Canada vs. El Salvador in Gold Cup: What you need to know

The sky is falling. Rome is crumbling. The world is coming to an end.  

None of that is true. Nor is the notion that the Canadian men's team is in dire trouble after a disappointing result in its previous match at the Concacaf Gold Cup last weekend. Canada still controls its fate and looks almost certain to qualify for the quarter-finals, as it would take a massive upset for it to be eliminated from the competition.  

Coach Jesse Marsch said on Monday that defender Derek Cornelius is available for selection after missing the first two games with a lower-body injury. TFC captain Jonathan Osorio has been sent out with a lower-body injury and will miss the rest of the Gold Cup.

Here’s what you need to know about Tuesday's game between Canada and El Salvador at Houston's Shell Energy Stadium (10:00 p.m. ET/OneSoccer & TSN).  

Canada looks to rebound after Curaçao stalemate 

Canada entered the Gold Cup as one of the tournament favourites and lived up to that billing in its opening match when it posted a 6-0 win over Honduras last week in Vancouver. 

Rather than build upon that comprehensive victory, the Canadians put in a lacklustre showing in a 1-1 draw vs. Curaçao on Saturday.

Ranked No. 30 in the world, Canada could have clinched a spot in the quarter-finals with a win against No. 90 Curaçao. Instead, Les Rouges let a victory slip through their fingers after conceding in injury time and settling for a draw. But winger Jacob Shaffelburg insists the team isn't dwelling on that match and is looking ahead, not backwards. 

"You're gonna have a few bad games here and there. That's just how life is. I think everyone in the locker room knew that we were disappointed in ourselves after that one. But it's just about learning from what we can do better, and just kind of using that motivation that we felt after that game and putting that into tomorrow against El Salvador," Shaffelburg told reporters on Monday. 

Jesse Marsch added: "We've created higher expectations from the performance of the team and from what our expectations are internally. Let's not be so hard on the team." 

Canada controls its fate to qualify for quarter-finals 

Canada still sits in first place in Group B with four points, ahead of Honduras (three points), Curaçao (two points) and El Salvador (one point). Curaçao and Honduras square off on Tuesday in San Jose in their final Group B contest. 

A win or draw vs. El Salvador would be good enough for the Canadians to advance to the quarter-finals. 

Canada could even move on with a loss vs. El Salvador. The two nations would be tied on four points, but Canada goes into Tuesday's game with a big advantage in goal difference (plus-6 vs. minus-2), which is the first tiebreaker. Realistically, the only way Canada would be eliminated would be if El Salvador racked up a big win to overcome the goal difference.  

El Salvador needs a victory in order to advance. A loss or draw would result in their Gold Cup elimination. 

The Group B winner faces the Group C runner-up, and the Group B runner-up and Group C winner meet in the next round. Panama currently tops Group C with six points, followed by Jamaica and Guatemala (three points each) and Guadeloupe (zero points). 

"The fact that we've left it to this stage isn’t ideal for us to win the group. But at the same time … putting it on cruise control versus making sure that we're in our top form going into knockouts, I think that's really important for us to now put a really good performance together against a team that's going to fight for everything," Jesse Marsch said. 

Jesse Marsch back on the sidelines for Canada 

After serving a two-match ban stemming from the Concacaf Nations League finals in March, Jesse Marsch will oversee the Canadian men's team from the touchline on Tuesday. 

Marsch watched Canada's first two Gold Cup games from afar while assistant coach Mauro Biello ran things from the sidelines. 

"It's always a different perspective when you're up high and you get more of a tactical view of what's going on. … But I'm ready to get back on the bench," Marsch said. 

Canada's coach landed in more hot water in Vancouver last week when Concacaf launched a disciplinary investigation into Marsch for disregarding "regulations applicable to suspended match officials" while watching the Honduras match in a private suite at BC Place. 

Marsch on Monday described the dialogue between Concacaf and Canada Soccer as positive during the investigation. 

"More than anything, this has been a misunderstanding in some ways. And so, I think we're all ready to move forward in a positive way," Marsch said. 

On Monday night, Marsch was officially cleared of all allegations by Concacaf. Canada Soccer was assessed two minor fines for unrelated procedural items relating to match operations.

Canadian player to watch: Nathan Saliba 

CF Montreal midfielder Nathan Saliba has been one of Canada's best performers at the Gold Cup through its first two contests. 

Saliba, 21, entered the tournament with only three caps to his credit. But Jesse Marsch didn't hesitate to throw the youngster into the deep end of the pool, giving Saliba only the second start of his international career in last week's meeting against Honduras. 

Saliba responded with a composed 90-minute showing in central midfield while partnered with former CF Montreal teammate Mathieu Choinière, capping it off by scoring his first goal for Canada. He earned another start in only his fifth national team appearance against Curaçao, marking the occasion with another 90-minute showing and his second international goal. 

Marsch said he believed in Saliba "from the moment I started watching him at Montreal" in 2024 but looks back with some regret over not calling up the youngster more often into the Canadian camp over the last year. 

"He has a really good combination of athleticism and intelligence, technical ability, tactical awareness, responsibility on the pitch, commitment to the game, [an] ability to run and cover ground, aggressiveness… Good eye for good attacking plays. A good eye for passing, final plays. And now he’s scored two goals in three matches. So, if you just put the whole package of what you want out of a [No. 6] that plays in your midfield, I think he's pretty much shown that," Marsch said. 

A quick look at El Salvador 

El Salvador is No. 81 in the current FIFA world rankings, 51 spots below Canada.  

La Selecta have just one win in five games this year (with one loss) but did enough to move on to the third and final round of the Concacaf qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. 

The majority of Colombian manager Hernán Darío Gómez's side play their club football in El Salvador's modest domestic league. Forwards Brayan Gil (FC Baltika Kaliningrad) and Nathan Ordaz (LAFC), and midfielders Harold Osorio (Chicago Fire) and Enrico Hernández (TOP Oss) are the only ones who play abroad. 

El Salvador did well to earn a 0-0 draw vs. Curaçao in its opening Group B match in San Jose. But they followed that up with a disappointing 2-0 loss to Honduras in Houston on the weekend in a game that was tight before Dixon Ramírez finished off a counterattack in injury time to seal the win for Los Catrachos. 

"This is a team [El Salvador] that I really love to watch. The passion they have, they fight for every inch on the pitch, they make their country proud with the kind of mentality that they play with and the commitment they have as a group. … When we've [been] scouting them over the last three months, there's been nothing but total appreciation and understanding that this will be a difficult game for us, and we'll have to be at our best to find a way to get a win," Jesse Marsch stated. 

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What happened last time between Canada and El Salvador   

Tuesday's game is the first between the nations since Canada earned a 2-0 win at Estadio Cuscatlan in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier. Veteran Atiba Hutchinson and Jonathan David scored for Canada, who won its sixth game in a row and registered its third straight clean sheet. 

El Salvador did not make things easy for Canada on a hot night in San Salvador. It was a chippy, physical affair that took its toll on a pair of teams who were both playing the third time in a week. But the Canadians managed to grind it out and put in a disciplined and professional performance in less-than-ideal conditions. 

Canada leads the all-time series against El Salvador with 10 wins and four draws in 19 meetings dating back to 1977. Canada and El Salvador are set to meet for the third time in Gold Cup history, with the Canadians previously registering a win and a draw.

El Salvador’s last victory over Canada came in a 5-2 home decision on September 14, 1997, in World Cup qualifying.

What's next for Canada     

If Canada gets the necessary result on Tuesday, it'll advance to the quarter-finals and will play either on Saturday in Glendale, Arizona or Sunday in Minneapolis. Beyond the Gold Cup, the Canadian team's next scheduled matches are friendlies vs. Romania in Bucharest (September 5) and Wales in Cardiff (September 9). 

(Top photo courtesy of Canada Soccer)

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