From Mexico 1986that World Cup that was marked by fire in the Argentines for being the one who won Diego Maradonathat the Canadian team did not participate in the maximum football event, to which it will return to Qatar 2022.
In Mexico, Canadians have even played the World Cup for the first and only time so far that they have qualified for the tournament. after dominating the qualifiers at Concacaf against all odds. First with 28 units, the result of eight wins, 4 draws and just two defeats, the same number of points as the Mexicans, but with a better goal difference.
In Qatar, Canada’s participation will begin on Wednesday 23 November as part of Group F vs. Belgium, which is the highest seed, will continue against Croatia (27/11) and will close against Morocco (1/12).
It is not an easy challenge for a team that aspires to a performance as surprising as in qualifying, where the United States advanced to the last breath, but also with preparation. It is that in four years a country with little football tradition – and more prominent in women’s football – will organize the World Cup together with its two biggest rivals from Concacaf.
Featuring world-class players led by England manager John Herdman, Canada will try to leave a better image than 36 years ago when they lost all three games in the group area, not scoring (0-2 with the Soviet Union, 0-2 with Hungary and 0-1 with France) and finished last in Group C.
Herdman, women’s football specialist
At the age of 47 and at the helm of the Canadian team since 8 January 2018, John Herdmann He has a record of 30 wins, 4 draws and 10 losses. According to the latest FIFA ranking, his Canada is in 41st place.
But getting there wasn’t easy. Before becoming a professional coach, the Englishman was a gymnastics teacher and in football he started in Lower Sunderland until he had the opportunity to lead a team: the New Zealand women’s team.
She made a career in women’s footballwhere he led Canada for 7 years and qualified for the 2015 World Cup. He was no longer in France 2019 because the previous year he had been hired by the men’s team to take him to the World Cup as well, which he successfully achieved in Qatar 2022.
“The 1986 World Cup was the tournament that really ignited my passion for football.-he recalled on The Coaches Voice website-. Gary Lineker and his wrist bandage, Maradona’s hand of God. I loved everything about this tournament. It was the first World Cup in which I collected the Panini sticker album, so I remember the Canadian team. That was the last time Canada qualified for a World Cup. “
Over there acknowledged that his appointment in 2018 was “a surprise”, the same he gave four years later when Canada made those overwhelming qualifiers and qualified for a World Cup after 36 years. For this he had to get out of his head “impostor syndrome” and be convinced of the message that came out of his mouth in front of the players the day it was presented: “This time it will be different”. He did it.
Davies, with all it takes to be a revelation
Alfonso Davis was born in Buduburam, a city in the central region of Ghana, on November 2, 2000 in a refugee camp where his parents had come from Liberia. But at the age of 5 he was able to emigrate: with his family he settled in Edmonton, Canada.
He soon became interested in football and, after playing for various local teams, began his career in Vancouver White Caps FC. On July 17, 2006, he made his MLS debut against Orlando City, becoming the second youngest in his history after Freddy Adu.
There he caught the attention of Bayern Munich, who bought him in 2019 to € 10 million, a figure that has now increased seven times, and made him play his first game on January 27. Although he is not a striker, but a midfielder turned defender, his first goal was not long in coming: it was March 17.
Davies started out as a midfielder, but his speed as a left-back set him apart in the 2019-2020 season, after which he earned the title of rookie of the year and his contract extension until 2025. by winning the 2020 Champions League he became the first Canadian footballer to do so.
Who has everything it takes to be one of the revelations of the World Cup he could also end up in a new club when his time in Qatar ends. It has emerged that two European giants like Barcelona and Real Madrid will fight Speechdespite having a juicy exit clause with Bayern Munich.
The team: His growth over the past five years deserves the respect of any rival
Four years ago, John Herdman conducted anonymous polls and individual interviews. He talked to over 40 players and did them all the same three questions: why they wore the shirt, what they wanted for the national team and who they wore the shirt for.
of those speeches, drew three conclusions: They wanted to make history with their achievements, they wanted to leave a legacy by raising the level of respect in the game for Canadian men’s football and they wanted to be heroes for the next generation.
“What I really noticed in these conversations is that these players, especially the younger ones, were willing to listen to what I wanted to tell them: that we would qualify for Qatar in 2022. I told them the next four years of work would be be focused on become the first Canadian men’s team to score a goal in a World Cup and win a World Cup match. And, by doing so, they would have united the country as only football can do “, recalled the English coach.
Although the coach and players were convinced that they would succeed, the process of making the jersey with Nike, which had to begin before a possible qualification, was neglected. There will therefore be no new version of the Maple Leaf team jersey, news that surprised the world.
Another fact that caught the interest of the press was why Herdman had to leave the Canadian women’s team for the men’s team. “I made the decision to move to the men’s team because the budget for the women’s team had remained the same since the day I arrived. We scored podiums, organized a World Cup and yet the same number appeared on my desk year after year. How to grow “We need millions of dollars to innovate and have a professional women’s league. The only way to get the money because that investment is to have a strong men’s team that qualifies for the World Cuphe”he has declared.
Source: Clarin
