Buchanan's brace lifts Canada to 6-0 Gold Cup win over Honduras

Winnipeg Free Press

18-06-2025

VANCOUVER – Tajon Buchanan notched a brace and Canada opened its Gold Cup run with a decisive 6-0 victory over Honduras at B.C. Place on Tuesday.
Local product Niko Sigur got the 30th-ranked Canadians on the board in the 27th minute with his first goal for the senior national team and Tani Oluwaseyi followed with a tally in first-half injury time.
Buchanan put away goals in the 48th and 65th minutes, substitute Promise David scored in the 75th, and Nathan Saliba sealed the win with a goal in the 90th minute.
Goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair stopped all three on-target shots he faced from No. 75 Honduras.
Canada will return to action on June 21 when the squad faces No. 90 Curaçao 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 head coach Jesse Marsch was suspended for Tuesday's match, the first of a two-game suspension he received when he was sent off at the CONCACAF Nations League third-place game in March. He was replaced by Mauro Biello on the touchline.
The Canadians settled into the game midway through the first half and took charge when Sigur scored in the 27th minute.
The 21-year-old passed off to Jonathan David at the top of the penalty area and, when David chipped it right back, Sigur sent a right-footed shot sailing in past Honduras 'keeper Edrick Menjivar.
It was his first goal for the national team and came in his sixth appearance.
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.
Canada controlled 64.4 per cent possession across the first half, outshot the visitors 10-1 and held a 3-0 edge in on-target shots.
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 struck again in the 65th off a corner.
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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.
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.
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.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 17, 2025.