Canada lost its Copa America qualifier. Now what?

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A bad year for Canadian soccer got worse last night when the men's national team blew a two-goal lead and lost its CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal matchup against Jamaica on its own turf in Toronto.

Canada had won the opening leg of the home-and-home, total-score series 2-1 on Saturday in Jamaica. So it needed only a draw last night at a cold and damp BMO Field to advance to the four-team Nations League Finals and, more importantly, earn a coveted spot in next year's Copa America.

The always hotly contested South American championship tournament — featuring World Cup champ Argentina, powerhouse Brazil and other strong teams from one of soccer's most robust continents — is being hosted by the United States next summer. Six teams from the CONCACAF region, which covers North and Central American and the Caribbean, will be invited, with four of those spots going to the winners of the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinals.

For the Canadian team, which (rightly) complains about cash-strapped Canada Soccer's inability to schedule quality exhibition matches, this presented a rare opportunity to secure some games against top-flight teams from other parts of the globe in preparation for the 2026 World Cup, which Canada is co-hosting with the U.S. and Mexico.

The Canadian men seemed to have their hands around a Copa ticket last night after Alphonso Davies' goal gave them a 1-0 edge in the match (and a 3-1 lead on aggregate) heading into the final half. But they blew it as Jamaica outscored them 3-1 the rest of the way to make the total score 4-4 and take the series on the