Canada’s dream to reach the World Cup in Qatar later this year was put on hold after a shocking 1/0 loss to Costa Rica on Thursday evening in front of nearly 35,000 fans at San Jose’s Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica.
Team Canada still has a chance to clinch a spot in Doha this weekend when they face Jamaica.
Canada could’ve booked its ticket to the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1986, but they faced difficulties as Mark-Anthony Kaye was sent off in the 34th minute after pushing Costa Rica’s Johan Venegas to the ground, earning a second yellow card for the foul. Kaye was almost dismissed in the 16th minute, but VAR concluded that he didn’t commit a red-card worthy tackle.
Celso Borges scored the game’s only goal on a free header just before halftime, as Canada failed to clear its defensive area after a free kick. It was Borges’ 25th goal for Costa Rica during his 150th appearance for his country.
Canada remains at the top of the table with 25 points, with the United States second at 23 after a scoreless tie with Mexico. Panama and Honduras played to a 1-1 draw.
Canada resumes its qualifying run against Jamaica on Sunday at Toronto’s BMO Field, where the home crowd will certainly be rocking.
As it stands heading into Sunday’s match at BMO Field. 
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