By The Canadian Press

Cornelius’s spectacular free kick lifts Canadian men past Wales in soccer friendly

Sep 9, 2025 | 1:48 PM

SWANSEA — Facing European opposition without some key players, Canada knew the September FIFA international window was going to be a good test.

And one the 28th-ranked Canadians showed they were up to, with Derek Cornelius’s spectacular free kick lifting Canada to a 1-0 win over No. 31 Wales on Tuesday, following an impressive 3-0 decision over No. 48 Romania on Friday in Bucharest.

Two wins and two clean sheets in Europe are encouraging signposts en route to the World Cup.

“If we can get as much out of every (FIFA international) window that we got out of this window, then we will be a very good team by next summer,” said Canada coach Jesse Marsch.

Cornelius put Canada ahead in the 41st minute, curling a delivery over the Welsh wall, eluding the outstretched hands of diving goalkeeper Adam Davies, and into the top corner for his first goal in 37 Canadian appearances.

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Canada had twice come close earlier on a damp evening at the 21,000-capacity Swansea.com Stadium.

Midfielder Ismael Kone hit the post in the ninth minute after a nifty layoff from stand-in captain Jonathan David. Centre back Luc de Fougerolles, with a stylish flick off a corner, then hit the crossbar in the 39th.

Canada had appealed unsuccessfully for a penalty in the third minute when Laryea went down in the Welsh penalty box but English referee Robert Jones waved play on. There was no video review on the night.

The Canadians had chances to add to their lead in the second half, but lacked clinical finishing. And Wales started to come on.

De Fougerolles’s goal-line clearance saved Canada in the 53rd minute as he blocked Mark Harris’ acrobatic bicycle kick. Cornelius and Richie Laryea also made crucial second-half blocks to extinguish Welsh attacks.

Wales rallied late and had a great chance to pull even in the 90th minute but Harris shot just wide.

Canada was missing the injured Alphonso Davies, Moise Bombito, Alistair Johnston, Sam Adekugbe, and Daniel Jebbison with Stephen Eustaquio returning to his club in Portugal after suffering an injury against Romania. Forward Cyle Larin wasn’t called into the squad because his wife was due to give birth while Liam Millar has just returned to training with England’s Hull City after recovering from knee surgery.

That left Cornelius as the only starter available in the backline.

With Wales threatening in the second half but not putting much on target, Dayne St. Clair was not tested that much in goal. Asked if the window had offered any clarity on the competition between St. Clair and Max Crepeau, who was in goal against Romania, for the starting job, Marsch laughed.

“No,” he said. “I was just talking with the staff and saying both goalkeepers continue to perform at a really high level and show their quality and they keep making big headaches for me. But I would say across the board we now have almost a two-person competition at almost every position on the team.

“So what a great problem to have, but certainly as we get closer and closer to the World Cup and defining what our first group is, what the whole squad looks like, it will be a big challenge for me. A big challenge.”

Canada outshot Wales 12-6 (2-2 in shots on target). Each side saw four yellow cards, with one going to Marsch.

The last time Canada won consecutive games on European soil was in 2005-06, with victories over Luxembourg (1-0) and Austria (2-0) although there was a scoreless draw with the United States in San Diego in-between.

The Canadian men host No. 24 Australia next, at Montreal’s Saputo Stadium on Oct. 10, before facing No. 14 Colombia in Harrison, N.J., four days later.

The Welsh face No. 4 England next in an Oct. 9 friendly at Wembley before returning to World Cup qualifying play against Belgium on Oct. 13.

Marsch made just two changes to his starting lineup with St. Clair taking over in goal, as previously announced, and Nathan Saliba replacing Eustaquio in midfield.

The Canadian starting 11 went into the match with a combined 330 caps, down from 374 for the Romania contest.

The Welsh starting 11 featured five players from the English Premier League, four from the second-tier Championship and one from the third-tier League 2.

While Wales had 62 per cent possession in the first half, part of that came from laboured attempts to break the Canadian press. Canada outshot Wales 7-1 in the first 45 minutes, although each team managed just one shot on target with Cornelius making the most of it.

Junior Hoilett, Jacob Shaffelburg, Theo Bair, Jayden Nelson, Mathieu Choiniere and Joel Waterman came on for Canada in the second half.

The Canadians, who evened their record to 2-2-0 against Wales, improved to 6-1-3 this year, with two of those draws turning into penalty shootout losses.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2025.

The Canadian Press