Canada blanks Costa Rica to stay unbeaten in World Cup qualifiers

• Canada 1 (David 57’), Costa Rica 0
• Canadians remains in 3rd place in Concacaf standings
• Hutchinson earns 89th cap, ties de Guzman’s record

Canada’s Concacaf World Cup qualifying campaign keeps chugging along down the track and doesn't appear be coming to a stop anytime soon.

The Reds overcame a frustrating first half to earn an important 1-0 win over Costa Rica on Friday night before 48,806 fans at Commonwealth Stadium, the third-largest ever crowd to take in a Canadian men’s team home match.

Jonathan David scored the winner for a Canadian side that is unbeaten after seven games (with three wins) and remains in third place in the standings at the official halfway point of the final round of the Concacaf qualifiers. Canada is the only nation from the eight-team field who hasn't yet tasted defeat.

While far from a perfect performance, the Canadians showed a lot of grit and character on the night against a pesky Costa Rican team that set up to slow down the hosts at every turn and tried to hit out on the counter attack. Credit also has to go to John Herdman for making important tactical changes after the halftime break that revitalized his team who looked completely uninspired and bereft of ideas in the first half.