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It was all one way traffic at BMO Field as Canada moved one step closer to the fourth round of World Cup qualifying.
As expected, Canada easily defeated Belize 3-0 at BMO Field on Friday in the opening leg of the third round of World Cup qualifying. A goal from Tosaint Ricketts in each half, and a late goal from Atiba Hutchinson, gives the Reds a comfortable lead heading into next Wednesday’s return leg.
Looking to move on from a dismal Gold Cup performance in July where it finished last—and didn’t score—in a group with Jamaica, Costa Rica and El Salvador, Canada was able to count on the services of two of its best midfielders in Will Johnson and Atiba Hutchinson, who had both missed out on the Gold Cup due to injury.
Even with Johnson and Hutchinson in the lineup, however, Canada didn’t show as much menace and craft as one would expect against a nation ranked 123 in the FIFA rankings—although it did at least enjoy most of the possession.
After a slow start, Reds midfielder Julian De Guzman was forced to come off in the 10th minute with a leg injury and was replaced by Samuel Piette.
With a little luck, Canada found the breakthrough in the 25th minute, as Tosaint Ricketts got a stab to the ball in the six-yard box following a mad scramble.
In the 65th minute, Ricketts doubled Canada’s advantage after getting a leg onto an early cross from right fullback Nikolas Ledgerwood.
From a corner kick in the dying seconds of the game, Hutchinson all but ensured Canada’s passage to the fourth round of World Cup qualifying with Canada’s third goal of the night.
Belize, which spent most of the encounter defending in its own half, didn’t manage a shot on goal.
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