The Canada and Honduras teams drew 0-0 in the final match of Group A’s third double-round match of the fourteenth edition of the Gold Cup with which they closed the first phase.
The draw allowed Canada to reach the five points and ensure the second place in the qualifying and pass to the quarterfinals.
While Honduras with four points also has chances of qualifying as one of the two best third parties, but will have to wait for Sunday to conclude all the groups phases.
Before the game between Canada and Honduras, Costa Rica thrashed 3-0 to French Guiana and secured the pass to the quarterfinals with seven points and first in the standings, with the Caribbean team eliminated without having scored any points.
The first half left two teams that started with all the precautions of not being surprised by the rival, although to the minute one was Honduras that made the first shot to door by means of Carlos Discua, who was slightly diverted.
Then it would be Canada that began to have better control of the ball in the center of the field and that allowed him to generate more danger in his attack and at minute nine was Marcel de Jong, the most active player of the team that finished with the left and the But the ball bounced harmlessly off the post, much to the delight of Luis López.
The story was repeated in the minute 18 with another shot of the restless Canadian midfielder Scott Artifeld who received the ball from Jong.
Honduras was not let loose and the catrachos players who lead the Colombian Jorge Luis Pinto saw as Canada imposed the rhythm of the game in the well-maintained lawn of the Toyota Stadium of Frisco.
But in 22 Canada already had the first great opportunity to open the scoring when de Jong, after receiving an assist from Lucas Cavallini, Canada’s most technical player, leveled a left-footed shot from the left side of the area and the ball went to the post.
That was what made Honduras react to Houston Dynamo striker Alberth Elis as the most incisive player, who thanks to their penetrations by the bands placed two danger centers that lacked only the goal shot by some of His companions.
Elis himself had the clearest opportunity to have opened the scoring when he fired a corner-kick with a corner kick from goalkeeper Milan Borjan, who was beaten by defender Michael Petrasso.
It did not give more the first part and both teams went to the break with the 0-0 initial that confirmed again the lack of inspired scoring by Honduras that completed 225 consecutive minutes without having scored.
While Canada, with the absence of the 16 year old, scorer Alphonso Davies, who did not leave the title, also suffered from the same problem.
With everything to be defined in the second half, both teams came out with the same tactical scheme to ensure at least the draw, and that was what they finally got before the disappointment of the more than 10,000 spectators who gathered in the stands of the Toyota Stadium to witness the match.
Pinto did not start to move the bench until the second half when he took the field to Boniek Garcia (m.65) by Carlos Discua and was followed by Sergio Peña (m.79) who took the post of Alfredo Mejía.
While Ecuador’s Octavio Zambrano, who heads Canada, did the same with Jonathan Osorio (m.65), who left for Patrice Bernier, then decided on Davies (m.73) and Mark-Anthony Kaye entered the 87 by Cavallini.
Precisely with Osorio in the field, the Hispanic player fired powerful and forced López to make the best stop of the night with a hand that sent the ball to the corner to become the figure of the match, along with his partner Elis, to Who only missed the goal.
As Honduras that to the 85 again Peña shot from inside the area a ball that lost Borjan in his only fault, but defender Steven Victoria rejected it when he went straight to goal.
Then there would come the key action of Borjan in the time of discount when rejecting the perfect head shot that made Octavio Lanza to corner and avoided the goal that saved Canada from defeat.
While Honduras, who had more merits and had more chances to have achieved the winning goal, completed three consecutive games and 270 minutes of action without having scored.
Salvadoran referee Joel Aguilar was awarded a yellow card to Osorio (m.69) from Canada.
