Canada’s Derek Cornelius, right, goes up for a header during the first half of the friendly match against Colombia in Harrison, N.J., on Tuesday.Seth Wenig/The Associated Press
Canada gave as good as it got for most of the game Tuesday before fending off a late charge to hold 13th-ranked Colombia to a scoreless draw in a soccer friendly.
The 26th-ranked Canadian men proved to be a handful for the South Americans with midfielder Stephen Eustaquio and winger Tajon Buchanan leading the way.
Scoring chances were few and far between for both teams until the final minutes.
Buchanan forced a diving save from Colombia ’keeper Álvaro Montero in the 28th minute with a long-range swerving shot after Tani Oluwaseyi bodied Richard Rios off the ball.
The game opened up in the second half and star winger Luis Diaz had a chance to put Colombia ahead in the 57th minute but his shot flashed just wide of the Canadian goalpost. Jonathan David put the ball in the Colombia goal in the 76th minute only to see an offside flag go up, with no video review available on the night.
Colombia came on in the dying minutes and substitute Rafael Santos Borré’s header went just wide in the 88th minute. Richie Laryea made a key tackle in stoppage time, disrupting an attack that saw the eventual Colombian shot hitting the goalpost. Goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair may have got a hand on the ball.
There were 23 fouls in the first half alone, with neither side holding back. American referee Guido Gonzales Jr., voted the 2024 U.S. Soccer Male Referee of the Year, had a busy evening.
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Canada had the lone shot on goal in the first half but was unable to take advantage of several Ali Ahmed set pieces. The Canadians appealed unsuccessfully for a handball in the Colombia box late in the half off one of Ahmed’s free kicks.
The game before a loud pro-Colombian crowd at Sports Illustrated Stadium, home of the New York Red Bulls, was the first of three straight against South American opposition for the Canadian men.
Canada closes out its 2025 campaign with friendlies against No. 24 Ecuador at Toronto’s BMO Field on Nov. 13, and No. 49 Venezuela on Nov. 18 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
The Canadian men came into the game with a 6-2-3 record this year, with two of those draws turning into penalty shootout losses (against the Ivory Coast and Guatemala).
Canada was coming off a 1-0 loss to No. 25 Australia in Montreal on Friday in a game that saw Jesse Marsch team’s unable to penetrate a resolute Socceroos defence. At the other end, Australia capitalized on a defensive blunder by Niko Sigur.
Sigur excelled Tuesday from his right fullback position.
Colombia scored a decisive 4-0 win over No. 14 Mexico on Sunday before 72,438 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, thanks to goals from Diaz (Bayern Munich, Germany), Jhon Lucumi (Bologna, Italy), Jefferson Lerma (Crystal Palace, England) and Johan Carbonero (Internacional, Brazil).
The Colombians had won three straight, outscoring the opposition 13-3, and were unbeaten in their previous six matches (3-0-3) since a 2-0 loss to Brazil in World Cup qualifying in March.
Colombia, which finished runner-up to Argentina at last year’s Copa America, has already booked its ticket to next year’s World Cup by finishing third in CONMEBOL qualifying with a 7-4-7 record.
Rafael Borre #19 of Colombia battles for a ball with Niko Sigur #23 of Canada during the second half.Adam Hunger/Getty Images
Marsch made four changes to his starting lineup with Eustaquio, Oluwaseyi, St. Clair and defender Luc de Fougerolles slotting in. The Canadian starting 11 went into the game with a combined 392 caps with David (70), Laryea (68), Buchanan (54) and Eustaquio (51) accounting for 243 of them.
Eustaquio wore the captain’s armband.
Diaz, who joined Bayern Munich from Liverpool in July in a transfer worth a reported 75 million euros ($122.2 million), captained Colombia. He passed the armband to James Rodríguez, who led the team against Mexico, when the star winger came off the bench to start the second half.
Diaz tied for second in scoring in South American World Cup qualifying with seven goals, behind Argentina’s Lionel Messi (eight). Rodriguez (Leon, Mexico), meanwhile, earned the Best Player Award at Copa America and was named to the tournament all-star team along with Colombian defender Davinson Sanchez (Galatasary, Turkey).
Laryea was cautioned in the 12th minute for taking down Diaz. And Colombia complained, to no avail, minutes later as the Toronto FC player needed more discipline for catching Rios with his boot as they went down in a tangle.
Canada used its press to limit Colombia early and threatened on an Ahmed free kick in the 13th minute that went though a crowded penalty box.
The South Americans began to swing the ball around and Diaz got the crowd going when he nutmegged Buchanan in the 23rd minute. But Canada also had its passages of possession.
Derek Cornelius was booked for felling a Colombian late in the first half.
Liam Millar, Jacob Shaffelburg, Promise David, Zorhan Bassong and Mathieu Choiniere came on for Canada in the second half.
The Canadian men, who finished fourth at Copa America, had played Colombia three times before.
Canada defeated the South Americans 2-0 in the final of the 2000 Gold Cup at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and lost in two friendlies: 1-0 in October 2014 at the same New Jersey venue and 3-0 in March 1988 in Armenia, Colombia.