3 KEY Takeaways: CanMNT comes down to earth in frustrating 1-1 draw vs. Curaçao
After opening the 2025 Gold Cup with an emphatic win vs. Honduras, the CanMNT came down to earth in a 1-1 draw vs. Curaçao on Saturday.
Despite entering this game knowing that they could secure a spot in the knockout stages with a victory, Canada were not able to muster up the energy required to grind out that win, leaving them to wait until their group stage finale vs. El Salvador to qualify.
Plus, what will frustrate Canada is that they also held a lead for most of this game, too, as they were so close to still grinding out that all-important victory despite their poor performance. Having taken the lead through a fantastic strike from Nathan Saliba in the ninth minute, they did well to survive several close calls, including two Curaçao goals that were ruled out for offside, but they were unable to see the result over the line.
Credit has to go to Curaçao for their persistence, however, as they pushed right until they got their 94th-minute equalizer, which came at the foot of Jeremy Antonisse, who rescued a vital point for his team with his goal.
The good news? Canada is still in pole position to qualify for the knockout stages despite this draw, as they remain in full control when it comes to winning this group. Should they beat El Salvador on Tuesday, they’d both qualify and top the group, and even a draw should be enough to get them through due to their strong goal differential after beating Honduras 6-0.
At the same time, the early stages of this tournament weren’t about qualifying at all costs, but to continue World Cup preparation, which is why this draw will feel so frustrating, given that it came in a poor Canadian performance.
Yet, this is a good reminder that there is no such thing as an easy tournament - there will always be setbacks along the way, and now it’ll be up to Canada to ensure that this is but a small blip on their path through the rest of this competition, one they can learn from going forward.
With that in mind, here are three KEY takeaways from this one.
Canada’s attack sputters after starting Gold Cup on strong note:
Heading into this game, Canada knew that they weren’t going to score six goals once again, as they looked to build off their dominant win vs. Honduras.
At the same time, they didn’t expect to take a big step backwards, as they went from running rampant vs. Honduras to quite frustrated in the attack vs. Curaçao.
No doubt, credit has to be given to Curaçao, who were organized and disciplined defensively, which is why they’ve now conceded just one goal in two Gold Cup games.
Yet, on the flipside, Canada will feel that they didn’t put Curaçao’s defence under enough pressure. In particular, that they weren’t able to build off their early goal will frustrate them, as it felt like that could’ve opened the doors for another dominant attacking performance.
Instead, they never really clicked into gear in the attack, especially in open play, as they struggled to pick out the final pass and final shot - making it fitting that their lone goal actually came off a set-play, the third time they’ve scored in such a situation in their last four games.
GOAL 🇨🇦
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) June 21, 2025
NATHAN SALIBA opens the scoring for Canada with a first-time shot off a free-kick 🤩
SET PIECES EH 👀
🔴 Watch #CanMNT LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/70OjZYlrdB
For what it’s worth, it was an extremely hot and humid day in Houston, which didn’t help their case. That won’t excuse their struggles, but it’ll certainly help explain them - it felt like they were unable to play with a clear mind, with that heat affecting simple decisions, ones where they picked out the wrong action or didn’t execute the right ones.
The numbers paint the picture of how badly Canada struggled - they generated just six shots, for a total of 0.69 xG, hitting the target just three times. Despite holding 52% of possession, which is an impressive figure given how long they led in this game, they had just 15 touches in Curaçao’s box.
For context, they completed 148 passes in Curaçao’s half, which isn’t that much less than what they had against Honduras (178), but in that game, they were able to take 30 touches in their opponent's box. 
Canada's completed passes from this game, showing how much they struggled to pick out passes and crosses into the box (OPTA)
Yet, that once again shows that Canada’s issues came from their execution in the final third, as they weren’t able to find that same attacking fluidity that they had in their opening match.
It started in midfield, with Ismaël Koné pairing with Nathan Saliba - Koné in particular struggled to pick out a dangerous final pass, as he often took an extra second too long on the ball.
Then, those struggles extended out wide, as Jacob Shaffelburg and Jayden Nelson weren’t as involved as hoped, finishing with 31 and 25 touches respectively - the lowest among Canadian outfield starters.
Lastly, up front, it just wasn’t Tani Oluwaseyi’s night, as he had a great first-half chance to score saved, and never really got going beyond that, while Jonathan David failed to influence the game as much as hoped, failing to generate a shot.
Most frustrating, however, is that despite these struggles, Canada didn’t adjust much in the attack to freshen things up. After scoring vs. Honduras, Promise David was an unused substitute, for example, which was surprising as Oluwaseyi and Jonathan David instead went the full 90 minutes, while Shaffelburg lasted 89 minutes.
Granted, Canada had a wrench thrown into their substitution plans when Ali Ahmed, who came on in the 56th minute, had to come off in the 70th minute, as it seemed that Tajon Buchanan would’ve instead taken off Shaffelburg at that instance. Given how good Ahmed and Buchanan were vs. Honduras, with Buchanan picking up a brace in that game, that’ll feel like a missed opportunity to not let them run rampant together in the last 20 minutes.
At the same time, Canada had several moments to shake up their attack in the second half, and in the end, they were never able to jolt it to life. That stands out, as one can only imagine they finish this game with a win if they get a second goal, instead of letting Curaçao stick around as late as they did. 
The xG race chart from this game, showing how much Canada struggled to put this game away with a second goal, especially n the second half (OPTA)
Tough night for Canada’s centre backs culminates in late goal conceded:
This game was a big audition for two names at centre back, with Joel Waterman and Kamal Miller starting together for just the third time with Canada, as Derek Cornelius continues to return from a knock suffered ahead of this tournament.
The last two times Waterman and Miller started together? A 2-2 draw vs. Bahrain in the lead-up to the 2022 World Cup, and Canada’s 2-0 win vs. Trinidad & Tobago in the Copa América play-in last year.
Unfortunately, this ended up being a tough night for the pair, serving as a reminder that despite the presence of both in Canada’s 2022 World Cup squad, there might only be room for one to make the 2026 team, especially if Luc De Fougerolles continues to build on a strong run of performances at the back.
Certainly, De Fougerolles felt missed in this game, after he put in an excellent showing vs. Honduras, which will boost his quickly rising stock.
For what it’s worth, Waterman and Miller didn’t necessarily have poor individual games - Waterman was quite good on the ball, completing 85% of his 33 passes, while Miller had some good moments in possession of his own and made some good clearances - but both struggled to defend as a unit, especially in key moments.
Antonisse with the late match drama 🤩 pic.twitter.com/lQfaNgZ4w3
— Gold Cup (@GoldCup) June 22, 2025
In particular, they were unable to play with the sort of aggression that Canada requires from their centre backs in Jesse Marsch’s system, something that Moïse Bombito, Cornelius and De Fougerolles have done an excellent job of bringing to the table.
It’s surprising, as Waterman and Miller have shown in moments that they can bring that aggression when paired with one of those three names, but they struggled to do it when playing together.
Certainly, it was shown on the goal they conceded, which came from a calamity of errors, but the warning signs were there before, as both offside goals Curaçao scored in the second half came off some bad defensive moments where they weren’t aggressive enough. As a result, Canada conceded four big chances despite conceding just six shots (and both of Curaçao's offside goals aren't included in that total), showing that their struggles allowed their opponents to threaten their goal on several occasions.
Sike, it won't count 😎
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) June 22, 2025
VAR deemed Jurgen Locadia to be offside in the build-up and Canada are still up by one 👆
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What that shows, however, is that Waterman and Miller are perhaps better suited to being someone who complements the likes of Bombito, Cornelius and De Fougerolles in the backline, instead of leading the group.
Because of that, it feels like we may see a steady dose of De Fougerolles going forward, especially if Cornelius’s recovery from his knock continues to be slow. Despite being just 19, De Fougerolles has shown a willingness to get stuck in and play on the front foot, even at the risk of making mistakes, not looking uncomfortable with the prospect of leading the backline. 
The action areas map from this game, showing that Canada actually did a good job of keeping Curaçao out of their attacking third, which will make their defensive mistakes more frustrating to see (OPTA)
Unfortunately, Waterman and Miller seemed hesitant to make mistakes, and that doesn’t work in Marsch’s system, which requires quick, aggressive and direct defensive actions.
With that being said, Waterman and Miller could still have a big role to play in this tournament, so look for them to bounce back - it just seems unlikely that we’ll see them back together unless injury requires it, at least after what this game showed. 
Will this affect El Salvador plans?
Now, for Canada, the big thing to watch will be the squad they put out against El Salvador.
Had they already qualified for the quarter-finals ahead of that game, it feels like it would’ve been a good chance to see some names who we haven’t seen as much of in a Canadian shirt, such as Nelson, Promise David, Daniel Jebbison and Jamie Knight-Lebel, for example.
There’s still room to see those names - Nelson could have a role to play off the bench, while Promise David is a strong candidate to start - but Canada will want to ensure they comfortably secure the result required to top the group with a win vs. El Salvador.
Because of that, it’s expected that Tajon Buchanan, Richie Laryea and Mathieu Choinière slot back in after starting this one on the bench, for example, while Alistair Johnston is also a strong candidate to come back if he’s fit to do so.
What will be interesting to see, however, is how Marsch handles players like Promise David, De Fougerolles and Saliba, who, despite being relatively ‘inexperienced’, have earned starts with their good play lately.
Certainly, it feels like they’re locks to play, but there’s always a chance that Marsch goes for a more experienced group with what’s on the line. At the same time, Marsch choosing to start them would certainly send a message of how much their respective stocks have grown lately, and provide a jolt to some guys whose stocks are dipping.
Speaking of Marsch, he’ll hope to return to the bench for that game after serving a two-game suspension, although the Concacaf investigation into an incident from Canada’s match vs. Honduras looms large.
Assuming he avoids extending that suspension due to what occurred vs. Honduras, there will be added attention on him vs. El Salvador, as it felt like Canada didn’t manage this game as well as they should’ve, as they will have expected to turn an early lead into a victory, given that this was just the second time they failed to win among the 10 times they've scored first in a game under Marsch.
For example, it’s surprising that Promise David never got into the game given his form, as he could’ve brought a certain energy that was missing up front, while there will be lots of questions asked of Canada’s handling of their fifth substitution in the 89th minute.
There, Cyle Larin came in for Shaffelburg, a move that seemed puzzling in isolation given the timing and the score of the game, but especially when De Fougerolles was seemingly also kitted and ready to come in before Canada were reminded that they didn’t have the subs to bring in both him and Larin after making four earlier changes.
Mauro Biello and the Canadian bench look like they miscounted the number of subs.
— Ben Steiner (@BenSteiner00) June 22, 2025
They just tried to bring in Cyle Larin and Luc De Fougerolles, but only had one sub left.
Just a weird night in every way for the #CanMNT
Not only is there the fact that Canada lost count of changes, but that they then chose to bring in an attacker instead of a defender stands out, as one can only wonder if De Fougerolles could’ve helped Canada avoid the defensive mistake they made on the goal minutes later.
Most of the time, a moment like that would fade into the background, especially if Canada went on to win, but it does stand out on a day when Marsch wasn’t on the bench, showing why he’ll hope to be back on Tuesday.
"It's about managing a game, you've got to size up the situation," assistant coach Mauro Biello, who was filling in for Marsch on the bench, said afterwards. "We've got to do that better. We were under a little bit of pressure, we got a little bit stretched in moments, we're a team that's front-footed, we want to go after opponents, but there are moments where we've got to be more compact and difficult to break through."
"I think we got a little bit stretched, and then we were late to duels, and we put ourselves in difficult situations."
