 2-0 loss in August 2004 in World Cup qualifying in Burnaby, B.C. The teams played to a scoreless draw the last time they met, in group play at the 2023 Gold Cup.
"This victory tastes great," Guatemala coach Luis Fernando Tena, speaking through an interpreter, said after his team reached the semifinals for the first time since 1996. "We know that we are conveying a lot of happiness to our fellow countrymen and women. We are exhausted but excited."
Canada's record under Marsch now stands at 9-4-8 with four of those draws resulting in penalty shootouts. Canada has lost three of those shootouts, beating Venezuela and losing to Uruguay on spot kicks at last summer's Copa America and losing to Ivory Coast at the recent Canadian Shield Tournament in Toronto.
