Can the Canucks still be stopped?
Canada on course for World Cup! A few matchdays before the end of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers in the CONCACAF zone, the Canadian national team is still at the top of the table. Most recently, the “Canucks” even mastered the showdown with their neighbours from the United States. It was the fifth win in a row for Canada.
At the end of the international break, the leaders now have to play an away game in El Salvador. In contrast to the visitors from Canada, the Salvadorans have hardly any chance of making it to the World Cup. It would therefore be all the more surprising if the Salvadoran national team were to master the home game against the Canadian group leaders.
The best bookmakers see El Salvador vs. Canada as underdogs according to the odds. The best bookmakers see El Salvador as underdogs, with odds of up to 1.95 on the hosts. The Salvadorans have not won a home match against Canada since September 1997 – will it be the same this time?
In the first leg of the current 2022 World Cup qualifiers, Canada already ensured a clear balance of power against El Salvador, claiming an unchallenged 3-0 home victory. A similar result can by no means be ruled out for the second round, especially since Canada already easily mastered the group matches against teams like USA and Honduras in the last week.
El Salvador – Statistics & current form
For the Salvadorans, the World Cup qualifying adventure is drawing to a close. Four matchdays before the end of the qualifying phase, El Salvador have only nine points on their account and thus have little chance of getting a World Cup ticket. A comeback – at least according to the interim conclusion after ten match days – tends to be ruled out in the final spurt.
So far, El Salvador have only won their international matches against Panama (1-0) and Honduras (2-0) in the group phase of World Cup qualifying in the CONCACAF zone. In return, the Salvadorans suffered five defeats in their ten group matches, including the bitter first-leg loss to the Canadian national team.
The failure was mainly due to a lack of offensive power. After all, El Salvador scored only six goals in ten international matches, making it the second-weakest offensive team in the current World Cup qualifiers. Only Honduras have scored fewer goals than the Salvadoran national team so far.
Do the Salvadorans take the recent momentum with them?
The only encouraging thing ahead of the home game against the Canadian leaders is the Salvadorans’ recent form. National coach Hugo Pérez’s side did not leave a bad impression in their last two group games. A narrow defeat to the USA was followed by a well-deserved away win in Honduras last week.
Nevertheless, betting on a home win against Canada involves a lot of risk. Since June 2021, El Salvador have won only one of their last 11 international matches at home. It is quite possible that the negative trend will continue against the Canadian national team. Especially since El Salvador has not won a home match against the Canucks for more than 24 years.
Betting fans who still want to bet on El Salvador vs. Canada can get betting odds of up to 4.50 in the event of success. Compared to the starting eleven that last mastered the away game in Honduras, the Salvadorans are not expected to make any major changes.
Predicted line-up of El Salvador:
Gonzalez – Larin, Dominguez, Zavaleta, Vigil – Roldan, Tamacas, Ceren – Henriquez, Rivas, Bonilla
Last matches played by El Salvador:
World Cup Qualifiers CONCACAF Finals
01/31 2022 – Honduras 0 – 2 El Salvador
01/28 2022 – USA 1 – 0 El Salvador
Friendly match
12/12 2021 – El Salvador 0 – 1 Chile
12/05 2021 – El Salvador 1 – 1 Ecuador
WM Qualifying CONCACAF Finals
11/17 2021 – Panama 2 – 1 El Salvador
Canada – Statistics & current form
For the Canadian national team, the World Cup ticket is within reach. After all, the “Canucks” are currently leading the World Cup qualifying group with 22 points from ten games. So far, Canada has not lost a single match in the current 2022 World Cup qualifiers. Most recently, the FIFA world number 40 even won five matches in a row.
During this period, Canada not only beat the Mexican group favourites. The “Canucks” even celebrated a home victory against their neighbours from the United States in their last group match. It would therefore be all the more surprising if the Canadians were to lose their World Cup ticket on the last four match days.
Statistically, this scenario is rather out of the question. After ten match days, Canada has the best offensive and also the strongest defensive bulwark in the current World Cup qualifying campaign. The latter was underpinned most recently by a win over the USA with a score of zero.
Dutiful task against El Salvador?
The match against El Salvador therefore comes in handy for the Canadians. In the first round, the “Canucks” had bagged a comfortable victory against the Salvadorans. In the entire match, El Salvador did not have a single shot on goal against Canada. It is quite possible that the Canadian national team will keep its clean sheet against “La Selecta” this time as well.
Offensively, Canada still has a lot to offer in the absence of star player Alphonso Davies. The youngster from FC Bayern Munich had to cancel his participation in the current qualifiers of his nation due to health reasons. It was a bitter loss, but Canada has compensated well so far.
It is therefore obvious that national coach John Herdman will refrain from making any changes to the starting eleven and will continue to insist on the same starting eleven that already mastered the last two group matches against Honduras and USA. David and Larin are expected to be back in the starting line-up. The two attacking players have already scored a total of nine goals.
Projected Canada line-up:
Borjan – Johnston, Miller, Adekugbe – Laryea, Hutchinson, Fraser, Buchanan – Osorio – David, Larin
Last matches played by Canada:
World Cup Qualifiers CONCACAF Finals
01/30 2022 – Canada 2 – 0 USA
01/28 2022 – Honduras 0 – 2 Canada
11/17 2021 – Canada 2 – 1 Mexico
11/13 2021 – Canada 1 – 0 Costa Rica
10/14 2021 – Canada 4 – 1 Panama
El Salvador – Canada Direct comparison / H2H record
After 16 international matches between the two nations, Canada leads the head-to-head comparison against El Salvador so far with a record of 8-4-4. An average of 2.06 goals per game has been scored in international matches between the Canadians and the Salvadorans so far. A low-scoring encounter cannot be ruled out this time either.
The hosts from El Salvador lack the necessary power for an offensive spectacle. Already in the first half of the season, the Salvadorans failed miserably against the Canucks’ defensive bulwark. It would therefore not be at all surprising if “La Selecta” misses out on a goal against Canada this time as well.
El Salvador – Canada Tip
Canada is currently on a high and already has the World Cup ticket within reach. The international match against El Salvador is of immense importance in this respect. After all, Mexico and Panama will meet in the parallel match.
If fourth-placed Panama lose their group match against the Mexicans, Canada can clinch their World Cup ticket with their first match during the next international break. To do so, however, the “Canucks” must set the course in El Salvador. Because their upcoming opponents have hardly any realistic chances of winning the World Cup in their group, it is obvious that Canada will score three points for the sixth time in a row.
As in the first leg, we expect a match that is clearly dominated by the Canadian leaders even before the change of ends. The defensive bulwark of the “Canucks” should also not have too much trouble against the weak Salvadoran offence.
