Photo by Bill Barrett/ISIphotos.com
The Canadian men's national team's Gold Cup began with a goal conceded due to shaky goalkeeping, and it ended the same way.
Goalkeeper Milan Borjan couldn't control Blas Perez' rebound attempt on the goal line, and Luis Tejada got the final touch to score in the waning moments of the clubs' Group C finale, which ended in a 1-1 draw at Livestrong Sporting Park.
Canada had gone ahead earlier in the half on a Dwayne De Rosario penalty kick, and a win would have sealed the team's place in the quarterfinals. Instead, the last-second draw, coupled with the United States' win over Guadeloupe, knocked a Canadian team that had high aspirations out of the tournament.
With the draw, Panama won Group C and will face El Salvador in the quarterfinals at RFK Stadium on Sunday. The winner of that game will meet the winner of United States-Jamaica in a semifinal in Houston.
Highlights of Canada's tie with Panama are after the jump:
Canada managed two goals in the tournament -- both penalty kicks by De Rosario -- while amassing a 1-1-1 record. Its 2-0 loss to the United States began with goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld being unable to stop Jozy Altidore's blast that was right at him in the early going.
Its MLS players -- New York's De Rosario, RSL's Will Johnson, Toronto FC's Julian de Guzman, Vancouver's Terry Dunfield and Houston's Andre Hainault -- will return to their clubs ahead of this weekend's matches.
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What do you think about Canada's Gold Cup? Did you expect much better from the Canadians? How far can you see Panama going?
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