The Canadian men’s soccer team can win its first trophy in a generation

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Stars Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David scored lovely goals as Canada beat Panama 2-0 last night in the CONCACAF Nations League semifinals in Las Vegas. Coming off their first World Cup appearance in 36 years, the Canadian men now have a chance to win their first trophy in 23 years when they face the United States in the final on Sunday at 8:30 p.m. ET.

This is Canada’s first trip to the final of an international men’s tournament since its surprising victory in the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the championship for North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The CONCACAF Nations League is less prestigious than the Gold Cup and much newer. This is only the second edition since its inception in 2021, when Canada failed to advance to the final four after placing second to the eventual-champion United States in their group.

This time, the Canadians’ improved world ranking from their successful World Cup qualifying campaign afforded the team an easier draw, and they topped Honduras and Curaçao to win their group back in March. That set up last night’s win at the Las Vegas Raiders’ stadium, where David converted a pinpoint pass from Kamal Miller in the 25th minute before Davies put Panama away with a top-shelf blast in the 70th. Davies, returning from a hamstring injury that caused him to miss the end of his club season with Bayern Munich, entered the game just a few minutes earlier.

WATCH | Canada beats Panama, advances to CONCACAF Nations League final:

Canada’s David, Miller connect for beautiful opening goal against Panama

Kamal Miller sends a perfect pass to Jonathan David who nutmegs the goalkeeper in the 25th minute of CONCACAF Nations League semifinal play. Canada went on to defeat Panama 2-0 to advance to Sunday’s final

In Sunday’s final, Canada will face a U.S. team missing two starters due to automatic suspensions stemming from last night’s nasty 3-0 win over archrival Mexico. Midfielder Weston McKennie and defender Sergiño Dest were both shown red cards during second-half scuffles that also resulted in the ejection of two Mexican players. Fans littered the field with trash before the referee called an end to the match with a few minutes left in stoppage time due to persistent anti-gay chants from the crowd. In the past, Mexico has been fined and forced to play home matches in empty stadiums because of such chants by its fans.

Sunday’s final probably won’t be as heated as the U.S.-Mexico battle. But the Canada-U.S. rivalry is growing after the Canadians defeated and tied the U.S. en route to their surprising first-place finish in CONCACAF’s World Cup qualifying. The American to watch is Christian Pulisic, the 24-year-old Chelsea midfielder who scored twice last night.

This could be the biggest match of the year for both teams. There’s a Gold Cup starting later this month, but Davies and Pulisic are both skipping it as Canada and the U.S. are planning not to send full-strength squads. Instead, the teams are expected to give less-proven players some experience as they pursue invitations to the Copa America — the intensely competitive South American championship that will be hosted by the United States next year.

Six spots in the Copa America will be awarded to CONCACAF teams, based on results from the 2023-24 Nations League. Canada has a bye to November’s quarterfinals, where a win will get them into a Copa America field that features World Cup champion Argentina and perennial power Brazil. That would be excellent prep for the 2026 World Cup, which Canada is co-hosting with the U.S. and Mexico.

Meanwhile, the Canadian women’s team is preparing for its World Cup this summer in Australia and New Zealand. The reigning Olympic champions, ranked seventh in the world, open their group slate on July 20 vs. No. 40 Nigeria before facing No. 22 Ireland on July 26 and No. 10 Australia on July 31.