It was a breakthrough victory for a perennial contender at the 39th annual Nations Cup.
Africa is Open Division champions for the first time since 1995 — capping a perfect five-game run at the annual summer soccer showcase at Hugh Boyd Park with a 5-1 victory over Canada in Sunday night’s championship game.
Noted for its flare and attacking style, Africa has been a constant threat in recent years with typically one pivotal match not going its way. There would be no disappointment this time as a first place finish in Group B was followed by an emotionally charged semi-final win in penalty kicks over two-time defending champion Italy.
“They’ve had some unlucky results the last couple of years where they looked like they could be very competitive,” said Nations Cup president Jeff Wilson. “They can look really really good and always put on an exciting and compelling game with the way they play.”
That was certainly the case in the final, played in front of another big crowd at the Boyd Oval. Africa opened the scoring in the early going on a terrific free kick then added another soon after.
It was a frustrating night for a Canadian team that had ended India’s six-year run as a finalist hours earlier and actually had an overall edge in possession. However, the African goalkeeper produced a couple of brilliant stops when the match was still very much up for grabs and a lethal transition game was the main ingredient to the cup triumph.
The “host” country was trying to win its first Nations Cup since 2004.
“Canada is another team that has been a bit unlucky over the years. They usually have a really good pool of university of players,” continued Wilson. “It’s a testament of how tough this tournament can be if you end up in a difficult round-robin group.”
Individual award winners included Africa’s Robbie Giezen and Brendan Skinner winning the Most Outstanding Player and Top Defender Awards respectively. Italian striker Carlo Basso captured his third straight Golden Boot as top scorer in the Open Division — the first time that has happened in the tournament’s history.
Meanwhile, it was a youthful Canadian team breaking a tight women’s final wide-open with three second half goals to defeat defending champion Ireland.
Leading the surge was 2018 McMath grad and TSS product Dakota Chan who scored the winner and was hauled down in the box moments later, resulting in a second goal from a penalty. The tourney MVP is taking her soccer career to Nebraska in September.
“What you are seeing in the women’s division is the emergence of the young player,” added Wilson. “It’s a nice testament to the female development that is going on. They are that much better, that much more competitive and committed.”
He also added it’s paving the way for a women’s over 30s division for the first time as soon as next year.
Other division winners included: India (Over 30s), India (Over 38), Fiji (Over 45) and China (Over 52).
Corner kicks…
It appears Nations Cup’s popularity continues to grow, evidence by a line-up of about 25 deep just to enter the beer garden on championship Sunday.
“I can never recall that happening before,” added Wilson. “It was full to capacity under the liquor license we have and we are sticking to it.”
