(Toronto) Jamaica defeated Canada 3-2 thanks to a controversial late penalty shot on Tuesday, and a 4-4 aggregate draw saw the ‘Reggae Boyz’ advance to the semi-finals of the Concacaf Nations League.
Goals scored away from home gave victory to Jamaica, who qualified for the Copa America as a guest team. Canada will need to win a knockout tournament in March to join this South American competition.
“It’s a huge disappointment, that’s for sure,” said interim head coach Mauro Biello. For us, there is no excuse for some performances in the second half. We shot ourselves in the foot. »
The Canadians, 45th in the world, entered the return match at BMO Field with a 2-1 lead after the first meeting on Saturday in Kingston, Jamaica.
“We need to all sit down together, look each other in the eye and see what went wrong. Because it’s unacceptable, said Canadian goalkeeper Milan Borjan. This team, with players like that, doing something like that is not acceptable.
“I’m very, very angry. As captain, I’m sorry to the nation for not getting to the semi-final [of the Nations League], but we have another chance in March for the Copa America and we will try to do everything to bounce back and try to make our country happy. »
Ismaël Koné scored in the 69th minute to give Canada the lead after the Jamaicans, 55th in the world, tied the score on aggregate with goals from Shamar Nicholson in the 63rd and 66th minutes.
Alphonso Davies had previously increased the Canadian lead to 3-1 in the 25th minute.
Mexican referee Cesar Ramos then pointed to the penalty spot in the 75th minute when the ball struck Stephen Eustaquio’s arm. The decision seemed harsh, as the midfielder tried to keep his arm close to his body to avoid contact.
The decision was confirmed with video review, and Bobby Reid hit the target in the 78th minute.
Seven minutes later, Jamaican Demarai Gray was sent off after receiving a second yellow card. The Jamaicans, however, resisted the nine minutes of added time.
Jamaica’s defense struggled to contain Canada’s strike force, with Davies, Jonathan David, Cyle Larin and Tajon Buchanan. However, the Caribbean country’s attack found its feet in the second half.
Canada will join the other countries eliminated in the quarterfinals of this Nations League in March, with the last two invitations to the Copa America at stake.
