Canada vs. Jamaica result: First men's World Cup in 37 years for Les Rouges with 4-0 win

Simon Borg

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Canada vs. Jamaica result: First men's World Cup in 37 years for Les Rouges with 4-0 win image

They did it. Against most predictions before qualifying began, Canada is heading to its first men's World Cup in 37 years, becoming the first team from the CONCACAF region to book its ticket for the 2022 edition in Qatar. They did it by brushing aside Jamaica 4-0 in the final home game of the qualifying cycle.

It was a party atmosphere from the opening minute at BMO Field in Toronto and it didn't take long for Les Rouges to open the scoring after just 13 minutes. Cyle Larin beat Jamaica's goalkeeper on a perfect through ball by midfield maestro Stephen Eustaquio and Canada didn't look back.

A Tajon Buchanan goal just before halftime gave the Canadians a more comfortable lead after they had wasted a handful of chances. And they eventually rounded out the scoreline with two more goals in the final 10 minutes of the match to officially give way to the celebrations.

It was the exclamation mark on an unexpected qualifying run by Canada, especially after coach John Herdman and his squad had to navigate the tricky preliminary rounds to reach this point.

It had been a while since Les Rouges had even reached the final round of regional qualifying — they last played in this phase in 1997 — and the team also had to play some of the toughest matches without its stars. But Canada showed borderline swagger in topping the table with only one loss so far and one match left to play. Barring surprise scorelines on the final day, they are expected to finish as the best team in the region, raising expectations for what they could accomplish at the World Cup.

Canada vs. Jamaica final score

  1H 2H Final
Canada 2 2 4
Jamaica 0 0 0

Goals:
CAN — Cyle Larin (Stephen Eustaquio) — 13th min.
CAN — Tajon Buchanan (Jonathan David) — 44th min.
CAN — Junior Hoilett (Tajon Buchanan) — 83rd min.
CAN — Adrian Mariappa (own goal) — 89th min.

(All times Eastern)

Final: Canada 4, Jamaica 0

Watch if you're in Canada:

Watch the final whistle if you're in the USA:

89th min.: And an own goal to round out the scoring for Canada! Adrian Mariappa touches the ball as his goalkeeper was picking it up and he beats him in the process.

83rd min.: There is the third! And it's veteran Junior Hoilett who gets it! Tajon Buchanan feeds him the ball and Hoilett manages to poke it home in traffic.

Watch it if you're in Canada:

Watch it if you're in USA:

76th min.: SUB — Now it's Kamal Miller, a defender, coming in for Jonathan Osorio. Miller is on to help see this one out.

70th min.: SUBS — We're at that moment in the game. Subs for both sides: Peter-Lee Vassell is in for Daniel Green, and for Canada it's Liam Fraser for Stephen Eustaquio.

62nd min.: SUBS — Atiba Hutchinson, Alistair Johnston and Lucas Cavallini come in for Doneil Henry, Richie Laryea and Cyle Larin.

59th min.: Good play by Canada goalkeeper Milan Borjan coming way off his line to stop a Jamaica attack. Meanwhile Doneil Henry is down and the trainers were asking for a sub at one point.

49th min.: Back-to-back chances for Canada! First Larin delivers a ball that crosses the face of the goal, but no one was there to tap it home. Then Larin feeds Jonathan David moments later, but he couldn't get around it and it goes wide.

46th min.: Second half is underway. Lamar Walker and Tarick Ximinies are on as subs for Jamaica. The Canadian men are 45 minutes away from clinching a spot in the World Cup.

Halftime: Canada 2, Jamaica 0

44th min.: Second goal for Canada! Tajon Buchanan wins a free kick wide left and the ensuing set piece is eventually collected by Jonathan David, who curls in a cross. A Jamaican defender gets a touch, but the ball falls to Buchanan who hammers home.

Watch it if you're in Canada:

Watch it if you're in the USA:

38th min.: Another chance for Canada, but they have to be concerned they're not putting them away.

Beautiful ball down the left by Hoilett for Adekugbe and yet another cross from the left back finds Larin at the top of the box. But the goal scorer tries to place it and it finishes wide right. Larin drops to his knees in frustration.

31st min.: Canada are in complete control. No suspense here. This is turning into big party. Here's Alphonso Davies reacting to the breakthrough goal:

21st min.: Canada are seemingly dangerous on every attack. Adekugbe with another run down the left and his ball in the box falls to Tajon Buchanan, who takes it first time and sends it high.

15th min.: Jonathan David just misses scoring a second. The ball finishes wide left.

By the way, here was Eustaquio's expression on the goal, watching his pass converted by Larin for the lead.

13th min.: Goal Canada! Cyle Larin put through by Stephen Eustaquio and his shot beats onrushing Andre Blake for the goal. Perfect start for Canada.

Watch it if you're in Canada:

Watch it if you're in the USA:

6th min.: Sam Adekugbe has been involved down the left side and has already fired off a couple of crosses. It's Adekube and Junior Hoilett operating in that left channel.

4th min.: Chance Canada! Incredible solo run down the middle by Jonathan David and the ball falls to the feet of Cyle Larin, who forces Jamaican 'keeper Andre Blake into a save.

1st min.: The match kicks off and Canada is already swarming the Jamaica box.

4:04 p.m.: It was goosebumps during the anthem. It's a big occasion for Canada. Kickoff is moments away.

3:57 p.m.: The flurries are starting to fall just as teams are about to take the field.

3:00 p.m.: This is no ordinary bus arrival.

2:00 p.m.: Of course a potentially historic day in Canadian soccer is met by snowfall ahead of the March 27 qualifier in Toronto.

Canada vs. Jamaica lineups

Alphonso Davies (myocarditis) and Samuel Piette (ankle) are not on the roster and Mark-Anthony Kaye is forced to miss out due to a red card suspension. But Sam Adekugbe and Doneil Henry are back from suspension due to yellow-card accumulation and inserted straight into the lineup.

Veteran Steven Vitoria, who sat out against Costa Rica with a knock is not in the squad. Canadian legend Atiba Hutchinson starts on the bench. 

Canada starting lineup (4-4-2, left to right): 18-Milan Borjan (GK) — 3-Samuel Adekugbe, 23-Scott Kennedy, 15-Doneil Henry, 22-Richie Laryea — 10-Junior Hoilett, 7-Stephen Eustaquio, 21-Jonathan Osorio, 11-Tajon Buchanan — 20-Jonathan David 17-Cyle Larin

Canada subs (12): 16-Maxime Crepeau (GK), 1-Dayne St. Clair (GK), 5-Derek Cornelius, 4-Kamal Miller, 2-Alistair Johnston, 14-Cristian Gutierrez, 8-Liam Fraser, 13-Atiba Hutchinson, 6-Ismael Kone, 19-Liam Millar, 12-Ike Ugbo, 9-Lucas Cavallini

Jamaica interim head coach Paul Hall has introduced some of the younger squad members called up for this three-match qualifying window. Veterans like Damion Lowe, Leon Bailey and Andre Gray, who scored Jamaica's goal on Thursday, are not in the squad. The new names include Jamaican league leading scorer Atapharoy Bygrave, who is in his first senior squad at the age of 28. 

Jamaica starting lineup (3-5-2, left to right): 1-Andre Blake (GK) — 8-Ricardo Thomas, 19-Adrian Mariappa, 6-Richard King — 2-Gregory Leigh, 10-Ravel Morrison, 22-Devon 'Speedy' Williams, 14-Nicholas Nelson, 21-Javain Brown — 16-Daniel Green, 18-Atapharoy Bygrave

Jamaica subs (10): 13-Jeadine White (GK), 23-Amal Knight (GK), 5-Tarick Ximinies, 20-Ramone Howell, 4-Demar Rose, 11-Tevin Shaw, 12-Lamar Walker, 9-Alex Marshall, 15-Christopher Pearson, 7-Peter-Lee Vassell

MORE: Full recap of Canada's loss to Costa Rica

How to watch Canada vs. Jamaica

  • Date: Sunday, March 27
  • Time: 4:05 p.m. ET
  • Canada TV channel: Sportsnet, Telus Ch. 980, RDS
  • Canada streaming: fuboTV, OneSoccer.ca, Sportsnet NOW
  • USA TV channel: Universo
  • USA streaming: fuboTV, Paramount+

Sunday's match between Canada and Jamaica from BMO Field in Toronto will be televised in Canada on Sportsnet, Telus Ch. 980 and RDS (French). The stream will be available on fuboTV among other platforms.

In the USA the match will be televised on Universo with the stream available on fuboTV, which is available on a free trial. Paramount+ will also stream the match for subscribers in the USA.

Canada vs. Jamaica betting odds

Canada come into this match as heavy favorites to not just secure World Cup qualification but do so in style. Jamaica, already eliminated from World Cup contention, has little to play for and they have far from a first team at their disposal.

The Reggae Boyz have kept just two clean sheets across all 12 qualifying matches so far, with one coming at home against last-placed Honduras. The other came in the reverse fixture of this match, with Canada out-passing Jamaica but coming up empty on its five shots on target in a 0-0 draw.

Jamaica was dangerous on set pieces in that October encounter, coming close on a number of occasions, and that has been Canada's weak point throughout qualifying. That will be Jamaica's way through in Toronto as well, but the finishing has to be better.

Sports Interaction odds (Canada)

DraftKings odds (USA)

  • Moneyline: Canada -350 / Draw +450 / Jamaica +800
  • Spread: Canada -1.5 (-115) / Jamaica +1.5 (-115)
  • O/U 2.5 total goals: Over -130 / Under +100
  • Both teams to score: Yes +125 / No -165

Simon Borg

Simon Borg Photo

Simon Borg is a senior editor at The Sporting News who has covered football/soccer for over a decade. A supporter of Italian club Parma Calcio from his years growing up in Europe, he was previously a long-time member of Major League Soccer's digital media team, as a multimedia content producer, on-air personality, and Editor-in-Chief. Based in New York City, Borg is multilingual and has covered the domestic and global scene for TSN since 2021.