There is a genuine feeling among the staff and players in the Canadian men’s national team program that they can qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar — a result that seemed unthinkable when head coach John Herdman took over in January 2018 and the team sat 95th in FIFA’s world rankings.
Now 59th, Canada is in the final round of CONCACAF World Cup qualification for the first time since 1997. Alphonso Davies (20 years old), Jonathan David (21) and Cyle Larin (26) have played critical roles in the team’s on-field success and the creation of a core group of players off of it.
“It’s that togetherness that is the foundation of their success,” said Herdman. “I think the antecedence behind some of their trajectory has been the ability to represent their country at a young age.”
The final CONCACAF World Cup qualification round, beginning on Thursday against Honduras, now represents the culmination of Herdman’s work with the team.
But what will they have to do to qualify for the country’s second-ever World Cup? There are several key elements to making this dream a reality.
Relying on depth with crowded club calendars
So here’s a (mostly) good problem to have: the core of this attack-minded team (Namely: Davies, David, Larin, Mark-Anthony Kaye, Stephen Eustaquio, Jonathan Osorio, Tajon Buchanan and Milan Borjan) is largely in place. But come the second half of this qualification round, the majority of that core will be playing competitive games in Europe, an indication of how much top-level talent Herdman has at his disposal. Four of those players will be in additional competitions throughout qualifying — five, should Club Brugge sneak into the Champions League round of 16 so Buchanan can make his debut in that competition once he joins the club in January.
