TORONTO — It was a draw, a loss and a win — all in one. But when the dust settled, Canada emerged victorious at the inaugural Canadian Shield Tournament.
Despite losing to African champion Ivory Coast 5-4 in a penalty shootout after a scoreless draw in regulation time Tuesday, the 30th-ranked Canadian men finished with four points, one ahead of No. 86 New Zealand and No. 25 Ukraine, and two ahead of No. 41 Ivory Coast.
That meant champion T-shirts, the PA system at BMO Field blaring Queen's "We are The Champions," pyrotechnics (which went off a little late) and a trophy to hoist.
Mission accomplished for Canada coach Jesse Marsch.
"I know from where we were 10 days ago to where we are right now, we're a much more prepared team for what next summer will require," Marsch said, referencing the World Cup. "And that's been the goal of creating these friendlies, to try and get the best opponents possible, the level of opponent that we think we're going to see next summer.
"And Ivory Coast challenged us in a lot of ways. We bent at moments but we didn't break. So that part was great."
Victory was assured for Canada just by getting to the shootout, given it would finish the night with at least four points — with two points for a shootout win and one for a shootout loss — while no one else had more than three. A regulation win was worth three points at the tournament.
Jonathan David, Mathieu Choiniere, Derek Cornelius and Ismael Kone scored for Canada in the shootout. Badra Ali Sangaré stopped Tani Oluwaseyi and Luc de Fougerolles.
Clement Akpa, Jereme Boga, Emmanuel Latte Lath, Franck Kessie and Mohamed Diomande scored for Ivory Coast in the shootout, beating Dayne St. Clair. Mory Gbane missed the target.
Ukraine defeated New Zealand 2-1 in the early game Tuesday, leaving both teams at 1-1-0 with three points. That result meant Ivory Coast had to win by two goals to take the trophy.
The Canadians defeated Ukraine 4-2 in the tournament opener Saturday while Ivory Coast lost 1-0 to New Zealand.
Ivory Coast is currently ranked fifth in Africa by FIFA — behind No. 12 Morocco, No. 19 Senegal, No. 32 Egypt and No. 36 Algeria. But the Elephants are the reigning Africa Cup of Nations champions and have been ranked as high as No. 12 in the world.
Ivory Coast looked dangerous, comfortably moving the ball around as drums resonated in its supporters' section at BMO Field. The Ivorian 'keeper had little to do in the first half other than watch his team from afar.
Both teams managed just one shot on target before the break with Canada never really finding its rhythm. The second half was choppy and chippy with plenty of stops and starts before an announced crowd of 18,489.
As promised, Marsch fielded almost an entirely different lineup with only centre back Cornelius retaining his spot from the Ukraine starting 11. Veteran forward Cyle Larin served as captain for the first time.
Daniel Jebbison, a 21-year-old forward with England's Bournemouth, won his third cap in his first start. Vancouver Whitecaps winger Jayden Nelson also made his first start, earning his seventh cap.
It was a more experienced group of starters, with a combined cap count of 369 going into the game compared to 241 for the starting 11 against Ukraine. Larin, Jonathan Osorio and Richie Laryea accounted for 226 of Tuesday's total.
Osorio's 85th cap moved him into third place on the Canadian men's all-time list behind Julian de Guzman (89) and Atiba Hutchinson (105). Canadian midfielder Stephen Eustaquio was honoured before the game for earning his 50th cap against Ukraine.
David and Tajon Buchanan, who accounted for three goals against Ukraine, came off the bench in the 76th minute as Canada looked for a goal.
Canadian defender Sam Adekugbe had to be helped off the field in the 83rd minute, favouring his leg after going down. Marsch said the Whitecaps defender would have a scan done on his calf.
Canada had never faced Ivory Coast before. The last time it faced an African side was at the World Cup in Qatar in December 2022 when it lost 2-1 to Morocco in its final group-stage game.
The Ivory Coast squad draws on players from clubs in Belgium, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland and Turkey.
Canada heads to the CONCACAF Gold Cup next, opening against No. 95 Honduras on June 17 in Vancouver before completing Group B play in Houston against No. 90 Curaçao and No. 81 El Salvador on June 21 and 24, respectively.
Marsch had the players runs sprints after Tuesday's match, ahead of a day off, with the team scheduled to gather in Vancouver on Thursday.
Canada went into Tuesday's match with a 7-4-5 record under Marsch, with one of those ties turning into a penalty shootout loss to Uruguay and another into a shootout win over Venezuela. His previous three games in Canada — against Ukraine, Suriname and Panama — were all victories.
Ivory Coast returns to World Cup qualifying play in September. It currently leads Group F in African qualifying with a 5-0-1 record, one point ahead of No. 79 Gabon in the six-country group that also includes No. 140 Burundi, No. 111 Kenya, No. 126 Gambia and the 203rd-ranked Seychelles.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 10, 2025.
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
