Tajon Buchanan's brace lifts Canada to 6-0 Gold Cup win over Honduras
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Niko Sigur has made some special memories over his years of watching soccer at Vancouver's B.C. Place.
He added another Tuesday as he scored his first goal for Canada and helped his country thump Honduras 6-0 to open their Gold Cup campaign.
"Of course, it feels really nice," Sigur said of the strike. "Something I'm working for all these years. You don't always see right away the work paying off, but this is one of those days that it is."
The 21-year-old rightback/midfielder from Burnaby, B.C., was part of a well-rounded offensive onslaught for the 30th-ranked Canadians on Tuesday.
Sigur opened the scoring in the 27th minute, and Tani Oluwaseyi followed with a tally in first-half injury time. Tajon Buchanan notched a brace with goals in the 48th and 65th minutes, substitute Promise David scored in the 75th, and Nathan Saliba sealed the win with a strike in the 90th minute.
Goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair stopped all four on-target shots he faced from No. 75 Honduras.
The victory was a "total team" effort, said Canada's assistant coach, Mauro Biello.
"I can't look at one guy and find someone who had an off game. Everybody came out with the right mentality," said Biello, who stood in for head coach Jesse Marsch on the touchline as he sat out the first game of a two-game suspension.
"We played within our identity, and we were able to not give them much and score goals. And that's part of who we want to be. And I think for this first game of the tournament, super happy to get it started in that way."
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The Canadians settled into the game midway through the first half and took charge when Sigur scored in the 27th minute.
Sigur passed off to Jonathan David at the top of the penalty area and, when David chipped it right back, he sent a right-footed shot sailing in past Honduras 'keeper Edrick Menjivar.
His first goal for the senior national team came in his sixth appearance, and with ample friends and family in the announced crowd of 24,286.
"I don't often get to play in front of my family and friends in Croatia. I've maybe got two, three people I have to give tickets to," said Sigur, who plays for signed with Hajduk Split in Croatia's first division back in December 2023. "This night was a little different. But it means the world to me.
"And with the World Cup coming, we have two group stage games here [in Vancouver]. But we have a little bit of work to do in between, so we'll get to that."
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Oluwaseyi doubled the lead in the third minute of first-half injury time, collecting a pass from Richie Lareya and quickly blasting a shot into the top corner of the net from the side of the six-yard box.
He celebrated by running to the touchline and grabbing the jersey of Canadian defender Sam Adekugbe, who's away from the team after suffering a torn Achilles tendon last week.
The offensive onslaught continued early in the second half.
Lareya crossed a ball into Oluwaseyi, and the Minnesota United forward back-heeled it to Buchanan. Stationed at the side of the six-yard box, Buchanan popped a shot up and in under the crossbar to give Canada a 3-0 lead in the 48th minute.
The 26-year-old forward — who currently plays for Spain's Villarreal CF — struck again in the 65th off a corner.
Mathieu Choiniere swung a ball in, and Oluwaseyi jumped up, trying to head it on net. The Honduran 'keeper made the stop, but couldn't cover the ball and Buchanan tucked it in for his second goal of the night.
"I feel confident. Enjoying my football, that's the most important thing," Buchanan said of his recent play. "Playing with a smile on my face. And just got to keep pushing hard and keep improving."
Promise David came on in the 71st minute for Oluwaseyi and quickly made an impact, scoring in the 75th.
With less than a minute to go in regulation, Saliba fired a left-footed shot into the top corner of the Honduras net to seal the score at 6-0.
The Canadians have been emphasizing offence during training over the past two weeks, said Jonathan David, the team's captain for the tournament.
"I think before the camp and throughout the camp, we talked a lot about being more ruthless. That was a big talking point," he said. "So I think we just try to work on that in training and always try to support the chances that we have. And I think so far, it's been going on pretty well to this point."
Canada will return to action on June 21 when the squad faces No. 90 Curacao in Houston. The team will wrap up Group B play against No. 81 El Salvador on June 24.
The winner and runner-up from each of the four groups advance to the knockout stage in the 16-team tournament. The finale will be held in Houston on July 6.
Canada won the Gold Cup in 2000 and finished third in 2002. When the tournament was last held in 2023, the country lost to the United States in a penalty shootout in the round of 16.
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