Canada won the inaugural Canadian Shield Tournament on Tuesday night despite losing to African champion Ivory Coast 5-4 in a penalty shootout.
The game went to a shootout after it finished knotted at 0-0 after 90 minutes.
The 30th-ranked Canadian men finished with four points, one ahead of No. 86 New Zealand and No. 25 Ukraine and two ahead of No. 41 Ivory Coast.
Victory was assured for Canada just by getting to the shootout, given it would finish the night with at least four points — with two points for a shootout win and one for a shootout loss — while no one else had more than three. A regulation win was worth three points at the tournament.
Jonathan David, Mathieu Choiniere, Derek Cornelius and Ismael Kone scored for Canada in the shootout. Badra Ali Sangare stopped Tani Oluwaseyi and Luc de Fougerolles.
WATCH | Canada falls to Ivory Coast on penalties but wins Canadian Shield on points:
Canada falls to Ivory Coast in penalty kicks, still captures inaugural Canadian Shield
Clement Akpa, Jereme Boga, Emmanuel Latte Lath, Franck Kessie and Mohamed Diomande scored for Ivory Coast in the shootout, beating Dayne St. Clair. Mory Gbane missed the target.
Ukraine defeated New Zealand 2-1 in the early game Tuesday, leaving both teams at 1-1-0 with three points. That result meant Ivory Coast had to win by two goals to take the trophy.
Ivory Coast is currently ranked fifth in Africa by FIFA — behind No. 12 Morocco, No. 19 Senegal, No. 32 Egypt and No. 36 Algeria. But the Elephants are the reigning Africa Cup of Nations champions and have been ranked as high as No. 12 in the world.
Ivory Coast looked dangerous, comfortably moving the ball around as drums resonated in its supporters’ section at BMO Field. The Ivorian ‘keeper had little to do in the first half other than watch his team from afar.
Both teams managed just one shot on target before the break with Canada never really finding its rhythm. The second half was choppy and chippy with plenty of stops and starts before an announced crowd of 18,489 at BMO Field.
The first-ever Canadian Shield is ours! 🏆 <br><br>Le boucler canadien est à nous! 🏆<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/CANMNT?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#CANMNT</a> <a href=”https://t.co/zkDKpZ9JSa”>pic.twitter.com/zkDKpZ9JSa</a>
As promised, Canada coach Jesse Marsch fielded almost an entirely different lineup with only centre back Cornelius retaining his spot from the Ukraine starting 11. Veteran forward Cyle Larin served as captain for the first time.
Daniel Jebbison, a 21-year-old forward with England’s Bournemouth, won his third cap in his first start. Vancouver Whitecaps winger Jayden Nelson also made his first start, earning his seventh cap.
It was a more experienced group of starters, with a combined cap count of 369 going into the game compared to 241 for the starting 11 against Ukraine. Larin, Jonathan Osorio and Richie Laryea accounted for 226 of Tuesday’s total.
Osorio’s 85th cap moved him into third place on the Canadian men’s all-time list behind Julian de Guzman (89) and Atiba Hutchinson (105). Canadian midfielder Stephen Eustaquio was honoured before the game for earning his 50th cap against Ukraine.
St. Clair started in goal. The Minnesota United ‘keeper is tied for the MLS lead in shutouts with eight and ranks second in goals-against average at 0.88.
WATCH | Canada defeats Ukraine in tournament opener:
Jonathan David scores twice, Canada downs Ukraine at Canadian Shield
Joel Waterman put the ball in the Ivory Coast goal in the sixth minute only to see the offside flag go up. At the other end, St. Clair stopped a 21st-minute free kick whipped in by Nicolas Pepe, formerly of England’s Arsenal and now with Spain’s Villarreal.
Canadas best chances of the first half came off a free kick and two corners as the clock wound down, but each time the final ball was off target.
Three of Canada’s back four — Cornelius, Waterman and Sam Adekugbe — were on yellow cards by the 48th minute.
An unmarked Pepe wasted a glorious chance in the 52nd minute when his header was off target. Soon after, Waterman made a saving tackle to stop Pepe.
David and Tajon Buchanan, who accounted for three goals against Ukraine, came off the bench in the 76th minute as Canada looked for a goal.
Adekugbe had to be helped off the field in the 83rd minute, favouring his leg after going down.
Canada had never faced Ivory Coast before. The last time it faced an African side was at the World Cup in Qatar in December 2022 when it lost 2-1 to Morocco in its final group-stage game.
The Ivory Coast squad draws on players from clubs in Belgium, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland and Turkey.
Canada heads to the CONCACAF Gold Cup next, opening against No. 95 Honduras on June 17 in Vancouver before completing Group B play in Houston against No. 90 Curacao and No. 81 El Salvador on June 21 and 24, respectively.
Canada went into Tuesday’s match with a 7-4-5 record under Marsch, with one of those ties turning into a penalty shootout loss to Uruguay and another into a shootout win over Venezuela. His previous three games in Canada — against Ukraine, Suriname and Panama — were all victories.
Ivory Coast returns to World Cup qualifying play in September. It currently leads Group F in African qualifying with a 5-0-1 record, one point ahead of No. 79 Gabon in the six-country group that also includes No. 140 Burundi, No. 111 Kenya, No. 126 Gambia and the 203rd-ranked Seychelles.
