Canada loses Alphonso Davies, a three-goal lead and its head in chaotic Guatemala win

Resumen detallado

Jesse Marsch sent off as Guatemala clawed back two goals, but Canada holds edge ahead of Monday’s return at BMO Field.

North America’s erratic airspace might not be fully cleared by the time the charter flight carrying Canada’s men’s soccer team points north from Guatemala City on Saturday morning.

Perhaps extra time on the tarmac will be welcome for Jesse Marsch. His team’s first competitive match since the World Cup cycle was cruel, captivating and mostly chaotic as Canada took a 3-2 lead away from Guatemala in the first leg of its CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal.

That scoreline suggests action-packed yet still doesn’t nearly do Friday night justice. This was 90 minutes bookended by Canadian misery as Alphonso Davies’ long-awaited comeback as captain came to a shuddering early end. Over 600 days later, Davies’ return was over in less than five minutes.

Yet Davies’ teammates responded to his loss with a first half of total dominance, Tani Oluwaseyi, Liam Millar and Jonathan David seemingly putting Marsch’s men into March’s Nations League Finals in Los Angeles in some style.

Not so fast. Canada went full Jekyll and Hyde in a second half where Marsch was sent off and Guatemala grabbed two goals back in front of a raucous crowd. In the end, Canada was lucky to survive. There’s still much to do Monday night at BMO Field.

While the atmosphere in Guatemala City fizzed and cracked early on, things would have been a whole lot quieter in Bavaria. At around 3.05 a.m. German time, multiple phones across the leafy southern suburbs of Munich will have lit up darkened bedrooms.

That the first thought upon seeing Canada’s luckless captain go down injured five minutes into his comeback is ‘What the hell will Bayern think?’ feels wrong. But so little has gone right when it comes to Davies and Marsch, the relationship between club and country forever an uneasy one. Now what?

Davies hadn’t been moving particularly fluidly in the opening minutes but when he covered the last man racing in after just four minutes, a greasy surface saw him lose his footing.

Non-contact muscle injuries blighted Davies’…

Inicio del artículo, extracto de Toronto Star. Para leer el resto, abra el artículo en el sitio del medio.