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Canada vs Cuba live score, updates, lineups, and result from CONCACAF Gold Cup 2023 group finale

By July 5, 2023No Comments

Win or go home. The stakes are simple for Canada’s men’s national team as it heads into a final Gold Cup group stage match against Cuba in Houston’s Shell Energy Stadium on Tuesday.

After settling for two draws thus far, Canada are playing catchup with the two frontrunners (Guadeloupe and Guatemala) who are meeting in the other group finale happening simultaneously in New Jersey. Only the top two teams advance to the tournament quarterfinals.  

A win will see Canada qualify as the group runner-up in case of a winner in the other match. If there’s a draw in the other match, Canada could even win the group with a lopsided victory over Cuba.

Canada are in this predicament because they are missing many of their starters. The mainly reserve side has been a far cry from the one that impressed during World Cup qualifying and the 2022 World Cup. Les Rouges will still like their chances against a Cuba team that is already eliminated though arguably deserving more for its performances thus far. 

The Sporting News is following the Canada vs. Cuba match live, providing scoring updates, commentary, and highlights as they happen.

MORE: Updated Gold Cup bracket

Group D live standings

Only the top two teams advance to the quarterfinals. Goal difference is the first tiebreaker. Here is the final round of matches taking place simultaneously:

  • Tues, July 4: Canada 3-1 Cuba (Houston)
  • Tues, July 4: Guatemala 1-2 Guadeloupe (Harrison, N.J.)
Team Pts W-D-L Goals
Scored		 Goal
Diff.
1. Guadeloupe 7 2-1-0 8 +4
2. Canada 5 1-2-0 6 +3
3. Guatemala 4 1-1-1 2 0
4. Cuba 0 0-0-3 1 -7
  • 1st place: vs. USA in Gold Cup QFs
  • 2nd place: vs. Jamaica in Gold Cup QFs

Canada vs Cuba live score

  2nd Half Goal scorers
Canada 4 Junior Hoilett (penalty) 21′
Jonathan Osorio (Lucas Cavallini) 27′
Jayden Nelson 47′
Liam Millar (Junior Hoilett) 62′
Cuba 1 Luis Paradela (penalty) 49+’

Lineups:

Canada (3-5-2, right to left): 1-St. Clair (GK) — 15-McGraw, 14-Bombito (7-Nelson, 33′), 4-Miller — 22-Laryea, 21-Osorio, 3-Fraser, 20-Ahmed, 11-Millar — 10-Hoilett, 9-Cavallini

Cuba (4-4-2, right to left): 1-S. Sanchez (21-Johnston, 61′) (GK) — 5-Morejon, 2-Mendes, 6-Piedra, 13-J.L. Corrales (3-Penalver, 46′) — 18-Matos. 15-Y. Perez, 8-E. Hernandez, 7-Pozo — 23-Paradela, 9-Reyes

Canada vs Cuba live updates, highlights and commentary from Gold Cup

62nd min. Goal Canada! Cuba substitute the goalkeeper to give the third-string some time, and on the first play he faces, he whiffs on the corner kick and Liam Millar beats him with a header. It’s 4-1 Canada.

Meanwhile, word comes from New Jersey that Guadeloupe has taken the lead on Guatemala via a penalty kick.

Watch in Canada:

Watch in USA:

56th min. Chance Canada! Les Rouges nearly had a fourth. Liam Millar attacks the ball at the right post and the ball takes a deflection off the Cuba defender and off the post.

Cuba has taken the ball into dangerous position in the attack themselves, but haven’t shown to be clinical around the box.

47th min. Goal Canada! The Cuba goalkeeper can’t get a hold of the ball on the ground — and he actually looks scared of the ball — and Jayden Nelson takes advantage to push it home. He did well to follow the play all the way.

Watch in Canada:

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46th min. Second half is underway. Cuba with the only sub at halftime as Mario Penalver comes in for the injured Jorge Corrales at left-back.

Halftime: Canada 2-1 Cuba

Halftime: Cuba’s self-inflicted errors caught up to them and the team with the better quality finally went ahead on a Junior Hoilett penalty after a Cuba handball in the box. A turnover outside Cuba’s own box, led to Canada’s second goal by Jonathan Osorio.

With Canada going to a 4-4-2 formation after an injury to center-back Moise Bombito, Cuba took advantage of the space in behind to earn a penalty and convert in stoppage time, meaning the result still hangs in the balance.

It will be interesting to see what moves each team makes in the second half in the hot weather conditions in Houston (feels like 99 degrees Fahrenheit, 61 percent humidity). Cuba only have four options on their bench, while Canada may want to preserve captain Junior Hoilett, who was Canada’s best player, but came into the match nursing a hamstring.

49th+ min.: Goal Cuba! Paradela steps up himself to convert with a classy finish, sending the ‘keeper the wrong way. And Cuba are back in it.

Watch in Canada:

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48th+ min.: Penalty Cuba! In stoppage time (5 minutes of stoppage time), Dayne St. Clair brings down Paradela in the Canada box and it’s a penalty for Cuba.

42nd min.: As Junior Hoilett chips another shot toward Cuba’s goal inside the box, news comes down of a Guatemala goal to equalize the score against Guadeloupe in New Jersey 1-1. Canada are still through as things stand.

36th min.: YELLOW card Cuba. Minutes after a hard tackle on Liam Millar, Cuba left-back Jorge Corrales goes in the book for a foul on Junior Hoilett.

The set-piece is well-executed with Hoilett serving up Jonathan Osorio in the box, and his low shot is stopped by Sandy Sanchez.

33rd min.: SUB Canada. Moise Bombito has to come out of the game early. Jayden Nelson enters the match in his place. Canada will now operate in a 4-4-2 with only two center backs (Zac McGraw and Kamal Miller) and Ali Ahmed as left-back. Jayden Nelson is at left midfield.

27th min.: Goal Canada! After Cuba coughs it up in a bad spot, Canada turn it into a goal with Lucas Cavallini serving up Jonathan Osorio at the left post. And Guadeloupe score at roughly the same time.

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23rd min.: Chance Canada! A Junior Hoilett set piece from the right side finds Lucas Cavallini in the box, but his header is just high of the bar.

20th min.: Goal Canada! Penalty Canada! A Hoilett cross from the end line goes off a Cuba player’s arm. The referee points to the spot and Hoilett steps up to send the goalkeeper the wrong way.

As things stand, Canada are through as the second-place team.

Watch in Canada:

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17th min.: Chance Canada. Liam Fraser lets fly from outside the box, but it’s right at the goalkeeper Sandy Sanchez, who doesn’t allow a rebound.

14th min.: Chance Canada! Ali Ahmed gets a shot off in the box that goes wide of the left post. Ahmed is operating on the left side, while Osorio is on the right side of midfield.

10th min.: VAR decision. After a three-minute check, Osorio is judged to be offside and the replays back that up.

Watch in USA:

7th min.: Woodwork Canada! Jonathan Osorio connects on a cross across the six-yard box and he bangs it off the crossbar and it bounces off the goal line twice. The Costa Rican referee Keylor Herrera says no goal, but it’s being checked. Osorio may have also been offside.

6th min.: Cuba had two box entries in the opening minute, and it’s been an even start to this match. But Cuba look up for this game.

1st min.: Cuba kick off in white jerseys and blue shorts. Canada in all black in the 90-degree weather.

Kickoff

5 mins. to kickoff: Teams are on the field. Canada national anthem up first.

10 mins. to kickoff: Dayne St. Clair is undefeated as a starting goalkeeper for Canada. But a draw just won’t do today:

1 hour to kickoff: Lineups are out. Dayne St. Clair takes over for Milan Borjan in goal as expected, but Liam Fraser also gets the call, meaning that Moise Bombito will likely occupy the central position in a three-man backline, his third different position in this tournament.

Meanwhile, it’s a thin squad for Cuba.

1 hour, 15 mins. to kickoff: The day before the match, Canada manager John Herdman announced that Milan Borjan left camp after “picking something up” in the last match against Guatemala. Since he’s joining a new club this summer, he took no chances and has already departed camp.

1 hour, 45 mins. to kickoff: This bodes well for Canada, provided Junior Hoilett doesn’t succumb to the hamstring ailment that forced him off as a precaution in the 65th minute against Guatemala.

2 hours to kickoff: Canada fans will have one eye on the other Group D match between Guadeloupe and Guatemala as that result will determine whether Canada finish first, second, or even out of the tournament.

The simplified form of the qualification scenarios follows below. But goal difference will likely come into play as the first tiebreaker. Goals scored is the second tiebreaker.

Canada vs Cuba lineups

One forced change for Canada is at goalkeeper with Milan Borjan departing camp, and Dayne St. Clair next in line to replace him. But veteran Junior Hoilett has overcome a hamstring issue to get the starting spot in attack.

Zac McGraw comes back into the right center-back position, while Moise Bombito takes over for Steven Vitoria in the middle of the three-man backline. Liam Fraser, who was pulled at halftime against Guatemala, will be in central midfield, allowing Bombito to resume his more defensive duties.

Canada lineup (3-5-2): 1-St. Clair (GK) — 15-Zac McGraw, 14-Moise Bombito, 4-Kamal Miller — 22-Richie Laryea, 21-Jonathan Osorio, 3-Liam Fraser, 20-Ali Ahmed, 11-Liam Millar — 10-Junior Hoilett, 9-Lucas Cavallini

Canada subs (11): 16-Tom McGill (GK), 6-Dominick Zator, 23-Scott Kennedy, 2-Zachary Brault-Guillard, 5-Steven Vitoria, 8-David Wotherspoon, 12-Victor Loturi, 19-Charles-Andreas Brym, 7-Jayden Nelson, 13-Jacob Shaffelburg, 17-Jacen Russell-Rowe

Cuba was left thin after four players abandoned camp following the first group match against Guatemala, never getting on the plane to Houston and instead staying in Miami. With Aldair Ruiz (red card suspension) and Carlos Vazquez (yellow card accumulation) not involved against Canada, that leaves Cuba with just four field players on the bench.

Among the starters, Yunior Perez covers a ton of ground and Willian Pozo is a talented playmaker. But goalkeeper Raiko Arozarena, the brother of Major League Baseball star Randy Arozarena, is on the bench, as is captain and No. 10 Arichel Hernandez. They were both starters in the last two games. Goalkeeper Sandy Sanchez and forward Maykel Reyes take their place against Canada.

Cuba starting lineup (4-4-2): 1-Sandy Sanchez (GK) — 5-Dariel Morejon, 2-Modesto Mendez, 6-Yosel Piedra, 13-Jorge Corrales — 18-Yasniel Matos, 15-Yunior Perez, 8-Eduardo Hernandez, 7-Willian Pozo — 23-Luis Paradela, 9-Maykel Reyes.

Cuba subs (6): 12-Raiko Arozarena (GK) 21-Nelson Johnston (GK), 3-Mario Penalver, 11-Romario Torrez, 17-Daniel Diaz, 10-Arichel Hernandez.

Watch Canada vs Cuba live stream, TV channel

Here’s how fans in the USA and Canada can watch the Canada vs. Cuba match.

USA

  • Date: Tues, July 4, 2023
  • Time (ET): 6:30 p.m. ET (3:30 p.m. PT)
  • TV Channel: FS1
  • Streaming: Fubo, Fox Sports site/app, ViX

The match between Canada and Cuba will be televised in the United States on FS1, which is available to stream on Fubo, which offers a free trial for new users. 

Fans can watch the broadcast in Spanish on Univision’s ViX streaming platform with a subscription.

Subscribers to cable, satellite or telco packages can also use their credentials to access an English-language stream on the Fox Sports site or app. 

Canada

  • Date: Tues, July 4, 2023
  • Time (ET): 6:30 p.m. ET (3:30 p.m. PT)
  • TV channel: Telus Optik TV (Channel 980)
  • Streaming: Fubo Canada, OneSoccer site/app

The match will be televised in Canada on Telus Optik TV (Channel 980), where viewers can watch the OneSoccer broadcast.

It will also be streamed on Fubo Canada, as well as on the OneSoccer site and app for subscribers.

Canada vs Cuba betting odds

Between the players abandoning camp and the team having nothing to play for, Cuba isn’t given much of a chance in this game. But they shouldn’t be taken lightly, because they have the talent to cause Canada problems, they can play with no pressure, and the weather conditions (90 degrees) will arguably be in their favor.

The Cuba double chance is priced at an eye-catching +725 for those wishing to play a result, though the more conservative way to wager based on a competitive Cuba performance is via the spread (handicap) of +2.5 or the Under 3.5 total goals, both priced at +105. 

  Canada
win		 Draw Cuba
win		 Both teams
to score Y / N		 Over / Under
3.5 goals		 CAN
-2.5		 CUB
+2.5
BetMGM
(USA)		 -1200 +1150 +2500 +135 / -200 -145 / +105 -150 +105
Sports
Interaction
(Canada)		 1.07 10.00 26.00 2.36 / 1.46 1.75 / 2.04 1.70 2.12

Source

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