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10 Greatest Canadian Victories of all time


Gian-Luca

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A recent article by Sean Wheelock on the top 10 US victories of all time got my mind thinking what a Canadian top 10 might look like (for the men's national team, that is). N

Here's my picks, quickly off the top of my head, feel free to rip them apart. And let's see how much our lists change by 2006.

10. Canada 2, South Korea 1 - 3rd place match at the Gold Cup - although nobody knew it at the time, the only time Canada has beaten a World Cup 4th Place team within a few months of that team achieving that goal.

9. Canada 2, US 1 (I think), 1885 - The first international held outside the UK, and we win it. As Rene Belloq once said, "This is history"

8.Canada 3, Switzerland 1 May 2002 - Canada soundly beats a decent European team in their own park for the first time.

7.Canada 3, Cameroon 1 (I think), 1984 Olympics - national teams were used in 1984, though I believe Cameroon couldn't use any of their World Cup players (from 2 years ago). Nevertheless the victory helped us reach the Q-F of the Olympics.

6.Canada 3, U.S. 0, in Haiti 1976 - A one-off playoff match to determine who made it to the final round of qualifying for 1978, and perhaps our most satisfying victory to date over our rivals to the South

5.Canada 4, Morrocco 1, 1989 - Canada thrashes the hosts with 4 first half goals & wins the 1989 Francophone Games - at that time played with senior national teams.

4.Canada 2, Mexico 1 (ET) Feb. 2000 - Canada's defeat of Mexico in the Gold Cup Q-F

3.Canada 2, Colombia 0, Feb. 2000 - Canada wins the Gold Cup, and is convincing in the final match.

2.Canada 2, Honduras 1 (Sept.1985) - Canada qualifies for the World Cup, needing only a draw.

1. Canada 1, Honduras 0 (August, 1985) - After tying Costa Rica 1-1 in Canada, Canada beats Honduras for the first time ever - and in Honduras - to put themselves back in the driver's seat for qualifying for the 1986.

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good pics, however, i would throw in the canada's victory of the old Corona Cup dubbed the North American championship at the time held at Swangard. Also, Canada's almost forgotten Gold Medal victory in 1904, yahh baby!!!!! (i know it wasn't much of a tourney, but we won a GOLD MEDAL!!!!)

i think, i would add a victory from the 1993 WC qualifiers against ES or Honduras.

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quote:Originally posted by Free kick

Well, the list looks pretty good to me. I can't quibble with the matches you mentioned. But I might add somewhere on that list that 1-1 draw against Brazil in 1994. Afterall, that draw was earned against the same team that weeks later, won the WC.

Except that it wasn't a victory (unless you count it as a "moral" victory), which was what I was trying to confine the list to.

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How about:

1971 Panamerican Games

August 8, 1971

At Cali, Colombia

Colombia 2 Canada 3

The Panamerican Games were played with full national teams at the time. This one win did not go towards any bigger achievement like qualifying for or winning a tournament, but it complements your choice #8 as this was Canada's first win against a South American team in their home park --- with an attendance of 50,000 --- and, unlike against the Swiss, this wasn't a friendly. I know that back then Colombia were not as good as they are now, but out of 8 games they played in the tournament, including against gold medalists Argentina, this was their only loss in winning the silver (they defeated us 2-1 in the first round a few days earlier, but in the other 6 matches we each faced the same teams and they were 4-2-0 while we were 2-1-3). Furthermore, this result played a part in stopping Colombia's run to the gold as they would have otherwise had a chance for gold when they faced Argentina a few days later, so it was a big deal for them --- hmm, almost 29 years later they were still looking for their first title of any kind and we stopped them again! Sounds good to me!

P.S. The 1885 result was 1-0 and the Cameroon Olympic result was 3-1.

P.P.S. I like these history threads.

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A good mention for the 1-0 win against Iran (Goal by Garret Kusch) in 2001. The game was in Egypt. Also a 2-0 win in El Salvador in 1996 during the 1998 WCQ (Even if a that time both team were already qualified for the final round)

It's always a great achievement to win an official match on the road. Canada won only 2 for the past 10 years. One in a meaningless game (i.e. Both team already qualified in E.S in 1996)and the other in Cuba against not exactly one of the powerhouse of Concacaf.

Confederation cup 2001 (Loss vs Japan)

Gold Cup 2001 (tie + loss in the penalty shoot-out vs USA)

WCQ 2002 (Loss in Mexico & T&T + tie in Panama) (Win in Cuba)

WCQ 1998 (Loss in El Salvador, Jamaica, Costa Rica, USA, Mexico, tie in Panama and win in ES)

WCQ 1994 (Eliminated by a loss in Australia)

Total 2 wins 9 losses 2 ties and 1 loss in penalties.

We'll need to improve that to make sure we get to the hex. With our best alignment, no doubt we can do it.

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Here are a couple deserving of mention, and in my top ten for sure:

Oct 10, 1976 WCQ - Canada 1 : Mexico 0 in Vancouver. Taking 3 of 4 points from Mexico put us in position to have a playoff game with the US who had taken 3 of 4 from us. This is, I think, the only Canadian Victory over Mexico in WCQ.

Nov 2, 1981 WCQ - El Salvador 0 : Canada 1, although the first game of the qualifying tournament in Tegucigalpa (Honduras), the victory put Canada in a position where a win over Cuba in the last game of the Tournament would have qualified Canada. Tragically we drew, and El Salvador advanced.

The 2:1 win over Australia in Edmonton in 1994 WCQ also makes the list, although ultimately, the away goal did us in as we eventually lost out on Penalties.

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quote:Originally posted by canadiankick97

I would add our 7-0 win versus the U.S.A in 1885. Apparently that was our first ever win, and this was in New Jersey.

That's already listed as Gian-luca's #9 pick, but it wasn't 7-0, it was 1-0 as I mentioned above. And, yes, it was our first win ever, in fact it was our first game ever. Actually, as Gian-luca mentioned, it was the first international between any two countries outside of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.
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quote:Originally posted by Gordon

The 2:1 win over Australia in Edmonton in 1994 WCQ also makes the list, although ultimately, the away goal did us in as we eventually lost out on Penalties.

The away goal was actually an Own Goal by Dasovic. That makes it hurt even more.

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Another one maybe worthy of mentioning 1987 I think Canada 3 Peru 1 in Lima. I have the Soccer Canada magazine report of the game somewhere and apparently we scored three times in the second half and were applauded off the pitch by the Peruvians. That's got to be worth something.

My list would probably be:

1. Canada 2 Honduras 1 — off to the World Cup

2. Canada 2 Colombia 0 — Gold Cup champions

3. Canada 2 Mexico 1 (aet) — Hastings!

4. Galt FC over St. Louis (I think that's right) in 04 — a gold is a gold.

5. Canada 1 USA 0 — 1885

6. Canada 1 Honduras 0 — big road win to get to Mexico

7. Canada 3 Cameroon 1 — 84 Olympics

8. Canada 3 USA 0 — 78 WCQ

9. Canada 2 Australia 1 — exciting win, big crowd and kept the dream alive

10. Canada 3 Switzerland 1 — absolutely stunned the Swiss at home.

Lots of good wins I didn't even know about being mentioned so keep the memories going.

cheers,

matthew

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quote:Originally posted by DJT

That's already listed as Gian-luca's #9 pick, but it wasn't 7-0, it was 1-0 as I mentioned above. And, yes, it was our first win ever, in fact it was our first game ever. Actually, as Gian-luca mentioned, it was the first international between any two countries outside of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

My mistake. I meant the game when we beat the U.S 7-0. It happened in a similar timeframe. It was our "biggest" win ever and by that I mean the biggest scoreline difference.

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quote:Originally posted by DJT

That's already listed as Gian-luca's #9 pick, but it wasn't 7-0, it was 1-0 as I mentioned above. And, yes, it was our first win ever, in fact it was our first game ever. Actually, as Gian-luca mentioned, it was the first international between any two countries outside of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

My mistake. I meant the game when we beat the U.S 7-0. It happened in a similar timeframe. It was our "biggest" win ever and by that I mean the biggest scoreline difference.

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