KEY TAKEAWAYS: Shaffelburg, Laryea dominate wide areas as CanMNT reaches Nations League SFs with leg 2 win vs. Suriname

The CanMNT have inched one game closer to winning their first trophy since 2000, as they defeated Suriname 3-0 in the second leg of their Concacaf Nations League quarter-final at BMO Field on Tuesday. 

Thanks to that, they advanced to the semi-finals for the second time in three editions after winning the tie 4-0 on aggregate, putting them just two wins away from a trophy. 

Yet, after a complete performance in the second leg, it’s well deserved, as they hardly set a foot wrong at BMO Field on Tuesday. 

Offensively, they were flying, as they scored three goals for the first time under head coach Jesse Marsch, and defensively, they remained solid, finding a way to keep a second straight clean sheet despite dealing with some hairy moments. 

With that, they capped off a perfect first year under Marsch, who will certainly be pleased with how this team has progressed since his arrival. Having come in and inherited a team full of question marks after a rough 2023, they’re now arguably the most in-form team in Concacaf, something they’ll want to prove in the Nations League finals. 

Certainly, after a result like this, they’ll like their chances heading into that semi-final matchup against Mexico, which will be held in Los Angeles in March. 

It's official: The CanMNT will play 🇲🇽 in the CNL semi-finals in March!

Meanwhile, the 🇺🇸 will play 🇵🇦 in the other SF

It's going to be a tough matchup for 🇨🇦 - their recent 0-0 friendly vs 🇲🇽gives an idea of what that SF could look like - but they'll fancy their chances

— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) November 20, 2024

On that note, here are three KEY takeaways from this second leg. 

Much-needed goal explosion a relief for Canada:

For as good as this year has been for this Canadian side, they had one box they needed to tick off in this game. 

Under Marsch, they’d done a good job of establishing themselves as a solid defensive team - after suffering a 4-0 defeat to the Netherlands in his first game in charge, they’ve since only conceded nine in his next 12 games, keeping six clean sheets (including back-to-back clean sheets in this window). 

Thanks to their relentless press, organization off the ball and overall defensive aggression, combined with their personnel, they’ve found an identity that’s worked for them at the back. 

Despite that defensive success, however, they hadn’t had the same joy up front. Entering this game, they’d only scored nine goals in their first 12 games under Marsch, having been shut out in six of those games, and were yet to score three or more in a match. 

It hadn’t been for a lack of trying - often, Canada had left many games feeling like they had left goals on the table (just at Copa América alone, they generated over 8 xG across six games, but scored just four goals at that tournament) - something they hoped to change in this window. 

Jesse Marsch on 2024:

"This is a team of very talented players that have potential...They've literally never let me down since I've been with them. They've never come flat on a performance since I've been here. They've surprised every moment and exceeded expectations. What a…

— Ben Steiner (@BenSteiner00) November 20, 2024

Because of that, it felt like this would be the perfect game for them to find their offensive swagger. Back at home for just the second time in 2024, they were looking to use those familiar confines to their advantage, helping them find those long-awaited goals. 

And to their credit, they certainly found them, as they finally put up that elusive three-spot. 

They left chances on the table again - they came close to making this game 4-0 a few times late on - continuing their ongoing battle to answer Marsch’s call to be more ‘ruthless’ in front of goal. At the same time, they won’t be worried about that, as what’s most important is that they showed that they can score goals in different ways. 

First, they found the net off a set-piece, as the ball fell to Jonathan David after a second-phase corner delivery, and he made no mistake with his finish for what stood as the winner. 

GOAL🍁🍁🍁

JACOB SHAFFELBURG LOVES A #CANMNT GOAL!🇨🇦

Make it a brace for Shaffelburg tonight, who puts his team up 3-0 in this game, and 4-0 on aggregate

🔴Watch the #CanMNT LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/SiTQTz5323

— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) November 20, 2024

Then, they showed the sort of direct attacking play Marsch has pushed them to do more of, as Moïse Bombito found Jacob Shaffelburg with a ball over the top, and Shaffelburg did the rest from there thanks to his speed and relentless nature. 

GOAL🍁🍁

YOU CAN'T CATCH JACOB SHAFFELBURG⚡️

Shaffelburg has made it 2-0 for the #CanMNT before HT, as he catches Suriname's backline asleep after a ball over the top, and does the rest from there

🔴Watch the #CanMNT LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/Xq8VkF9lrq

— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) November 20, 2024

Lastly, on the third goal, they combined that direct attacking play with some intricate build-up, as they carved through Suriname with a nice passing sequence to set up Shaffelburg’s goal after a perfect cross from Cyle Larin. 

GOAL🍁

THE ICEMAN STAYS RED-HOT!🥶

Jonathan David slots home his 31st for the #CanMNT with a tidy finish inside of the box to put his team up 1-0 in the first half

🔴Watch the #CanMNT LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/2pSwolgO9P

— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) November 20, 2024

For a team that has relied a lot on their high press to score goals, it’s been good to see that all four goals they’ve scored this window have come from different scenarios, especially as teams start to adjust to how they deal with that press. No doubt, the press remains very valuable to how they play - it dictates a lot of what they do on both sides of the ball - but having that flexibility can be so key. 

In a game like this, where Suriname once again started the match by playing more directly in possession, making it harder for Canada’s press to catch them out, having the ability to create offence in dangerous ways certainly made a big difference on the night.

The left-sided partnership of Shaffelburg, Laryea creates lineup questions:

It can be easy to forget when looking at the aggregate score, but it’s important to note that Canada picked up these results without their captain, Alphonso Davies, once again highlighting their impressive depth. 

Often, it’s tough to lose a piece like Davies and not look disjointed, but Canada did well in his absence. 

A big reason for that? The play of Richie Laryea, who was excellent across both legs, and put in an especially big shift in this second leg, in particular. 

Despite being more of a natural right-sided player, he showed that he can truly fill in all over the pitch, not looking out of place in Davies’s place. 

No doubt, there were some differences between what Davies does and how Laryea played, especially on the ball - Canada did miss having a left-footed threat at times in their build-up - but Laryea more than made up for it with his ball progression and defensive play, especially in this game. 

On the ball, he did a great job of progressing the ball through his long passing and dribbling, as he completed five out of seven long balls, and had several bursting runs forward. In particular, as he always seems to do, he drew a lot of fouls, winning six of them in this match, which helped Canada massively. 

Then, defensively, he helped Canada defend aggressively, pushing forward when he needed to, while also helping clean up a few dangerous balls that got in behind his team’s backline. 

Overall, it was a strong showing from Laryea, who remains an integral part of this team, with his ability to fill in all over a big asset for Marsch. Plus, he always seems to be up for big games, which is never a bad thing to have, and a match like this shows why. 

And how about Richie Laryea? Top performance tonight from him on the left, too

In 90', he had:
45/55 passes (82%)
1 chance created
73 touches
1 touch in box
1 dribble
11 passes into final 3rd
5/7 long balls
1 tackle
1 clearance
7 recoveries
8/15 duels
6 fouls won (!)#CanMNT https://t.co/a3No3XjNi1 pic.twitter.com/WGk8cIMMKw

— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) November 20, 2024

But while Laryea was excellent at left back, it can be argued that Jacob Shaffelburg was just as good in front of him, as he was arguably the player of the match. 

Not only did Shaffelburg score two well-taken goals, but he was lively all game long, causing lots of problems for Suriname’s right back with his direct running. 

Thanks to his blistering speed and high work rate, he was a handful to deal with, showing that he can hurt teams both in and out of possession, on both sides of the ball. 

Great game from Jacob Shaffelburg tonight. He continues to thrive under Jesse Marsch, and his pace is a real asset

In 81', he had:
2 goals
14/23 passes (61%)
1 chance created
3 shots
10 touches in box
1 dribble
5 passes into final 3rd
3/4 long balls
2 fouls won#CanMNT pic.twitter.com/hW8D78c5MD

— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) November 20, 2024

And, more importantly, he continues to show all sorts of growth in his final product, with his two goals being a prime example of that. Now up to six goals for the CanMNT, with all six coming since July of 2023 (and five of them coming in 2024 alone), it’s made him a real asset down the flank, which is why he’s become a dependable starter under Marsch. 

Because of that, it feels like Shaffelburg has a big role to play for Canada going forward, as he’s shown that he certainly deserves minutes despite finding himself in a competitive race for minutes out wide. 

So overall, it was a good game for Canada’s left side, who also complemented each other quite nicely, fittingly enough. 

Through that, they made sure Davies’s absence wouldn’t be felt and gave Marsch plenty to think about heading into the next window, showing that there’s a competition for places currently brewing out wide.

Set-pieces much improved from leg 1:

One key story from leg one? Canada’s set-piece delivery, as despite having several opportunities to put Suriname under pressure via corners and free kicks, they struggled to generate much of note from those dead-ball situations. 

Because of that, it was a big talking point the day before this match, as Marsch held his hand up and acknowledged that his side could’ve done much better in that match, noting that it was something they had worked on in the lead-up to this second leg.  

To his credit, that was quickly felt, too. Right from the first whistle, Canada looked much better on set-pieces, as their delivery was sharper, they had more movement off the ball, and overall just seemed to be more on the same page.

So while they didn’t even technically score on a dead ball in this game, given that David’s goal came off the second phase of a corner, they can feel that their attacking set-pieces were a big positive for them. 

Take that sequence before the David goal, for example - while they scored on the second phase of that play, they came close to scoring on the original delivery, where they did a good job of following up that initial pressure with another ball. 

Then, beyond that, there was also the chance they had right before half time, where Moïse Bombito scored on a set-piece, with that goal only being ruled off for a foul afterwards. 

The #CanMNT thought they had made it 3-0 before HT, but Moïse Bombito's goal (which would've been his first for Canada), is ruled off after a foul in the lead-up

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— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) November 20, 2024

And that’s all encouraging to see, because as seen earlier, Canada is looking for different ways to score, and one of them has to be set pieces. 

Why, one might ask? 

First, there’s the fact that they’re set up to be quite good at them - between Stephen Eustáquio, Mathieu Choinière and Jacob Shaffelburg, they’ve got some decent takers, and they’ve certainly got no shortage of targets to pick from between Bombito, Joel Waterman, Derek Cornelius, Cyle Larin, Theo Bair and more. 

In particular, Choinière continues to be one to watch with his delivery, as it feels like there’s some untapped potential in his ability to send a dead ball into the box. 

Then, there’s the fact that with their direct play, they do a good job of winning fouls and corners, giving them more of an opportunity to be dangerous on dead balls. Plus, being more dangerous from set-pieces can technically help them be more dangerous in possession - teams will think twice when fouling Canada, something they haven’t been shy in doing in a lot of recent games. 

So overall, look for Canada to build off this going forward given that set pieces could prove to be crucial for them if they’re to win a trophy, as they might need them to help break open a cagey game, something they did well to do in this match.