**2023-24 Concacaf Nations League Quarter-Final
** **Canada vs. Jamaica
** Tuesday, Nov. 20 at 7:30 **p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT
** **BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario
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It’s an oddly familiar situation: a Canadian team finds itself one BMO Field result against Jamaica away from qualifying for a major tournament. In this case it’s the men’s national team, who have a chance to book their ticket to the 2024 Copa América on Tuesday night in the second leg of their Concacaf Nations League quarter-final. Canada beat Jamaica 2-1 on Saturday morning in the opening leg down in Kingston, meaning they’ve brought an aggregate lead back home and need only a draw to win the tie. The last time a Jamaican side played Canada at BMO Field was back in September, when the women’s national team beat the Reggae Girlz 2-1 (4-1 on aggregate) to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics. The time before that? The Canadian men’s team beat the Reggae Boyz 4-0 in March 2022 on a memorable day that secured qualification for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Les Rouges can therefore kindle some déjà vu on Tuesday evening, as many of the key players from that World Cup qualifying side return in hopes of securing Canada’s first appearance at the Copa América in the program’s history. “It’s a very important tournament,” Canada midfielder Stephen Eustáquio said of the Copa América on Monday. “Inside the locker room we know how much of a big tournament it is; probably the fans in Canada don’t really know the value of Copa América but for me in terms of passion and quality and velocity and intensity, all these types of things, it’s probably one of the best tournaments in the world. I’m very, very happy we have this opportunity to play in Copa América — we still have to qualify, but I’m very happy Concacaf is involved.” With the aggregate score being 2-1 in Canada’s favour heading into the second leg, there’s a heavy advantage for the home side who would win the tie with any form of win or draw. They would also qualify with a 1-0 loss, having scored two away goals. A 2-1 loss at home would send the tie to extra time and penalties if necessary, and any other form of defeat would put Jamaica through. Also important to note, however, is that this quarter-final is, well, a quarter-final in a Nations League tournament that Canada would also like a measure of redemption in. They lost the final of the most recent edition last June to the United States, who have won the tournament both times it’s been held. If Canada get past Jamaica, they’ll head to the semifinals slated for March 2024 in Arlington, Texas. That’s another incentive for Canada to go for the win on Tuesday rather than settle for a draw, with seeding for the Nations League semis based on results from the quarter-final tie — so, winning the second leg outright, ideally by several goals, would give Canada six points and put them in good position to be the top seed in the semifinals. Standing in the way of all that is, of course, a very talented Jamaican side who by no means will roll over in this second leg. Since Icelandic coach Heimir Hallgrímsson took over in September 2022 they’ve got a 6-6-6 record, but have some impressive results recently including 2-2 draw with Mexico at Estadio Azteca last March, as well as a 1-1 result against the United States in the group stage of the 2023 Gold Cup, where Jamaica went all the way to the semifinal. There’s a lot of high-profile talent in Jamaica’s squad, including five players currently on the books for English Premier League teams — Leon Bailey (Aston Villa), Ethan Pinnock (Brentford), Amari’i Bell (Luton Town), Bobby Decordova-Reid (Fulham) and Michail Antonio (West Ham). Antonio is, however, a doubt for this second leg after exiting Saturday’s match in the first half with injury. The Jamaican group also includes a familiar foe for Jonathan David in French top-flight striker Shamar Nicholson (Clermont), plus Serie A forward Trivante Stewart of Salernitana. Javain Brown of the Vancouver Whitecaps will also be well known to much of Canada’s squad, including his Whitecaps teammates Sam Adekugbe, Richie Laryea, Junior Hoilett and Ali Ahmed.
Tuesday night will be Mauro Biello’s third game as interim head coach of the national team, but his first on home soil. Considering what’s at stake, this is surely the most important of his time so far, with Copa América offering a golden opportunity for Canada to test themselves against some of the world’s top sides, like Argentina or Brazil, in the lead-up to co-hosting the 2026 World Cup. Biello hasn’t made drastic changes to the Canadian setup since he took over from John Herdman, maintaining a lot of consistency in the squad while adding some of his own minor tactical flairs, but getting the job done this week would be a significant feather in his cap, whether he ends up in contention for the permanent job or not. “They’re going to adjust things, they’re going to change things and we’ve got to be ready for that,” Biello told reporters on Monday. “At the same time, we’ve got to be able to control the game and put the game on our own terms. We’re playing at home and for us it’s about imposing our identity, our rhythm in the game, and then being very careful of some of the threats. As you saw in Jamaica, there are three or four players that we need to pay some special attention to.” Current forecasts are calling for a fairly wet, chilly evening down by the Lakeshore, which is nothing new to the Canadians of course — recalling the frigid temperatures when the men last took on Jamaica at home. With a slim lead heading into this second leg, it’s important not to get overconfident, but this is a ground where Canada’s top attacking stars — from Alphonso Davies to Jonathan David to Cyle Larin — have typically flourished in recent memory. Biello, as well as the thousands of fans slated to brave the conditions at BMO Field, will certainly hope that’s the case once again.
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
Canada: Borjan; Johnston, Vitória, Miller, Laryea; Buchanan, Eustáquio, Koné, Davies; David, Larin
**Jamaica: **Blake; Brown, Pinnock, Bernard, Bell; Latibeaudiere, Johnson, Anderson; Bailey, Nicholson, Decordova-Reid
ALL-TIME SERIES
Canada wins: 11 || Jamaica wins: 6 || Draws: 7
Previous meeting:
Nov. 18, 2023 — Jamaica 1-2 Canada
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Cesar Ramos (MEX)
ARs: Alberto Morin (MEX), Marco Bisguerra (MEX)
4th Official: Adonai Escobedo (MEX)
VAR: Ismail Elfath (USA)
AVAR: Kyle Atkins (USA)