HOUSTON — Substitute Jeremy Antonisse scored in the 94th minute to lift Curaçao into a 1-1 draw with Canada in Group B play at the CONCACAF Gold Cup on Saturday.
Canada lost possession near midfield in stoppage time and the ball went to Antonisse, whose low shot deflected off a sliding Zorhan Bassong over goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair.
The strike was likely due for No. 90 Curaçao, which had two goals called back and a possible penalty negated in the second half.
Nathan Saliba had given No. 30 Canada an early lead with his second goal in as many games at the tournament.
Canada thumped No. 75 Honduras 6-0 in its opener Tuesday in Vancouver while Curaçao played No. 81 El Salvador to a scoreless draw in San Jose.
It was 30 Celsius at kickoff at Shell Energy Stadium and the heat and sparse crowd did little to boost the entertainment value of the contest. Suspended Canada coach Jesse Marsch watched from the stands.
El Salvador played Honduras in the late game at the same venue.
Canada wraps up Group B play Tuesday against El Salvador in Houston.
After round-robin play, the four group winners and four runners-up move on to the knockout stage, with quarterfinals scheduled for June 28-29, followed by the semifinals July 2 and final July 6 at Houston’s NRG Stadium.
Should Canada win its group, it would face the runner-up in Group C (No. 33 Panama, No. 63 Jamaica, No. 106 Guatemala and unranked Guadeloupe) in the quarterfinals while the second-place team in B faces the C winner.
Down 1-0, Curaçao appeared to have tied it via Jurgen Locadia in the 66th minute. Taking a backheel pass from Sherel Floranus, Locadia swivelled and fired a shot past St. Clair. The goal prompted wild celebrations at the Curaçao bench, which were extinguished when video review confirmed an offside in the buildup.
There was more controversy in the 83rd minute when a Curaçao free kick hit Saliba’s arm in the penalty box. But it was ruled that play had halted due to a whistle from the crowd.
Costa Rican referee Juan Calderon restarted play with a dropped ball for Curaçao. Roshon van Eijma scored on a header off the ensuing cross, only to have the goal ruled offside.
Saliba put Canada ahead in the ninth minute after a Jayden Nelson free kick to the left of the Curaçao penalty box near the byline. A Curaçao attempted clearance went to Saliba whose well-timed shot from just inside the penalty box beat a diving goalkeeper Eloy Room.
The 21-year-old midfielder, who has six Canada caps, has two career goals in 68 regular-season games for CF Montreal.
Canada had won all four meetings with Curaçao, including a 2-0 decision the last time they met in CONCACAF Nations League play in March 2023.
The Canadian starting 11 went into the match with just 220 caps, with captain Jonathan David (64) and defender Kamal Miller (48) accounting for 112 of them.
Canada had more of the ball in the first half with 55 per cent possession but could not turn that into more goals. And, at times, Curaçao threatened on the counterattack.
St. Clair made a fine reflex save in the 18th minute to save Bacuna’s header off a free kick from his younger brother Juninho Bacuna.
Room, formerly of the Columbus Crew and now with Belgium’s Cercle Brugge, stopped Tani Oluwaseyi in the 36th minute after Joel Waterman, driving forward from his centre back position, split the Curaçao defence with an accurate pass.
Locadia came close for Curaçao late in the half but he sent his shot just wide with St. Clair seemingly beaten.
Canadian substitute Ali Ahmed lasted just 14 minutes after coming on in the 56th minute, hurt in a scything tackle that earned Floranus a yellow card.
Saturday’s contest marks the end of Marsch’s two-game ban arising from a red card during the CONCACAF Nations League third-place game in March. But the coach remains in the spotlight, facing more disciplinary action initiated by CONCACAF from Canada’s opening game on Tuesday in Vancouver.
CONCACAF said its Disciplinary Committee is reviewing whether Canada and Marsch did not follow regulations involving suspended officials and whether offensive language was used toward CONCACAF match officials.
Assistant coach Mauro Biello ran the sideline both games in his absence.
Marsch made five changes to his starting lineup Saturday with Miller, Bassong, Jacob Shaffelburg, Ismael Kone and Jayden Nelson slotting in. Miller was joined in the backline by Waterman, Bassong and Niko Sigur, who came into the game with 21 caps between the three of them.
Canada was without centre back Derek Cornelius, who is with the team but dealing with a lower-body injury. Moise Bombito, Marsch’s usual other starter at centre back, is recovering from wrist surgery.
Fellow defender Alistair Johnston, who arrived in camp late from his honeymoon, came on in the 70th minute.
The Curaçao starting 11 featured players from clubs in Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Spain and the U.S.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 21, 2025.
The Canadian Press
