Kyriakos Stamatopoulos makes 6 saves; Canada, El Salvador play to goalless

After Nelson Bonilla was twice stretchered from the pitch – eventually for good in the 10th minute – after copping a stray boot to the head, Herrera came on as his replacement, and he proved the main threat to Canada’s defence. The central midfield duo of Samuel Piette and Kyle Bekker offered very little, both as a tandem and individually.

But instead of kicking a simple roller into the free net, Larin shot the ball several feet above the crossbar, leading El Salvador fans to erupt into wild celebration.

Having registered just won win in 21 fixtures prior to that run, it seems that manager Benito Floro has turned things around for The Reds who have beaten Guatemala, Puerto Rico an Dominica (x2) as well as drawing with Iceland in their most recent outings.

Canada would go on to tie the game 0-0, and everyone will be looking back to that miss.

The Orlando City forward did all the hard work by rounding the goalkeeper and finding himself with the entire goal at his mercy.

The opportunity for Canada to take the lead came from nothing as El Salvador dominated the tactical side of the game; one bounce off a throw-in and it could have been the Canadians who were in front.

In the 2013 edition, the Canadians were eliminated after the group stage, finishing last with just a single point and no goals. The co-host Canadians will entertain Jamaica while El Salvador try and salvage a result against Costa Rica.

If there was one notable positive for Canada it was the play of goalkeeper Kenny Stamatopoulos. Those saves kept the match getting away from Canada at a time when El Salvador was in the ascendency.

The Centtral Americans dominated the majority of play in the second half, but neither team was able to break the deadlock and much like the other game in Group B between Jamaica and Costa Rica, this too would end in a draw.

Canada held off a late press from El Salvador to close out the first half and keep it scoreless. But he quickly recovered and the danger passed.