MIAMI, Florida – North American neighbors United States and Canada will meet in arguably their biggest match-up ever with a trophy on the line in the Final of the 2022-23 Concacaf Nations League Finals on Sunday night at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The U.S. reached the CNLF Final for a second straight time after downing long-time rivals Mexico 3-0 in Thursday’s second semifinal, while Canada started the day with a 2-0 win versus Panama.
For Canada, Sunday will be their first Concacaf Final since the 2000 Concacaf Gold Cup when they defeated Colombia 2-0 to claim their first and only Concacaf trophy to date.
A new generation of players is looking to win a second title and they certainly have the talent to do it. FW Jonathan David, always a prime performer in Concacaf matches, added to his growing legacy with a goal and an assist against Panama.
DF Alphonso Davies continued to show why he is considered one of the best left backs in the world, as he came off the bench in the second half and scored Canada’s second goal.
But Canada also got big performances from other parts of the field, namely MF Stephen Eustaquio, who completed 70 passes against Panama, and DF Samuel Adekugbe, who led the team in ball recoveries with three.
The U.S. will counter with a squad brimming with confidence after vanquishing Mexico. At the top of the list is FW Christian Pulisic, who scored a pair of goals against El Tricolor before being joined on the scoresheet by Ricardo Pepi.
The U.S. has ample support in the back, too, with DF Miles Robinson (46 passes completed vs. Mexico) an anchor at center back and GK Matt Turner, who has never conceded a goal in two matches at Allegiant Stadium for the U.S.
This will be the 42nd all-time meeting between the two countries. The U.S. own a 17W-12D-11L advantage in the series, but in CNL play it is split with one win each, with those two games coming in the 2019-20 edition. Canada’s 2-0 win over the U.S. in Toronto in October 2019 was their first against the U.S. in 34 years.
CANADA VS UNITED STATES
Referee: SAID MARTINEZ (Honduras)
1st Assistant Referee: WALTER LOPEZ (Honduras)
2nd Assistant Referee: CHRISTIAN RAMIREZ (Honduras)
4th Official: SELVIN BROWN (Honduras)
VAR: RICARDO MONTERO (Costa Rica)
AVAR1: BENJAMIN PINEDA (Costa Rica)
