3 KEY Takeaways: CanMNT keep cool and find new offensive solutions in chippy win vs. El Salvador
They were made to almost literally fight for it in the end, but the CanMNT have advanced to the quarter-finals of the 2025 Gold Cup, as they beat El Salvador 2-0 at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston on Tuesday.
Thanks to that, they’ve also progressed to the knockout stage as group winners, the first time that they’ve done that in this tournament since 2009, when they topped a group with Costa Rica, Jamaica and El Salvador.
It wasn’t Canada’s best performance vs. the 2025 version of El Salvador on Tuesday, however, as they only scored twice after their opponents went down to nine players after two first-half red cards, but Canada did well to emerge from an extremely physical game with a positive result, which isn’t always easy to do.
And, most importantly, after a tough few weeks in terms of injuries, they appeared to emerge unscathed in that department, while also avoiding any suspensions, as they did well to not toe over the line their opponents struggled to teeter on.
Because of that, Canada will look to have a bit of a fresh start now in the quarter-finals, where Guatemala awaits them in what promises to be another feisty match - although surely not to this level.
Quarter-finals, here we come 🇨🇦
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) June 25, 2025
The #CanMNT advance to the final eight at the Gold Cup, and will take on Guatemala in Minneapolis on Sunday ✅ pic.twitter.com/BBi4eLIP0q
Before looking too far ahead, however, here are three KEY takeaways from this one.
Canada narrowly survives first half battle:
Let’s just say they won’t be writing any books about that first half between Canada and El Salvador - at least from a soccer perspective.
For about two minutes, this game looked to have the potential to be a high-paced affair, as Canada zipped the ball around with purpose, but then an early injury forced the game to a halt, as a delay of almost 10 minutes occurred before most players had broken a sweat.
As a result, the early flow Canada found immediately dissipated after the break, while El Salvador started to ramp up the physicality.
It all started slowly, with a heavy challenge on Jacob Shaffelburg near El Salvador’s bench prompting a bit of a scuffle, but things started to ramp up once Tajon Buchanan got taken down with what can only be described as a clothesline tackle a few minutes later.
Oh so it's one of those games eh 🙄#CanMNT 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/R9tZtVVBFz
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) June 25, 2025
From there, both teams started to turn up the heat, and it led to a chippy 45 minutes, one where it felt like the ball was stopped as much as it was in play, with El Salvador committing 13 fouls and Canada nine.
Unfortunately for Canada, that didn’t lend itself well to the way they wanted to play. While they have no problem playing a physical game, they’re at their best when they’re wearing down their opposition with their intensity of pressing and play on the ball, which is hard to do in such a stop-start match.
As a result, despite holding 71% of possession in the first half, they generated just five shots, with one of those being a penalty that Jonathan David saw saved by a beautiful stop from Mario Gonzalez. Not only that, but they had just 10 touches in the box, too, as they struggled to break down a resolute El Salvador low defensive block. 
All of Canada's successful passes and crosses from the first half - as seen here, not many of them were in and around the box (OPTA)
The good news, however? Canada’s willingness to get into it physically with El Salvador did end up paying off in one way - they were able to draw two first-half red cards, one in the 35th minute and the other in the fourth minute of stoppage time, which gave them a massive advantage heading into the second half. 
Because of that, while they’ll bemoan how they weren’t able to be as dangerous offensively in that first half, it was good that they emerged from that half with all 11 players still on the field.
It’s something small, but in a physical game like this, you just need to survive and not get caught up in the rush of it all, and Canada did well to push without crossing the line - even if they didn’t always use El Salvador’s physicality to their advantage in possession.
From @TSNSoccer stats guru Joe Del Busso, El Salvador is the first team with two players sent off in the first half of a match in the entire history of the Gold Cup. @TSN_Sports
— Matthew Scianitti (@TSNScianitti) June 25, 2025
The importance of the half space:
Of course, while Canada did well to keep 11 players on the field in the first half, it felt like that didn’t matter as long as they didn’t have an opening goal to show for their numerical advantage.
They still had two glorious chances to find the net elude them at the end of the first half, as Promise David missed a wide-open header that clocked in at 0.45 xG in the 2nd minute of stoppage time, before Jonathan David missed a rare penalty minutes after (its only the seven time he’s missed in 37 PK attempts), which was a surprise to see given the proficiency of both strikers in front of goal.
Given just a second start together for Canada, having played together from the start in a friendly vs. Ukraine earlier in the month, where both scored, they couldn’t find similar magic in this game, which Canada will have been banking on after a quiet offensive performance vs. Curaçao.
Yet, as Canada has learned this month, not every match they play is going to lead to a performance like they had vs. Ukraine, where it felt like every attack they had turned into a dangerous chance. It’s not as if that match was a one-off, either, as their 6-0 win vs. Honduras in their Gold Cup opener showed, but they’ve also had their fair share of cagey matches across the last few weeks, such as a 0-0 draw vs. Côte d’Ivoire in a friendly and that recent Curaçao draw.
Once again, as opponents get used to this Canadian team, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the best way to try and stymie this group is to sit back, play physically and turn the game into a choppy affair.
Because of that, Canada must continue to find ways to break down low blocks, and they offered up a potential solution in this game.
As expected, they eventually found a second-half breakthrough, with their numerical advantage paying off in the form of 53rd and 56th-minute goals from Jonathan David and Tajon Buchanan, respectively. 
There, both scored very similar goals, coming off a play Canada didn’t do enough of in the first half - using the half space around El Salvador’s box. 
Here's the location of both goals - right in that half space in the box (OPTA)
Having mostly attacked directly down the flanks, with Canada sending over 85% of their first-half attacks in wide areas, they did a good job of getting on the ball in central channels in the second half, where they sent 32.9% of their attacks.
Of course, it wasn’t just enough to attack centrally, as El Salvador were still quite protective of their box even while down two players. That’s why the half space became so important for Canada, as it was the best spot for them to draw El Salvador out of position.
Naturally, given Canada’s strengths on the flanks, El Salvador were extremely diligent in those areas, but they were also quite strong in the middle as they tried to deny service to Promise David, something they did quite successfully, given that he finished with just eight touches in 62 minutes of play.
In the half space, however, there was just enough room for Canada to get on the turn around the box, with wiggle room to navigate, and that ended up being perfect for Jonathan David, in particular.
Sticking with Jonathan David, it’s worth noting that despite scoring his 35th goal for Canada and ninth goal under Jesse Marsch, this was far from his best performance. He probably knew that, as he had a quiet first half where his usually reliable touch eluded him on several occasions, before capping off a forgettable 45 minutes of play with his penalty miss.
Yet, he also showed incredible mentality to wipe that all away in time for the second half, with his goal being a textbook example of what you want to see from forwards in that half space in and around the box, as he received the ball from Mathieu Choinière in stride before curling it into the bottom corner. Often, forwards can be clumsy in that space, but he was elegant in his turn, and did well to use the defender as a screen, ensuring that he could get away with a softer, more disguised shot.
GOAL 🇨🇦
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) June 25, 2025
The #CanMNT find their breakthrough! Jonathan David makes up for his missed penalty with a tidy finish to open the scoring 🎯
🔴 Watch LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/FJgYQRvOTG
From there, that gave Canada the offensive breakthrough they needed, and they ran with it the rest of the way.
Plus, as a bonus, they showed that half space could be a way forward for them, too, as Buchanan’s goal also came from a great bit of play in that area. There, much like David, he did well to receive a ball in that spot in the box, sorting out his feet in time to slash home a left-footed shot, giving him four goals in his past five games for Canada.
GOAL 🇨🇦🇨🇦
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) June 25, 2025
It's a second quick goal for the #CanMNT as Tajon Buchanan doubles the lead moments after the opener 🔥
🔴 Watch LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/YwZaZW6AN8
Because of that, look for Canada to operate in that space more often going forward, as it could be a way for them to help solve their low-block woes.
In games where they’re faced off against those blocks, space can be hard to find out wide, centrally and in behind, but there will always be small gaps in central areas, and good attacking teams know how to live in those areas.
Canada haven’t attacked that space as much as they’d like, but armed with some real technical players, such as David, perhaps that’s an area where they’d like to operate more in going forward.
For what it’s worth, they had two goals vs. Honduras from that half space (from Niko Sigur and Tani Oluwaseyi), while another was created by a pass originating from that space (Promise David’s), so they’ve shown that they can do damage in that spot before.
Squad decisions becoming tougher for Canada:
After rotating their squad vs. Curaçao, making five changes to the team that beat Honduras, the heavy rotation continued in this game for Canada, as they made eight changes to that team that started vs. Curaçao.
Yet, that has been the theme of this month, as Canada’s team vs. Honduras also had seven changes from their previous match vs. Côte d’Ivoire, and their team vs. Côte d’Ivoire had 10 changes from their match vs. Ukraine.
Essentially, in all five games they’ve played in June, they’ve put together drastically different teams, as Jesse Marsch has used these matches as a chance to get a true look at what this squad has to offer.
Naturally, that has come at a price - Canada has looked disjointed at times in games, especially in these last two matches, showing the impact of the rotation.
Yet, that’s to be expected, especially when you remember that Canada is also without key leaders such as Alphonso Davies, Stephen Eustáquio and Moïse Bombito, who could’ve offered a bit of stability amid all that rotation.
Plus, as seen with Canada’s results over the last five games, in which they’ve won three and drawn two, they’ve continued to get results despite all of the changes. While they haven’t been able to play at the standard they’ve liked across those five games, which is where they’ve missed the likes of Davies, Eustáquio and Bombito, they’ve still been good enough to compete in games, which reflects well on their team identity and overall depth.
Not only that, but they’ve also learned some pretty important things about players, too, especially with a few younger players who have pushed for bigger roles. In terms of standout performers from this group stage, Niko Sigur and Nathan Saliba are battling for that title with an established regular like Buchanan, which is a credit to how good that pair have been (and a great sign to see Buchanan back at his best for Canada). 
All of Niko Sigur's actions from this game, as he picked up an assist in his first midfield start for Canada, before finishing the game with a solid shift back at full back (OPTA)
Along with the play of Luc De Fougerolles at centre back, and the flashes shown from Promise David and Tani Oluwaseyi, there have been plenty of encouraging performances for Jesse Marsch to dissect from the past week.
Ahead of the knockout stages, that should give him plenty to work with as he now takes stock of what he learned across those 450 minutes they’ve played in June (including 270 at this Gold Cup), and prepares for what’s next.
Given how important this next stretch is, as Canada could be three games away from snapping a 25-year trophy drought, you have to imagine they start to lean on what they think is their best available group going forward - hard to imagine we see many more changes going forward.
They haven’t needed to run with that best XI so far, as seen by the way they still won the group, but with bigger games ahead, Canada will want to bring their A-game and team in what they hope is a deep run in this tournament.
Now, the big question will be who is in that team, who at one point almost picked itself for the first few months of Marsch’s tenure, as it’s now becoming quite impossible to choose - something Marsch and his staff will feel as they start to prepare for Guatemala.
