Canada settles for draw vs. Guadeloupe in Gold Cup opener
It was far from an impressive performance from the Canadians, who coughed up an own-goal in injury time on Tuesday at BMO Field.
- Canada 2 (Cavallini 49’; Lina own-goal 71’), Guadeloupe 2 (Ambrose 23’; Russell-Rowe own-goal 90’+3’)
- 5 players debuted for Canada, including Jacen Russell-Rowe
- Cavallini scored his 19th goal in 37 appearances for the national team
TORONTO – An own-goal gave Canada a life line, before another one snatched it away on Tuesday night.
The Canadian men’s team benefited from an own-goal in the second half before conceding one deep into injury time en route to a disappointing 2-2 draw against Guadeloupe at BMO Field before an announced crowd of 15, 301 in its opening group stage match at the Concacaf Gold Cup.
Canada struggled to produce much in the final third and had to settle for a share of the points after former TFC youth academy product Jacen Russell-Rowe redirected a Guadeloupe pass across the box into his own net in the dying minutes.
Canada is No. 47 in the current FIFA rankings. Guadeloupe is unranked – the tiny Island in the Caribbean is an overseas department of France, and as such is not a FIFA member. But the team has overachieved at the Gold Cup, having reached the semifinals in 2007 and quarter-finals in 2009.
