Canada defeats Honduras 2-0 to remain unbeaten at top of World Cup qualifying standings

Ten years is a long time in soccer. Just ask Atiba Hutchinson.

In 2012, Hutchinson was in the starting lineup as Canada visited the Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano in the second-largest city in Honduras, San Pedro Sula, confident of advancing in World Cup qualifying. However, the Canadians came up short – and then some – in an 8-1 humbling. Four years later, the scoreline was better, but the result remained frustratingly the same for Canada and Hutchinson, as a 2-1 loss brought another premature end to another World Cup dream.

But this is 2022, a time when Canadian men’s soccer players are just as likely to win the Lou Marsh Trophy as they are to hoist cherished European soccer trophies, and that dream is still very much alive after Hutchinson captained Canada to a 2-0 win in Honduras on Thursday. Hutchinson, one of just three holdovers in the squad from that 2012 game, can now look forward to a titanic showdown with the United States on Sunday after playing all 90 minutes at 38 years of age to ensure Canada finally turned the page on an ugly chapter in the country’s soccer history.

“It was a real disciplined performance tonight,” said head coach John Herdman. “You don’t come and try and play like Barcelona on a pitch like this in these environments, you come here to grind a result and get what you need.”

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An early own goal and an insurance marker from Jonathan David were enough to earn the victory, just Canada’s second in the Central American nation. The win keeps Canada unbeaten and atop the eight-team final World Cup qualifying in the CONCACAF region, one point ahead of…

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