Canada blanks Belize in 1st leg of World Cup qualifier
Tosaint Ricketts scored twice and Atiba Hutchinson added a stoppage-time goal to give Canada a 3-0 win over underdog Belize in the first leg of a World Cup qualifier Friday night.
Canada led 1-0 at the half against a mostly part-time team it should have carved wide open. It dominated possession but showed little teeth in front of goal until late in the game as the visitors sagged before an announced crowd of just 10,412 at BMO Field.
The Canadians came out more aggressively in the second half, pushing Hutchinson further up the field. But the finishing continued to underwhelm, with Canadians getting in the way of their own shots on occasion.
Ricketts found the mark again in the 65th, deftly redirecting in a Nik Ledgerwood cross to make the score more respectable. Substitute Russell Teibert's cross found Hutchinson in front of goal for the final score.
The Canadians are ranked 102nd in the world while Belize — whose population is around 350,000 — is No. 128. British bookmaker William Hill had Belize as a 12-1 underdog.
The return match is Tuesday in the Belize capital of Belmopan, where FFB Stadium was upgraded in 2014 to meet CONCACAF standards. An upset does not seem in the making.
In 2004, Canada dispatched the Jaguars 8-0 on aggregate when they met in a similar qualifying tie. Both matches were held in Kingston, Ont., because of the Belize stadium issue.
Ricketts put Canada ahead in the 25th minute, poking the ball home after a goal-mouth scramble. Goalkeeper Woodrow West made a fine save to deny Cyle Larin's header but the ball deflected back towards the goal line. Samuel Piette failed to put it in but then Ricketts got a limb to it.
It was Canada's first goal in 308 minutes dating back to its last World Cup qualifier, a 4-0 win over Dominica on June 16. Canada subsequently went scoreless in three games at the Gold Cup (0-1-2).
Belize came out in a 4-4-2 formation, with defender Trevor Lennen shadowing Larin wherever he went. Canada played a 4-2-3-1 with Hutchinson and Will Johnson patrolling in front of the back line.
Midfielder Julian de Guman, who only recently came back from an injury layoff, captained Canada but left in the 14th minute.
Belize tried to mount attacks but usually gave the ball away after a pass or two. Canada had far more of the ball, pushing Belize back deep into its half. The visitors started stacking nine or 10 men behind the ball.
On the bench, Canadian coach Benito Floro did not seem pleased by his team's inability to crack the Belize defence.
Canadian goalie Kenny Stamatopoulos, meanwhile, was a forgotten man in the Canadian end. Canada outshot Belize 7-1 in the first half, with one shot charitable for the visitors. Canada outshot Belize 12-1 (10-0 in shots on target) over the course of the match.
Belize has just three players who play outside their country, which is bordered to the north by Mexico, the south and west by Guatemala and the east by the Caribbean Sea. One plays in Guatemala while two are in Honduras. The rest play semi-pro in the Belize league.
The Canada-Belize victor will become part of CONCACAF Group A in the fourth round, the penultimate stage of qualifying in North and Central America and the Caribbean. That pool will feature No. 26 Mexico, No. 81 Honduras and either No. 107 El Salvador or No. 148 Curacao with only the top two advancing after round-robin play.
El Salvador beat Curacao 1-0 Frdiay.
Canada, which had a bye in CONCACAF's first round, advanced to the third round by defeating No. 172 Dominica 6-0 on aggregate.
Belize won its first-round series with the 187th-ranked Cayman Islands on the away goals rule after a 1-1 aggregate tie. It then dispatched the 123rd-ranked Dominican Republic 5-1.
