DOHA, Qatar – Thirty-six years of heartbreak, upset and derision all lead to Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, where the Canadian men’s national will play its first World Cup match in nearly four decades.
Belgium awaits as Canada opens its Group F play on Wednesday, and while the Red Devils are the favourites, Les Rouges can spring a surprise if all goes according to plan.
“It will be a real good test for the staff and for the players,” said Canada coach John Herdman in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday.
“It’s something we’ll learn from, but more importantly, it’s something we’re going to really go towards, and I think that’s the opportunity we have here. Coming into a game like this, we don’t have a great amount to lose, just a genuine opportunity to make it our cup final.”
It’s safe to say Canada needs to be almost flawless in order for that to become reality.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of Canada’s World Cup opener against Belgium.
PROJECTED LINEUPS
Here is how Canada could line up on Wednesday.
Herdman confirmed that Davies should be in contention to start, so that alleviates any concerns. Ditto for Stephen Eustaquio after battling a minor muscle injury during pre-World Cup preparations.
“I don’t think there was any doubt we’d be starting him,” said Herdman. “[Davies] is fit now. He’s hit his markers, he’s ready to go.”
In possession, Atiba Hutchinson should occasionally drop into the back three to allow Alistair Johnston to get forward as a right wingback. Eustaquio will be deployed box-to-box and Junior Hoilett should play in a free role behind Jonathan David, with Davies drifting from the left to the centre throughout the game.
The formation will shift into a 4-4-2 when Belgium owns possession, but it might also become a 5-3-2 depending on far it progresses the ball into Canada’s defensive third. Canada utilized both shapes in the 2-1 win over Japan last Thursday in those situations.
As for Belgium, this could be how they set up against Canada.
Star striker Romelu Lukaku has been ruled out of the opener, so Michy Batshuayi will start up front.
The only dilemmas for coach Roberto Martinez surround his defenders. Jan Vertonghen could make way for Arthur Theate, while Timothy Castagne will compete with Thomas Meunier at right wingback.
Regardless, expect a lot of activity on the flanks for Belgium, which loves to utilize its attack-minded wingbacks with the underlapping Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard.
CANADA’S X-FACTOR: TRANSITIONS
With or without Jan Vertonghen starting on the left side of Belgium’s defence, there will be transitional opportunities for Canada.
Belgium may not concede a high number of counter-attacks, but the efficiency with which opponents generate shots must be a concern for Martinez.
Counter-attacking stats over the last 12 months, via Wyscout.
Egypt edged Belgium 2-1 in a friendly last week, and despite producing only six shots, the Pharaohs managed to wreak havoc in transition via the high press or recoveries from their defensive third before countering the other way.
“This is the highest level of football,” said Canada midfielder Jonathan Osorio. “The game is very, very fast, so the transitions are quicker. The way the ball moves is quicker, everything is faster than we think.”
Recovering the ball in Belgium’s half sounds difficult, but it’s doable. Like Egypt, the Netherlands was selective with its pressing when against Belgium in Nations League on Sept. 26. The common trait was setting up in a 5-2-3 or 5-3-2 to ensure maximum coverage out wide against the Belgian wingbacks.
Canada exhibited this vs. Japan with David and Hoilett harrying the Japanese defenders.
The only caveat is Canada needs to produce higher-quality shots from those situations in order to trouble Belgium.
Canada’s pace should behoove it against Belgium’s high defensive line in possession. If Egypt can capitalize, so can the Canadians.
“They play in transition and they have a lot of speed so we have to be prepared for this,” said Vertonghen of Canada’s strengths. “That’s why our game against Egypt was a good wake-up call. We cannot underestimate them.”
“They look like a team that’s very clear in their concepts,” Martinez said. “A very dynamic, competitive team that know their strengths, a team that loves to open the legs and use the big spaces, so we give them huge respect.”
The fact that Canada was effective in both offensive and defensive transitional moments against a rapid team like Japan proves that it is capable of replicating this strategy.
“Of course it brings confidence,” said Hutchinson. “We’re in a good state where we know that we can play against any team in the world.”
“I think we showed against a top-20 team that we can play at that intensity and at that pace,” said Osorio. “That’s a big confidence boost for us and for our midfield that we showed that we can keep that intensity.”
BELGIUM’S X-FACTOR: KEVIN DE BRUYNE (DUH)
There’s no stopping Kevin De Bruyne. You can only hope to limit the damage.
Even man-marking De Bruyne isn’t a guaranteed strategy. The playmaker will wait for his marker to face the ball and away from him, enabling De Bruyne to execute a run on the player’s blind side and into the box.
Considering Lukaku is injured and Eden Hazard is a bit-part player with Real Madrid, the onus will be on De Bruyne to lift Belgium’s attack.
De Bruyne loves drifting into the right half-space and dictating games from that area, so the task of marking him will likely be Sam Adekugbe’s undertaking.
Adekugbe, a complete two-way full-back in every sense of the term, will relish that challenge. The 27-year-old has gone from a squad player to a key starter within a year and could be one of several breakout candidates for Canada at this World Cup.
Countless observers will especially take notice if Adekugbe caps De Bruyne’s influence on the game.
EDMONTON – Teuvo Teravainen had two goals and two assists and Connor Bedard had a goal and two assists as the Chicago Blackhawks captured their first victory of the season, defeating the Edmonton Oilers 5-2 on Saturday.
Seth Jones also had a goal and two assists in his 800th career NHL game and Philipp Kurashev scored the other goal for the Blackhawks, who improved to 1-1-1 on the season.
Corey Perry and Leon Draisaitl scored for the Oilers, who fell to 0-2 to start the season on the heels of making it all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final last season before losing out to the Florida Panthers. Edmonton has been outscored 11-2 in its first two games.
Petr Mrazek had 35 saves in the Chicago net, while Calvin Pickard made 15 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Blackhawks: Former Oiler Taylor Hall now has eight points (2G, 6A) in 12 career games against the team that drafted him first overall in 2010, picking up an assist on Chicago’s first-period goal. There were four former first overall picks playing in the contest in Hall and Bedard for the Hawks and Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for Edmonton. Nugent-Hopkins picked up his 700th career point in the contest.
Oilers: Oilers defenceman and Edmonton-area product Brett Kulak suited up for his 500th career NHL game. The 30-year-old has been a mainstay since arriving from Montreal at the 2023 NHL trade deadline, playing in all 183 regular-season and 53 playoff games that he could. He has recorded an even 100 points in his career.
KEY MOMENT
The Blackhawks took a two-goal lead with six minutes to play in the middle frame as Bedard used a defender as a screen before ripping a perfect shot glove-side past Pickard for his first of the season.
KEY STAT
With his third period power-play goal, Oilers forward Draisaitl now has a 16-game point streak (13-18-31) against Chicago dating to Oct. 28, 2018 and passed teammate Connor McDavid (15-game streak versus New Jersey) for the NHL’s longest active point streak against one opponent.
UP NEXT
Blackhawks: Wrap up a four-game road trip in Calgary against the Flames on Tuesday.
Oilers: Host the Flames on Sunday in the third game of a season-starting four-game set at home.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 12, 2024.
CALGARY – Jonathan Huberdeau had two goals and two assists for the Calgary Flames in a 6-3 win in their home-opener over the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.
Nazem Kadri scored twice, including an empty-netter with MacKenzie Weegar and Mikael Backlund each contributing a goal for Calgary (2-0-0).
Flames goalie Dustin Wolf stopped 37 of 40 shots in his season debut.
Travis Konecny scored twice, including one short-handed, and Joel Farabee also had a goal for Philadelphia (1-1-0).
Flyers starter Ivan Fedotov made 27 saves in his first start of the season.
The Flyers played their second road game in as many nights to start their season after a 3-2 shootout win over the Canucks in Vancouver.
The Flames overcame a three-goal deficit to beat the Canucks 6-5 in overtime to start their season Wednesday.
TAKEAWAYS
Flyers: Slow start after beating Vancouver in a shootout 24 hours earlier, but scored twice in the second period and trailed by a goal heading into the third.
Flames: Wolf was the difference early stopping all 18 shots he faced in the first period and 37 overall. Calgary’s first goal that deflected off Huberdeau’s shoulder was lucky, but the winger set up Weegar perfectly for a one-timer and a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes, assisted on a pair of power-play goals and generated the Flames’ fifth goal.
KEY MOMENT
The Flames converted a five-on-three in the second period into Kadri’s power-play goal and a two-goal lead. Wolf reached back into his crease during a scramble to clear the puck and deny Konecny a potential equalizing goal midway through the third period.
KEY STAT
Philadelphia’s power play, which was the worst in the NHL last season, was 1-for-4 on Saturday and 2-for-8 after two games. Calgary’s went 2-for-5 to be 4-for-9 after two games.
UP NEXT
Flames: Finish a back-to-back weekend on Sunday in Edmonton against the Oilers.
Flyers: Follow the Flames into Edmonton on Tuesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – The Montreal Canadiens grabbed a 2-0 lead on first-period goals by Emil Heineman and Cole Caufield and went on to beat the Ottawa Senators 4-1 on Saturday at the Bell Centre.
After Alex Newhook boosted the Canadiens’ lead to 3-0 early in the third period, Tim Stutzle ended Sam Montembeault’s bid for a second consecutive shutout. Montembeault, who made 48 saves in a season-opening win over Toronto, made 24 saves.
Caufield completed the scoring with his second goal of the game and fourth of the season as the Canadiens improved to 2-1, while the Senators slipped to 1-1.
Montreal defenceman Mike Matheson was awarded a penalty shot when he was upended by Jake Sanderson on a rush to the net during a third-period power play. Linus Ullmark, who finished the game with 21 saves, got a piece of the shot which hit the post and went wide.
TAKEAWAYS
The Canadiens won the battle of special teams. Heineman scored a power-play goal with one second remaining in the advantage as Montreal went 1-for-4 with the extra man. Ottawa failed to score on four power plays and were held to three shots on goal.
KEY MOMENT
After facing only four shots in the first period, Montembeault was under pressure in the second period when the Senators outshot the Canadiens 12-3.
KEY STAT
The Canadiens have had one of the worst power plays in the NHL over the past three seasons and the outlook for this season wasn’t bright after the team went 0-for-30 in the pre-season. But Heineman scored his first NHL goal on a power play in the first period to give Montreal a power-play goal in each of its first three regular-season games.
UP NEXT
Senators: Host the Los Angeles Kings on Monday afternoon.
Canadiens: Host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 12, 2024.
