Fotmob stats: Canada had 146 passes in the opposition half. The USA had 68.
The USA scored on their only shot on goal. They did put one into the side netting.
Final: USA 1-0 Canada
Well, that was a soccer game. Not the most convincing win in this window for the USA, but credit to the defense for holding firm under constant siege.
Pochettino and Marsch embrace.
90 min +4: Cole Campbell with a nifty move to create some space on the flank, but his cross is overly exuberant.
90 min +3: Freeman intercepts a pass at midfield to disrupt what might have been Canada’s last chance.
90 min +2: Was that a penalty? Not much of a protest from the Canadians. Then Adams somehow draws a foul for a US free kick that will be taken sometime later this evening.
90 min +1: We’ll have at least four minutes of stoppage time, and about 30 seconds of it was back-and-forth heading at midfield.
90 min: Play continues in the US half. A heat map of this half would be glowing red in that half of the field, but Canada still haven’t converted.
88 min: Jebbison draws a foul in crossing territory. The free kick is indeed a cross, and it’s ineffective.
You’re bearing witness to Sergiño Dest’s first minutes at left wing since a short Copa Del Rey shift for Barcelona in Jan. 2022, if that wasn’t evident from his movement since coming on.
87 min: Jesse Marsch is having a conversation with the refs. They’re not discussing dinner plans.
84 min: Adams bowls over Sigur, though the US midfielder has an issue with it, perhaps thinking Sigur went down too easily. Free kick comes to nought,.
83 min: Save for Schwake at medium-close range. The US keeper still hasn’t done anything spectacular, unless he did indeed get a finger to the shot off the crossbar, but he has been flawless in whatever he has been asked to do.
80 min: Funny how “Neil Pierre” sounds a bit like “Neil Peart,” the late drummer for the legendary Canadian band Rush.
79 min: Jebbison beats his man on the right and sends in a sharp cross that Promise David heads a few feet wide.
Canada have had the better of play in this half by far, but other than the shot off the crossbar, nothing has really been threatening.
77 min: Resetting the US lineup – Schwake still in goal, then Robinson, Richards, Mehmeti and Freeman at the back, Pierre, Adams and Berhalter in midfield, Campbell and Dest on the wings, Hall up front. Eight subs.
76 min: Yet another corner kick for Canada, taken short and almost turned over right away. Adams gets the ball and is toppled by Saliba for a US free kick.
75 min: Laryea lifts an impatient cross over the box.
74 min: Mehmeti, Jedi Robinson and Pierre will replace Tillman, Trusty and George Campbell. All three of the departing US players had excellent games.
72 min: Tillman sees yellow after a professional foul.
Shaffelburg is out. Promise David has entered.
71 min: Hall is open in acres of space, and he’s one-on-one with St. Clair. It’s in the net, but it’s the side netting.
70 min: Through ball to the debutant Cole Campbell! But Laryea is back to defend.
68 min: The USA have their first attack in ages, with Dest involved in the buildup.
67 min: George Campbell (we’ll have to distinguish from Cole Campbell now) has an awkward moment facing his own net and playing the ball just wide of the goal under pressure. Canada get yet another corner.
66 min: Canadian subs – Jebbison and Russell-Rowe replace Millar and Oluwaseyi.
64 min: OFF THE BAR! It’s a great Choiniere free kick that drops to De Fougerolles on the doorstep, and his shot clangs off the top of the goal.
Replay suggest Schwake got a fingertip to it.
Updated
62 min: Adams’ first action is a foul to give Canada a free kick dead center, maybe 28 yards out.
61 min: It’ll be Campbell and Tyler Adams entering for Raines and Albert.
Chris Richards dashes over to hand the armband to Adams.
60 min: Cole Campbell laughs as Mauricio Pochettino preps him to come in for his US debut at age 20.
58 min: Yellow to Jonathan David after a nasty collision with Trusty.
56 min: Shaffelburg stays on the right and earns a corner kick. Fotmob’s ratings only have Shaffelburg at 6.4, which is ridiculous. He’s been the best player in the Canadian side, if not the best player on the field.
Updated
55 min: USA on the break … nope. Shaffelburg switches to the right side of the field and makes a textbook clean tackle.
54 min: TNT’s Brian Dunseth is convinced the referee’s whistles have been inconsistent. I’m biased as a semi-retired extreme low-level ref, but I don’t think so.
Updated
52 min: Foul. Another foul. Another foul. I haven’t heard this much whistling since Guns N’ Roses released the song Patience.
51 min: Freeman and Shaffelburg have an epic battle for the ball deep into the US half. Freeman wins out in the end, drawing a foul.
50 min: Long cross into the US box, but no one is near Schwake, and the keeper easily collect.
48 min: Nice ball ahead for Shaffelburg. Campbell makes another vital intervention – impressive game for the little-capped US defender.
46 min: Subs have been made. Reyna, Musah and Ellis leave. Berhalter, Hall and Dest are in.
Eustáquio is out, replaced by Choiniere, a name I can absolutely spell.
Meanwhile, Chicago leads Vancouver 1-0. Yes, that’s another 1-0 for the USA over Canada. Still early.
Foul count for the half ended up 13-10 Canada. Credit to Canada for cutting back, but these were all pointless fouls. Some fouls come from intimidating challenges, some are “good fouls” that slow down an attack. These were neither.
Halftime: USA 1-0 Canada
Weird game that probably won’t please either coach. Canada have created a bevy of half chances but nothing of major consequence, and they’ve committed a lot of easily avoided fouls. The USA don’t seem quite as sharp, but they have the goal – maybe slightly against the run of play at the time, but the USA have looked better later in the half.
Updated
45 min +3: Freeman tries to volley the hard-driven ball into the net, but it careens well wide.
45 min +2: Reyna’s free kick nearly finds Richards, but Oluwaseyi is there to head it over for another corner.
45 min +1: Misplay for Canada, and it’s another corner kick for the USA. It’s taken short, played back to Reyna, and Jonathan David commits a silly foul just outside the box. Why give up a free kick there? Reyna wasn’t even headed toward the goal.
45 min: USA corner, and Eustáquio, who has remained in the game for now, nearly matches Ellis’ feat of putting the ball in the Canadian net while injured.
43 min: Eustáquio gets bumped again, and he can’t continue.
Laryea kicks the ball at Pochettino but goes over for a smile and handshake.
42 min: Play resumes. The air has gone out of the stadium a bit now. Booming home crowd for most of the first half hour, but now you can here individual voices.
40 min: Canada play the ball out deliberately as Eustáquio is down holding his shoulder. Reyna gets a yellow card.
39 min: Ellis brilliantly sets up Albert, and it seems for a moment that the US youngster might create a promising angle to shoot, but he loses possession, and Canada end up with another free kick deep in their own half.
37 min: I’m trying to think who Shaffelburg, with his mustache and semi-mulleted curls, resembles. Maybe a member of .38 Special? Some other 70s or early 80s band?
He’s a persistent thorn in the USA’s side in any case.
36 min: Shaffelburg again draws a free kick to the side of the box, this time on a foul from Freeman.
35 min: Bad US pass picked off, but Eustáquio squanders the opportunity with a shot that Schwake easily smothers.
34 min: Foul on the USA – second time in a few minutes that they’ve ended their possession with an unnecessary infraction.
33 min: Trusty does well to leap high and get a head to a menacing Canadian cross.
32 min: The USA test the other side of the field for the first time in a while, but they end up retreating.
30 min: Yellow card to Oluwaseyi at his old home ground. Clearly late, and he caught a US player’s foot. Can’t argue with that one.
GOAL!! USA 1-0 Canada (Ellis 29)
Freeman and Tillman combine wonderfully down the right, and Freeman rips one toward the far post. Ellis, last seen with a woeful limp, bangs the ball into the net from about two feet away.
Replay shows he was … maybe offside?
Updated
28 min: Resume passing around on the US back line.
And it’s … a goal?
26 min: The USA have looked a bit dangerous down the right when they’re not griping about no-calls.
US fans may disagree, but I think Madrigal, the referee from Costa Rica, has done well thus far.
25 min: The referee can’t ignore this one, as Tillman is late to a challenge. Shaffelburg sends the free kick somewhere toward the border.
24 min: Another good ball from Canada, and it’s Campbell making the vital intervention.
Potential fouls each way, but the referee is probably getting tired of blowing the whistle.
23 min: Dangerous diagonal ball from Millar, but the US center holds firm.
Ellis comes back onto the field looking like me after I banged up my knee hauling musical gear this weekend. But he’s barely one-third my age, so maybe his recovery will be faster.
22 min: Reyna puts the free kick into heavy traffic, and Canada clear.
20 min: Free kick USA, as Ellis is down 25 yards from goal. He’s rolling around in evident pain. Eustáquio was the guilty party, as Ellis got a leg ahead of him as he attempted to play the ball. There’s a mildly ill-tempered confrontation.
Ellis limps off. In a World Cup game, maybe he plays through it, but it seems imprudent to leave him on here.
Updated
19 min: Freeman with a clever midrange pass ahead to Musah as he races to the sideline, but Musah loses control and dings it out of play.
18 min: More Canadian pressure, and Schwake has to boot it away. Freeman almost ends up with it but can’t control it.
I’ve made it 18 minutes without mentioning I’ll be seeing Canada’s most legendary band this month.
16 min: Some lunging but fair tackles each way, and Shaffelburg unleashs a shot from 25 yards that has some power but is straight at Schwake.
Then it’s Shaffelburg again from an acute angle – probably more of a cross than a shot – but Schwake handles well. The US keeper, making his first start, has been up to the task thus far, though he hasn’t been asked to do anything spectacular.
15 min: David with a nonviolent but completely unnecessary foul in his own half. That’s eight fouls, and I wouldn’t say they’ve been bad calls.
14 min: Belated call to give the USA a free kick. Canada had started to go off to the races.
That’s Canada’s seventh foul. On pace for 45!
Updated
13 min: Eustáquio surprises everyone with a short pass to Liam Millar, who scuffs his shot well wide.
12 min: Corner to Canada. Not a great delivery from Eustáquio, but Shaffelburg fights for possession and draws a foul. Free kick a few yards away from the upper corner of the box.
11 min: This is the second time St. Clair has been forced to play the ball with his feet and wound up scrambling to keep the ball from rolling out for a corner. Awkward.
10 min: A bit more direct from the USA here, seeking Albert on the left wing, but the young US player fouls Sigur.
Canada play quickly upfield and end up with a wayward shot.
9 min: Reyna draws a foul, perhaps a little embellished, but there was contact with his ankle.
The USA are choosing to do nothing aggressive with free kicks at midfield, like they’re resuming a possession drill.
8 min: Play is confined to a 30-yard stretch along the far sideline.
6 min: The font for the names on Canada’s shirts looks like a rejected design scheme at Epcot Center.
Canada foul at midfield, but they reclaim the ball soon after the free kick.
5 min: Canada’s press gains possession, but an erratic pass from Oluwaseyi gives it back. Reyna is fouled deep in his own half, and the USA attack.
4 min: Schwake gets his first touch, handling the ball with confidence.
Resume passing around at the back while Canadian forwards lurk like icebergs.
2 min: Canada isn’t messing around with this press. But the USA break through and force the Canadian defense to be alert.
Kickoff
USA in the red and white hoops. Canada in stealthy dark kits.
US fans unveiled a giant banner that said “MAKE NOISE.” I thought at first it said “DRAKE NOISE.” That would be surprising.
Jeff is at the game.
Meanwhile, Pablo Maurer is following the Messi farewell:
Related: Lionel Messi farewell match live – updates and analysis from Argentina v Benin
A few players I’ll be watching closest in this one:
Goalkeeper feels like a re-opened competition after shaky halves from World Cup incumbents Matt Freese and Chris Brady, while Diego Kochen shone bright in his first start against Mexico. Brian Schwake will try to make his case from the opening whistle, looking to carry his fine form with Nashville into his second appearance.
I was hoping to see Auston Trusty partner with Chris Richards, as he seems like the best partner in a post-Tim Ream US side, but he looks set to deploy at left-back. That said, Alex Freeman will likely advance further up the right, and Trusty could deputize as a wide center-back in build-up phases.
Mathis Albert may not yet be a regular with Dortmund’s B-team, much less the senior side, but his dynamism throughout this camp earned him a surprise start over the more polished and proven Zavier Gozo. A fascinating chance to get a long look at another star of the program’s future.
More game facts
Weather: Beautiful. Currently 69 degrees and clear.
Referee: Steven Madrigal (Costa Rica). Follow him on Instagram.
First email of the day is from JL Kalanga …
As a foreign neutral in this affair, I will be following the match through the cheers that flow in my apartment window across the street from Allianz Field while watching Benin vs Messi on my laptop.
I wanted to mention that the beloved Tani Oluwaseyi is currently playing for Villarreal in Spain, not Minnesota United FC. But it will be his first time back at Allianz Field since being sold last summer, so it will be emotional for him and other Loons fans.
Messi’s playing in that game? This is his farewell?
Incidentally, I’m still seeing kids at the local elementary school arguing about Messi vs. Ronaldo.
Updated
Earlier today …
In case you missed it, the Faroe Islands drew Kazakhstan, which had to come back from 0-2 down.
Also, England won by a lot.
Related: Harry Kane doubles up on landmark night as England cruise past Czechia
In the Americas, Uruguay beat India 6-1, Venezuela drew Jordan 0-0, Colombia and Peru will kick off soon, Mexico and Chile are up later, and Argentina have started their match against Benin.
Canada lineup
Dayne St. Clair (29, Inter Miami); Niko Sigur (23, Toulouse), Luc De Fougerolles (20, Fulham, on loan to Real Salt Lake), Richie Laryea (31, Toronto FC); Ralph Priso (24, Vancouver Whitecaps), Stephen Eustáquio (29, Swansea City), Nathan Saliba (22, Villarreal), Liam Millar (27, Birmingham City), Jacob Shaffelburg (26, LAFC); Jonathan David (26, Atletico Madrid), Tani Oluwaseyi (26, Villarreal)
Alphonso Davies won’t be here because he’s on his honeymoon.
Clubs have been corrected.
Updated
US lineup
Giving clubs and ages here …
Brian Schwake (25, Nashville SC); George Campbell (25, CF Montreal), Auston Trusty (28, Celtic), Alex Freeman (22, Villarreal), Chris Richards (26, Crystal Palace); Gio Reyna (23, Borussia Dortmund), Brooklyn Raines (21, Houston Dynamo), Yunus Musah (23, AC Milan), Malik Tillman (24, PSV Eindhoven), Mathis Albert (17, Borussia Dortmund); Justin Ellis (19, San Jose Earthquakes)
Matt Freese is not dressed. Alex Freeman, Gio Reyna, Chris Richards, Malik Tillman and Auston Trusty started against Mexico.
This is Schwake’s second appearance after coming on as a sub against Chile. You may safely deduce this is his first start.
Preamble
Ah, the friendly. It’s a can’t-lose game. Win, and it’s proof that the team is on the upswing. Lose, and it was all just an experiment.
That said, when a bunch of youngsters are romping over Mexico, it’s hard to suppress the optimism entirely.
And this one has all the added subplots of two countries sharing the world’s longest border – 5,525 miles or 8,891 kilometers – who aren’t really on speaking terms right now.
Did we mention that the Canadian coach, Jesse Marsch, is from the USA and has a tendency to take a few jabs at his native land?
Related: Jesse Marsch: ‘We Americans have been inundated with propaganda since we were young’
So this one might be worth more popcorn than the typical friendly. Enjoy.
Jeff Rueter on the kids, after Cavan Sullivan’s long-range chip helped the US to a 3-0 win over Mexico:
The more incredible thing about Sullivan’s moment, aside from its historic nature and its semi-dreamy origins, is how normal it is for this window for the US. All but one of the 13 potential debutants called in by Mauricio Pochettino have seen time on the field, most of them impressing. Julian Hall, 18, has scored in all three of his appearances. Mathis Albert broke Christian Pulisic’s decade-old benchmark to become the program’s youngest goal scorer and held the record for a whole four days before Sullivan’s chip.
Given the opponents so far, it’s fair to say these players aren’t inching into the shallow end of the pool. They’ve been thrown in at the deep end, and they are swimming.
Related: The USMNT’s kids are thriving, and ‘they have a bit of swag to them’
Preamble
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of USA v Canada. Beau will be along shortly.
