I went to the CONCACAF Nations League quarter-final between Canada and Jamaica last week, and the match was wildly entertaining (especially in the second-half). Unfortunately, Canada fell to a shock 3-2 defeat to the Reggae Boyz and they were now out of the Nations League tournament. Here are my thoughts and observations on the match and everything around me.
It was a cold, rainy, windy Tuesday evening in Stoke Toronto. I layered up, hopped on the train, and made my way down to the stadium. Usually, I can feel an electricity in the air as soon as I hopped off the train with all the other Canada supporters, but I did not feel it this time, probably due to the weather. After getting through the long line enter the stadium (seriously, BMO Field needs to open the gate at least 90 mins before kickoff, as well as open more gates/hire more security), I finally parked myself in section 114 with a beverage in hand to watch the match.
Canada had a 2-1 lead in the first leg in Jamaica going into this match. After Canada scored in the first half, the match went into halftime with Canada holding a 1-0 lead. At this point, Canada just needed to keep focus and close this thing out. That was not what happened in the second half. Two cheap giveaways by Canada led to Jamaica goals and the balance of the tie switching to Jamaica's favor. After Canada equalized a few minutes later, Jamaica got a penalty from a Canada handball in the penalty box, which led to a third Jamaica goal. Canada tried desperately to score another goal, but the match ended 3-2 to Jamaica, and they moved on to the Nations League semi-finals, and received entry to participate in the 2024 Copa America. Canada will now have to play Trinidad and Tobago to book its spot in the 2024 Copa America as well.
There were many things you can say about that Canada performance, such as the players lacking focus and that Canada needs a new coach for the men's national team (Mauro Biello is the current interim head coach after John Herdman left to coach Toronto FC), and I generally agree. No matter who the coach is for Canada, those giveaways in the midfield should not have happened, and if you want to play the blame game for this match, most of it should go to the players. I do not know who would want to coach the Canada men's national team at this stage, as they must deal with the generally corrupt and broke CSA.
What did I observe in the stands? There were many Jamaica fans in the east and west stands of the stadium, which reminded me of older times where Canada would play at home against CONCACAF opposition and the fans of the away team would dominate the attendance. I heard more noise when Jamaica scored their goals than when Canada scored their goals. Speaking of which, being in the Canadian supporter sections meant that we were in the stands singing for the Canadian national team, but I thought more people would have filled up the south stand and the other stands in the stadium. Maybe this was due to a combination of poor marketing by Canada Soccer (do they even have a budget for this?), terrible weather, and a lack of security/open gates to get everyone in the stadium in a timely manner. It was still a decent turnout but from the general atmosphere, I could tell that there was something missing.
I will end this with a random observation not really related to the match. I was on the crowded train heading home, standing by the door, where there was this couple sitting behind me. It looked like they were coming back from the match as well. To put it lightly, they were displaying extreme public displays of affection towards each other. The guy was tilting the girl's head back and had his tongue all down her throat, for basically the whole time they were on the train. I thought he was giving her CPR in the view of everyone around them. This was an example of PDAs gone too far, to the point of grossness. Anyways, this is my random thought within my post-game thoughts of the Canada/Jamaica match.
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