Canada drew 0-0 against No.23-ranked Ecuador on Sunday night at BMO Field in Toronto in their final home match of the calendar year.
Ecuador, who has qualified for the 2026 World Cup, was on a 13-game unbeaten streak, with back-to-back draws against fellow World Cup hosts USA and Mexico. Canada, meanwhile, was coming off a 1-0 loss to Australia in Montreal and a scoreless draw to Colombia in October.
So, Thursday’s match was expected to be a good test for Canada as they continued to prepare for the 2026 World Cup.
But things didn’t start as planned for Canada, as only six minutes into the match, Ali Ahmed was sent off for a what the referee deemed a reckless high kick on defender Alan Franco. Canada coach Jesse Marsch’s frustration over the decision was clear to see as he remonstrated with the officials on the sideline.
“I do not think it was a red card,” said Marsch after the match.
In the 14th minute, Canada had the first great opportunity of the match. From his own half, Miller delivered a long ball forward that bounced over the head of Franco and sent Richie Laryea storming down the line. Sending a ball into the path of Tani Oluwaseyi, Oluwaseyi’s shot in tight was brilliantly saved off the shoulder by Ecuadorian goalkeeper Hernán Galíndez.
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At the other end of the field, Ecuador had a great opportunity in the 29th minute. Cutting into the middle of the pitch, John Yeboah slid a perfectly weighted ball past Miller into the path of Enner Valencia, but his thunderous shot only managed to graze the side netting.
A minute later, Canada had a chance off a free-kick into the six-yard box, as Stephen Eustaquio’s teasing ball went into a dangerous area in front of goal, but Jonathan David’s half-shot was blocked at the near post.
Undermanned but sensing some momentum, Canada continued to push off the transition as they played more directly from their own half.
Ecuador had several intricate passing sequences down the left sideline and finished with 80% possession at the half, but they could not find an opening in Canada’s defensive structure.
Early red card negatively influences game
In the 65th minute, Ecuador had its biggest opportunity of the night. A free-kick from Gonzalo Plata connected with Willian Pacho in the six-yard box, but Pacho sent his tipped shot across the face of the goal.
Ecuador played more directly in the second half, opting for long balls and hoping to catch their forwards on the run.
In the 74th minute, Ecuador had another great opportunity in front of goal. With space in the middle of the pitch, Moisés Caicedo sent a long ball that went over the head of Waterman onto the head of an unmarked Valencia, but he could not place the header on target.
Despite being up a man for most of the match, Ecuador only had four shots in the game, with none on target. Marsch also noted post-game on his side’s defensive resilience, only giving up five shots on target in its last five matches.
Loading ...Marsch had only positive things to say about his team’s performance.
“I said to the team that maybe it’s not our best win, but it might be our most important,” said Marsch in his post-match press conference. “Because of the intelligence and the maturity and the savviness and the understanding of how to handle a good opponent, how to stay concentrated in the match for over 90 minutes of being a man down…I’m so incredibly positive from this performance.”
This sentiment was echoed by goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair.
“Whenever you go down a man, you have to look to the guy next to you…and know that you’re going to have to do it together,” said St. Clair. “We have that real character and brotherhood, where you know that the guy beside you is gonna go to war with you.”
However, with the latest results, Canada has now failed to score in three straight matches. Asked about his team’s offensive struggles, Marsch said, “It’s always hard to score when you’re down a man for 90 plus minutes. But I thought the chance we created with Tani was really good. We’ve got goals in us. I’m really not worried about that. I’m so happy to see that we’re such a strong defensive and tactically and conceptually very strong team.”
Canada are next scheduled to meet No. 50th-ranked Venezuela on Tuesday in Fort Lauderdale.
