Canada on verge of FIFA World Cup berth after bizarre game-winning goal
When Canada needed a goal on Wednesday night, it turned to, well, the butt of its oldest player.
It might be the weirdest goal you’ll ever see, but 38-year-old Atiba Hutchinson’s backside came up with the match-winner against El Salvador in a crucial match for Canada’s men’s soccer team.
In the 66th minute of Canada’s latest World Cup qualifying match, forward Cyle Larin made a cross in towards the box to try to break a 0-0 tie.
Hutchinson redirected the ball towards the net, which then ricocheted off the goal post, off him again, and into the net in stunning fashion.
CAPTAIN ATIBA! 🤩
The @Besiktas midfielder gives Canada the lead WITH HIS BACK! 😱#CANMNT | #WCQ pic.twitter.com/P4upP6ET4m
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 3, 2022
“I think I got a touch, it hit off the post, and after that I don’t know what happened… obviously a very lucky goal. But sometimes in football you need that luck,” Hutchinson said postmatch.
COOL. AS. YOU. LIKE. 🥶
Jonathan David's 20th #CANMNT goal is an absolute stunner! 😍@CanadaSoccerEN | #WCQ pic.twitter.com/5FsCNwou9m
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 3, 2022
Jonathan David added a late insurance goal, mirroring Sam Adekugbe’s effort on Sunday against the United States.
Final score: Canada 2, El Salvador, 0.
Credit Hutchinson for the game-winning goal — his ninth for Canada at the international level.
You gotta be good to be lucky 🇨🇦 😉
🎥: @onesoccer #CanMNT pic.twitter.com/YyTrIMhtBJ
— Offside (@OffsideDH) February 3, 2022
Canada didn’t quite qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup with the win.
But Canada remains in first place in the final round of CONCACAF qualifying. With a win against any of Costa Rica, Jamaica, or Panama in the final window in March (or a combination of other results), Canada should have its ticket punched to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, with a chance to do so as soon as March 24.
The top three teams out of eight in the CONCACAF region make it through to the tournament, with the fourth-place team going into an interconfederational playoff against a team from Oceania.
Wednesday’s game was actually questionable as to whether it’d go ahead at all. Less than six hours before kickoff, Salvadoran players put out a statement that they’d be sitting out the game, citing poor treatment from the national federation.
But they eventually backtracked on that, with the game going ahead as planned.
More to come…
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