Thanks to a stoppage-time own goal, Guadeloupe — a French overseas territory without FIFA membership — stunned Canada 2-2 in their opening match of the CONCACAF Gold Cup on Tuesday night in Toronto.
Guadeloupe’s Thierry Ambrose scored in the 23rd minute of the Group D match before the highly favored Canadians moved ahead 2-1 in the 70th.
In the third minute of second-half stoppage time, Ambrose tried a low pass in the box and Canada’s Jacen Russel-Rowe, a forward with the Columbus Crew, accidentally kicked the ball into his own net while trying to block it.
The Canadians faced a 1-0 deficit at halftime before Lucas Cavallini struck in the 49th minute to tie the match. Canada then capitalized on an own goal as well, with Guadeloupe defender Meddy Lina tapping a Canadian through ball past his own goalkeeper.
Canada finished with a hefty 17-9 advantage in total shots, but only five of the Canadians’ shots were on target.
Davy Rouyard made four saves for Guadeloupe. Canada’s Milan Borjan saved three shots.
In the later Group D match on Tuesday, Guatemala was set to oppose Cuba in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
–Field Level Media
