On this warm night in San José, the Canada and Costa Rica walked out to a dazzling fireworks display ahead of a fiery clash between two teams with World Cup aspirations. The situation was simple: while Canada would qualify with a win, Costa Rica could not afford to lose. The National Stadium, perched more than a kilometre above sea level, greeted Les Rouges with a cacophony of drums and jeers that made it difficult to even hear the national anthem.
Herdman once again opted for an offensive-minded 4-3-3, so far so successful for Canada during the Octagon, with one surprising change.