Whoa Canada, the USA men’s soccer team stands guard.
Tensions between the USMNT and border rival Canada boiled Sunday night after the Americans won on penalties within the quarterfinals of the regional Gold Cup tournament.
Video published by TUDN USA captured players from each teams exchanging pushes and whoops within the tunnel after leaving the sphere.
The footage shows a “hold me back” sort of hostilities, and it’s unclear if the confrontation ever escalated beyond that time.
Marca’s Spanish outlet reported American players “allegedly taunted” their Canadian counterparts prior to the brawls.
The USA won the shootout 3-2 due to two saves by goalkeeper Matt Turner.
The game, which featured no true “A” teams from either country, resulted in a 2-2 draw at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati.
On Wednesday, the Americans advanced to face Panama within the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
“A lot of the penalties I’ve seen on my sheets or in my preparations, most of those guys were off the pitch before the pens got there,” Turner said. “I just trusted my instincts, really, and typically after I do, I’m rather more successful.”
Canada’s head coach John Herdman could have fueled the rivalry within the weekend’s quarter-finals when he said his team “wanted” a showdown with the Americans.
“Going into this match, we made it clear which team we desired to play against and how much game we desired to experience within the Gold Cup,” said Herdman, for Sportsnet. “The gods of football gave us a derby game.”
“Playing within the US is hard, it’s a house game for them, the Nations League final was a house game for them. We have not beaten them here since 1957 so we wish to be that first team, we wish to be that first coach, that first staff and we wish our fans to experience that moment.
The USA also defeated Canada 2-0 on June 18 in the ultimate of the CONCACAF Nations League.