David sinks Peru to keep Canada alive in Copa America

Jonathan David scored the solitary goal as Canada revived their Copa America campaign with a 1-0 win over Peru in a sweltering match in Kansas City on Tuesday.

Lille striker David, who has reportedly attracted interest from Premier League clubs Manchester United and Chelsea, once again showcased his scoring ability with a composed finish to secure a crucial victory for Canada against 10-man Peru at Children’s Mercy Park Stadium.

Played under intense afternoon heat, with temperatures on the pitch nearing 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius), the game saw one of the assistant referees collapse due to apparent heat exhaustion just before halftime.

Canada, who suffered a 2-0 defeat to Argentina in their tournament opener last week, broke the deadlock in the second half after Peru’s Miguel Araujo was sent off for a reckless foul on substitute Jacob Shaffelburg, triggering a heated altercation between both teams.

Initially shown a yellow card by referee Mario Escobar for his dangerous challenge on Shaffelburg, Araujo’s punishment was upgraded to a red card following a VAR review conducted on the pitchside monitor.

With a numerical advantage, Canada intensified their attacking efforts, eventually finding the breakthrough in the 74th minute through David’s goal, which came from a swift counter-attack.

Cyle Larin gained possession just outside Peru’s penalty area and delivered a precise pass into the path of Shaffelburg, who played an immediate cross-field ball to David. The Canadian forward took a touch and calmly slotted a right-footed shot past Peru goalkeeper Pedro Gallese into the bottom corner.

Despite Peru’s attempts to equalize, Canada goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau made a crucial one-handed save to deny Christian Cueva’s volley and later blocked Paolo Guerrero’s injury-time free-kick.

The result leaves Canada in second place in Group A behind Argentina, who were scheduled to face Chile later on Tuesday.