CanMNT take down USMNT in impressive Nations League third-place match triumph

For the first time in 40 years, the Canadian men's national team has won back-to-back games against the United States, as an impressively composed performance -- with a little bit of magic -- was enough to win 2-1 in the Concacaf Nations League third-place match at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

After some debate in the Canadian soccer world surrounding how Jesse Marsch might approach this contest, he opted to play a mostly full-strength XI, but offered a couple of surprises. The most notable was Mathieu Choinière starting in place of Stephen Eustáquio, who so rarely steps off the pitch for Canada when healthy. Up front, Tani Oluwaseyi got the nod as Cyle Larin dropped to the bench.

For the second straight game, Canada were dealt an early blow -- though not in the same way as Mexico's first-minute goal. Within the first 10 minutes, Alphonso Davies went to ground twice with what looked like a tweak in his right knee, and ultimately Marsch had no choice but to make an early substitution.

Without many natural full-back options on the bench, Marsch opted to move Alistair Johnston across to the left side, adding Niko Sigur into the game at right-back. Canada didn't seem particularly shaken by the early curveball, though, getting into dangerous areas as the first half progressed.

Soon enough, the reward for wave upon wave of pressure arrived. Ali Ahmed picked up the ball on the side of the box and crossed it to Jonathan David, whose shot took a deflection en route to Oluwaseyi, who redeemed some prior misses in a Canada shirt by slotting this one home from just a few feet in front of goal.

The lead didn't last long, though; less than 10 minutes after Oluwaseyi's goal, the U.S. moved swiftly down the other way and Diego Luna brought down a good ball in the box, sidestepping Derek Cornelius before laying it off for Patrick Agyemang to finish the equalizer.

Canada were undoubtedly frustrated to head into halftime tied at 1-1, having been the better side for much of the first half. They'd outshot the U.S. four to one, with the goal being the Americans' only attempt -- and against the run of play, at that.

The second half featured early theatrics. Canada picked up largely where they'd left off, pushing the tempo higher and threatening the U.S. a handful of times. They had two early moments in the box where they felt they might've deserved a penalty, but the referee showed little interest -- prompting an apoplectic Marsch to get himself sent off for his furious shouting. Assistants Mauro Biello and Paul Stalteri thus took over to run the touchline for the remainder of the match.

Still unshaken by the circumstances, Canada found their second goal moments later. Ahmed played an excellent slip pass between the American lines to David, who took a couple of touches to the side before curling a beautiful strike with his left foot into the top corner.

With the lead restored, the final half-hour of the match became a clinic in game management from Canada. Although the U.S. naturally had a lot of the ball late, Canada invited their pressure and remained defensively vigilant. It was a smart, well-executed final chapter, as Canada proved up to the task of getting in front of every attempted shot and picking off a slew of dangerous American crosses -- while also staying disciplined to avoid giving up set-pieces.

Moïse Bombito did need to play the hero once just before the 90th minute, as the ball fell perilously at Brian White's feet near the top of the six-yard box, but he managed to get his body in front to block it.

The Americans' attempts to push forward became increasingly lifeless as the minutes ticked by, and ultimately it was a listless U.S. team that left the pitch after losing back-to-back games on home soil at the Concacaf Nations League Finals.

Canada, meanwhile, exit this camp with something to smile about, having impressively beaten a rival U.S. side. Although it wasn't the trophy-winning triumph they would have wanted, it was an excellent way to respond to a disappointing loss to Mexico, proving that they remain a serious threat to any side in Concacaf.

Now, Marsch and co. will look ahead to the summer's Gold Cup, where they won't quite have a full-strength team to work with, but will nonetheless have another trophy to compete for and another handful of competitive games to help prepare for the 2026 World Cup.

Box Score

Lineups

Canada: St. Clair; Johnston, Bombito, Cornelius, Davies (Sigur 11'); Ahmed (Osorio 86'), Choinière (Eustáquio 86'), Koné, Buchanan (Shaffelburg 66'); J. David, Oluwaseyi (Larin 66')

United States: Turner; Scally (Fossey 46'), McKenze, Carter-Vickers, Arfsten; Adams (Reyna 69'), McKennie (Musah 69'); Weah, Pulisic (Tessmann 69'), Luna; Agyemang

Goals

27' -- Tani Oluwaseyi (Canada)
35' -- Patrick Agyemang (United States)
59' -- Jonathan David (Canada)

Discipline

30' -- Yellow: Joe Scally (United States)
43' -- Yellow: Moïse Bombito (Canada)
55' -- Red: Jesse Marsch (Canada)
67' -- Yellow: Ismaël Koné (Canada)

Player of the Match

Alistair Johnston, Canada

The Celtic full-back put in an incredible shift, forced to play a position he's never played before. Johnston was Canada's leader on the pitch, even from the unfamiliar left-back spot, helping the team maintain composure after Davies' injury. He also won eight of his 11 duels and made four tackles, plus two interceptions and two clearances.

What’s Next?

Canada's next action will be the Canadian Shield friendly tournament at Toronto's BMO Field, where they'll take on Ukraine on June 7 and Côte d'Ivoire on June 10 in a pair of warm-up matches for this summer's Concacaf Gold Cup.