Canada and coach Jesse Marsch are dreaming tonight of advancing to the Copa America semifinals on their first try.
But their clash with Venezuela was more tense than expected and the match was decided on penalties.
An early goal from Nashville SC star Jacob Shaffelburg once again demonstrated Canada’s quality, but the team was unable to capitalize on the multitude of opportunities it created.
That led to a wonderful goal from perennial Venezuelan prodigy Salomon Rondon, who curled a shot home from more than 40 yards to equalise.
The match went to sudden death on penalties, with Ismael Kone scoring the winning shot to secure a place in the semi-finals against Argentina at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
It’s all smiles for Jesse Marsch and Canada as they advance to the Copa America semi-finals
But it was a tense match, thanks in part to a wonderful goal from Salomón Rondón.
If you only watched the first 15 minutes of this game, it looked like Canada was going to dominate the game.
In the 14th minute, Les Rouges took the lead with a perfect goal from Jacob Shaffelburg. Jonathan David ran to the byline and, after dribbling in, managed to pass to Shaffelburg, who finished with his foot.
On the sidelines of the race, he held up the jersey of Tajon Buchanan, his teammate from Canada, who broke his leg and needed surgery earlier this week.
Canada kept its foot on the gas for the remainder of the first half. In the 31st minute, Richie Lareya’s low cross failed to reach forward Cyle Larin’s far post.
Venezuela managed to create chances, but none of them were really a challenge for Canadian goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau.
Things became more balanced in the second half, as neither team was able to make accurate passes, but Venezuela began to dominate possession.
Venezuela’s momentum returned to their side in the 65th minute. After a throw-in by Canada, the ball was cleared towards the top of the area by 34-year-old Salomón Rondón.
Inexplicably, Crepeau found himself more than 40 yards from his line. As the goalkeeper ran back to correct his mistake, the ball fell to Rondon, who opened space between him and defender Moise Bombito and unleashed a long, arcing shot that bounced into the net to equalize.
Jacob Shaffelburg scored just 14 minutes into the match with a wonderfully crafted goal.
At his celebration, he paid tribute to his injured teammate and Canadian star Tajon Buchanan.
In the second half, Salomón Rondón scored the equalizing goal from more than forty yards.
Canada came close to retaking the lead within two minutes, but Liam Millar’s shot sailed into the back of the net and just missed the goal line.
The match became tense and frenetic. Marsch was seen shouting at the referees after they whistled for a foul on Alphonso Davies in the 72nd minute.
Try as they might, Canada could not create anything of substance. Substitute Tani Oluwaseyi’s shot sailed high over the goalkeeper in the 76th minute. Long balls and turnovers failed to create productive opportunities. Oluwaseyi had another chance in the 81st minute, but his shot sailed over the bar.
Venezuela sent Canadian hearts into their throats in the 84th minute when a ball dropped perfectly into the box to a Vinotinto attacker. A pass to Miguel Navarro should have led to a shot into the net, but his attempt went high and caused the full-back to collapse on the field.
Canada continued to press in the final minutes, but the chances were not translating into goals. Shots were either going wide or being saved and nothing the Rouges did seemed to work. Penalties seemed destined.
Tensions rose when a furious Jesse Marsch was seen yelling at officials after a foul.
Ismael Kone (8) scored the winning penalty in the sudden death shootout for Canada
Canada’s players celebrate their Copa America quarter-final victory
What we had to deal with was penalties: CONCACAF rules dictate that any tie in the quarter-finals will be decided directly by a penalty shoot-out.
Rondon was the first to go ahead for Venezuela and sent Crepeau the wrong way. Canada sent David to the penalty spot first and his effort narrowly missed the gloves of Venezuelan goalkeeper Rafael Romo.
In the second round, Yangel Herrera’s shot went wide of the goalkeeper’s right post and was the first mistake of the penalty shootout. Immediately after, Millar made a mistake by not showing confidence in his run and his shot went over the crossbar.
In the third round, Tomás Rincón decided to shoot in the middle and put Venezuela up 2-1. Bombito, with laser pointers in his eyes, managed to overcome the distraction and put his shot into the net on the left side of the goalkeeper.
In the fourth round, substitute Jefferson Savarino’s shot hit Crepeau’s glove and then hit the post. Stephen Eustaquio took over for Canada and his shot was saved by Romo.
The pressure increased in the fifth round. Jhonder Cadiz sent Crepeau the wrong way and all the pressure fell on Alphonso Davies. The Bayern Munich player sent his shot into the back corner of the net and we went into sudden death.
Venezuelan substitute Wilker Angel had an attempt saved by a diving Crepeau who read the shot perfectly. Canada’s hopes rested on Marseille’s Ismael Kone. He hesitated and almost froze before firing his shot to the goalkeeper’s right and into the net to secure Canada’s first Copa America semi-final appearance.
