Canada advances to Copa America quarters after gritty draw with Chile
One goal in the Copa America group stage was enough for Canada to reach the quarterfinals in its tournament debut.
The Canadians sealed second place in Group A with a gritty goalless draw against Chile on Saturday. Canada, which played against 10 men for a second consecutive game after Gabriel Suazo was shown a second yellow card in the 27th minute, advances to the knockout stage of the competition along with reigning champion Argentina.
| Team | Goal Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Argentina | +5 | 9 |
| 2. Canada | -1 | 4 |
| 3. Chile | -1 | 2 |
| 4. Peru | -3 | 1 |
It's the first time that Chile has failed to advance beyond the group stage at the Copa America since 2004.
Argentina, meanwhile, secured top spot and a perfect record in the opening round with a 2-0 over Peru in Saturday's concurrent fixture.
Canada will now play the winner of Group B in the quarterfinals, which will be one of Venezuela, Ecuador, or Mexico. Victory in that contest could set up a potential rematch with Argentina in the semis.
"We had to show our fight, we had to show our teeth at times," captain Alphonso Davies, one of four Canadian players booked in the physical affair, told Matthew Scianitti of TSN after Saturday's draw in Orlando. "But overall, we did well."
Canada, similar to its 1-0 win over Peru in which Jesse Marsch's team enjoyed a man advantage for 30 minutes, once again struggled to generate clear-cut opportunities and relied on a stout backline to get the necessary result. Canada has just one goal in Marsch's five matches with the national team - Jonathan David's pinpoint winner versus Peru - but, on the flip side, has three clean sheets in that time, conceding goals against only the Netherlands and Argentina.
Goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau has arguably been the team's top performer in the three tournament matches.
Not forced into any miraculous saves Saturday night, he was again a calming presence between the sticks, and confidently collected a dangerous cross in the waning seconds that extinguished Chile's last hope of getting the single goal it needed to advance.
Chile, relying on veteran contributors like Alexis Sanchez and Mauricio Isla, threatened only sparingly, and exits the competition without a goal.