David's goal helps Canadian men past United States to finish 3rd in CONCACAF Nations League

Canada leaves the CONCACAF Nations League with a third-place finish — and a smile after defeating the United States 2-1 on Sunday.

Before the game, Canada coach Jesse Marsch downplayed the backdrop of the political tension between the two North American rivals. But he showed his players the tape of the fight-filled start to the Canada-U. S. Four Nations Face-Off hockey game ahead of the match.

Canadians, no doubt, will savour the win over their neighbours to the south.

"Of course it's only a third-place game, but man that means a lot, I think to the people back home. It means a lot to me," said Canadian fullback Alistair Johnston, who was exceptional on the day. "And I'm really proud of the team. I'm proud of every single guy that went out there and stepped up."

Mexico faced Panama in the final later Sunday at SoFi Stadium.

Tani Oluwaseyi and Jonathan David scored for Canada, which finished the game with Marsch watching from a box at SoFi Stadium after receiving a red card in the 54th minute for a sideline blow-up at a lack of a penalty call.

WATCH | David's second-half goal helps Canada secure 3rd-place finish:

Jonathan David's 2nd half goal lifts Canada to win over U.S.

David scored five minutes after Marsch was ejected.

"Jessie was sticking up for his team. And in the end, for sure, it galvanized the boys," said assistant coach Mauro Biello, who stepped in for Marsch in the post-game new conference. "They saw the trust and how much it means to him and we were able to come back and get that second goal."

David's exquisite strike came after Ali Ahmed found him in the penalty box. The Lille forward pivoted like a matador to get away from a defender and curled the ball past a diving Matt Turner for his record 32nd