Larin leads Canadian men's soccer team over Honduras, into CONCACAF Nations League finals
CBC
Canada is headed to Las Vegas, in search of the CONCACAF Nations League trophy after a dominant 4-1 win over Honduras on Tuesday in Toronto.
Cyle Larin scored twice early and Jonathan David and Jonathan Osorio added second-half goals for the 53rd-ranked Canadians, who controlled the game from the get-go. Ismael Kone had a breakout game in the Canadian midfield.
Jorge Benguchi scored a consolation goal for No. 81 Honduras.
WATCH | Larin strikes twice to help Canada past Honduras in Toronto:
"Prior to the game we talked about if you want to be part of CONCACAF's elite, you have to be in these final moments," said Canada coach John Herdman. "You've got to get into these big events. It's the first [time] in our history to get to a Nations League final and I think this group believes they can win it. And why not?
"The step they've taken tonight, I think they've shown a level of performance that should give us hope and a lot of belief that we can win that Nations League final."
The CONCACAF Nations League features 41 teams from North and Central America and the Caribbean split into three tiers: League A (12 teams), B (16) and C (13). The four group winners in League A advance to the final four, scheduled for June 15-18 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
No. 13 Mexico (2-0-2) finished first in Group A, while the 15th-ranked U.S. (3-0-1) topped Group D. No. 61 Panama (3-0-1) won Group B after edging No. 32 Costa Rica (2-2-0) 1-0 in a later start Tuesday.
The Canadian men are 4-2-6 all-time against Panama, which won 1-0 the last time the two teams met in March 2022 in Panama City in Canada's final World Cup qualifying game. Canada had already booked its ticket to Qatar by then.
The U.S. and Mexico met in the final of the tournament's inaugural edition in June 2021 with the Americans winning 3-2 after extra time in Denver, thanks to a Christian Pulisic penalty in the 114th minute.
WATCH | David, Larin lead Canada over Curacao:
Honduras was third and Costa Rica fourth.
Canada missed out on the final four in the inaugural tournament, finishing runner-up to the U.S. in its group on goal difference.
Canada (3-1-0) came into Tuesday's contest knowing a draw would be enough to win Group C and book its ticket to Sin City Honduras (2-2-0) needed a win.