Iran Press/America: On a cold day, Canada came out hot and was rewarded for its dominance in the 13th minute when, after a lightning-fast counter-attack, Hoilett squared the ball to Stephen Eustaquio, who threaded the needle to put Larin behind the defense. The Besiktas forward calmly slotted the ball past goalkeeper Andre Blake for his 24th goal for Canada, extending his national men's scoring record.
Buchanan made it 2-0 in the 44th minute as Jamaica failed to deal with a free-kick that the Club Brugge winger had earned after being chopped down in the midst of several stepovers. A defender headed Eustaquio's free-kick away, but it went straight to Jonathan David, whose cross dropped at Buchanan's feet in front of goal.
He celebrated the goal with his trademark backflip.
Hoilett made it 3-0 in the 83rd after Buchanan nicked the ball off a defender following a corner and fed the veteran Hoilett, who slashed through the penalty box and beat Blake for his 14th goal for Canada.
Adrian Mariappa's failed attempt at a clearance off a Sam Adekugbe cross ended up in the Jamaican goal to make it 4-0.
Its return to the World Cup caps off a memorable period in Canada's soccer history after the women's team won gold at the Tokyo Olympics last summer. The Canadian men's team's first and only appearance in the World Cup came in 1986 in Mexico, where it finished last in its group with three losses.
Just as remarkable is the fact that Canada was one of three nations to advance to the Octagonal from the first and second rounds of qualifying, before then going on to dominate the Octagonal, which was the third and final round. Until Thursday night's defeat in Costa Rica, Canada had gone undefeated throughout the entirety of the qualification process.
Against the two traditional regional powerhouses, the US and Mexico, Canada won both of its home games and drew on the road. It's only fitting that Canada finished off its quest in frigid, wintry conditions at home. Those were the circumstances for those home wins over the region's more entrenched powers, with Sam Adekugbe's goal celebration of diving into a snowbank in Edmonton—whose stadium, for the night against Mexico, was dubbed the "Iceteca"—one of the lasting images of this qualifying campaign.
Canada wraps up qualifying play Wednesday in Panama.
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