Canada beat Cayman Islands 11-0 in the second game of its 2022 Qatar World Cup qualifying campaign in Florida Monday, breaking some team records in the process.
Monday’s scoreline is the Canadian men’s highest winning margin ever.
And with three goals by Lucas Cavallini, two by Alphonso Davies and Mark-Anthony Kaye, and one each for Frank Sturling, Cyle Larin, David Wotherspoon and Alistair Johnston, Canada also set a team record for most goals in a game by a men’s Canada team.
Canada head coach John Herdman was pleased to see his players delivered the ruthlessness he had called for prior to the game, despite the level of opponent.
Loading ...“You can only play what’s in front of you,” admitted Herdman, speaking to reporters after the win. “We’re happy with the level of professionalism the guys showed tonight. We had a clear mindset of being ruthless.”
Goal-difference could be important for Canada’s World Cup hopes
Herdman also believes the high scoring margin could be important come June, when Canada wraps up the first round of qualifying against Aruba and Suriname.
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It looks as though it will be a two horse race between the Canadians and Surname to see who makes it to the playoff that leads to the final round of Concacaf 2022 Qatar World Cup qualifying, otherwise known as the Octagon. And Canada’s coach thinks goals could matter come the final game.
“The goal difference could be a massive factor,” said Herdman. “You go into that game (against Suriname) in June now potentially only needing a draw to get into an Octagon playoff.
“We wanted to make sure we got a six, seven goal difference, which gives us more control of our destiny going into the fixture against them.”
Three objectives for Herdman and Canada for Monday’s match
And with Monday’s lopsided victory, Canada now hold a six-goal goal difference over Suriname.
“That’s how serious we were taking this tonight,” said Herdman. “On one side, the group was clear they wanted to make history. And we’ve don’t that. And they want to keep raising the bar for this team.
“The second part was the goal difference for Suriname – to make it difficult for them. And then the third part is to continue building this brotherhood, this depth, this identity, which, you know, was brilliant tonight.”
Canada next play Aruba and then Surname June 5 and 8 to wrap up the Concacaf World Cup qualifying first round. The winner of the group then advances to the second round playoff round to be played June 12 and 15. The winner of second round advances to the final round of Concacaf 2022 World Cup qualifying, taking place Sept. 2021 to March 2022.
