Barring an unprecedented collapse in qualifying, Canada’s 36-year World Cup drought will end this week when coach John Herdman’s side punches its ticket for this year’s tournament in Qatar, Nov. 21-Dec. 18.
With three games remaining, Canada tops the table in the final round of CONCACAF qualifying with a 7-0-4 record, and enjoys an eight-point advantage over fourth-place Panama. The United States and Mexico are tied for second place, two points behind Canada. Costa Rica is fifth, trailing Panama by a single point. The top three in the eight-team group automatically qualify for Qatar.
Canada’s remaining schedule:
March 24: at Costa Rica, 10 p.m. ET
March 27: vs. Jamaica in Toronto, 4 p.m. ET
March 30: at Panama, 9 p.m. ET
A win against Costa Rica would clinch a World Cup berth for Canada and send it back to the tournament for the first time since 1986 in Mexico, Canada’s only previous World Cup appearance. Even if Canada doesn’t win in Costa Rica, it could still clinch on Thursday if other results go its way, most notably a Panama loss.
As it stands, it would be harder for the undefeated Canadians to fail to qualify, so it appears inevitable they are going to book their spot at the World Cup. It’s just a matter of when it will happen during this international window.
The historic sense of the occasion is not lost on the Canadian players.
“We’re aware of how close we are. It’s exciting,” midfielder Jonathan Osorio said.
WATCH | Canada scores big win over U.S.:
Canada inches closer to World Cup qualification
2 months ago
Duration 2:01
The Canadian men’s soccer team remains at the top of the World Cup qualifying standings after beating Honduras 2-0. Even with star player Alphonso Davies sidelined, there’s hope Canada can beat the arch-rival United States on Sunday. 2:01
Still, there is an overwhelming sense inside the Canadian camp that the team can’t allow itself to get swept up in the excitement, or take its eye off the ball for a single second. They need to show the same singular focus in dispatching the region’s top nations (including wins over higher-ranked Mexico and the U.S.) to get to this point in order to cross the finish line.
“It’s tough because there’s so much you hear, so much from the outside. Even my own family members: ‘Oh my God, you’re almost there.’ It’s tough to ignore,” said Osorio, who plays professionally for Toronto FC of the Major Soccer League. “But at the same time, I try to keep my feet on the ground. It still hasn’t happened yet. We have to make it happen.”
‘We’re not finished’
It’s a sentiment echoed by teammate Mark-Anthony Kaye, who said the Canadian team is staying in the moment.
“We pride ourselves on being humble,” Kaye said. “At the same time, we know we’ve done a good job, but we haven’t really done anything yet. We haven’t gotten to our goal. I think the humble part is keeping us on task … It allows us to hold each other accountable because we know that there’s a bigger goal at the end, and we’re not there yet.”
Fellow midfielder Liam Fraser added: “It’s definitely a time where people can get ahead of themselves … The mindset here [of] players coming into camp is at the end of the day the job hasn’t been completed yet, we’re not finished.
“Until we cross the ‘t’s’ and dot the ‘i’s’ everyone’s mindset is we have to go into this first game, and second game and third game with the mentality we have to win.”
Canada finds itself in this advantageous position after a hugely successful January window that saw it record wins over Honduras, the U.S. and El Salvador to keep alive its unbeaten streak in the CONCACAF qualifiers.
WATCH | Jonathan David’s spectacular goal clinches win over El Salvador:
Jonathan David, Milan Borjan clinch Canada’s CONCACAF win over El Salvador
2 months ago
Duration 2:11
In the 93rd minute, Milan Borjan made a big save at one end, and then Jonathan David stole the throw-in and scored at the other end to cinch Canada’s 2-0 win over El Salvador in their FIFA World Cup CONCACAF qualifier road match. 2:11
Like they did two months ago, the Canadians are slated to play three games in three different countries over a seven-day period. It’s a gruelling schedule, but the stakes are much higher this time.
“It’s going to be a very similar window with the amount of travel, and I think these games will be a little bit more intense just because we are getting to the end of qualifying, and two of the teams [Costa Rica and Panama] are fighting for the last two spots of qualifying. They’re big games,” Osorio said.
A quick look at Herdman’s 25-man roster reveals one notable absence, that of star Alphonso Davies.
Davies, 21, has been sidelined for both his pro club, Bayern Munich, and Canada’s team since January when he was diagnosed with myocarditis, a mild heart condition, following a bout of COVID. He returned to training last week, but Bayern manager Julian Nagelsmann said Davies is at least three weeks away from returning, which ruled him out for Canada’s upcoming matches.
Ordinarily, the loss of Davies would be a big blow for the Canadians, as the Bayern Munich star is widely regarded as one of the best left fullbacks in the world. He’s also been a key contributor to Canada’s attack, with five goals during these CONCACAF qualifiers, and 10 goals and 15 assists in 30 appearances (26 starts) since making his international debut in 2017.
But Canada proved it can more than get by without its top star, posting three huge wins in January’s international window when Davies was also ruled out.
This qualifying campaign has been a grind for Canada, but it’s also been a magical ride for the team, one that Herdman will be sad to see come to a conclusion next week in Panama.
“I don’t think anyone wants it to end. We’ve really enjoyed the experience,” Herdman said. “When you look back there’s been some amazing moments that have shaped the team. As a coach, as a staff, as a player group we’ve grown. We’ve grown massively through this period.”
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — DeMar DeRozan scored 27 points in a record-setting performance and the Sacramento Kings beat the Toronto Raptors 122-107 on Wednesday night.
Domantas Sabonis added 17 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds for his third triple-double of the season for Sacramento. He shot 6 for 6 from the field and 5 for 5 at the free-throw line.
Keegan Murray chipped in with 22 points and 12 rebounds, and De’Aaron Fox scored 21.
The 35-year-old DeRozan has scored at least 20 points in each of his first eight games with the Kings, breaking a franchise mark established by Chris Webber when he reached 20 in his first seven games with Sacramento in 1999.
DeRozan spent the past three seasons with the Chicago Bulls. The six-time All-Star also has played for Toronto and San Antonio during his 16-year NBA career.
RJ Barrett had 23 points to lead the Raptors. Davion Mitchell scored 20 in his first game in Sacramento since being traded to Toronto last summer.
Takeaways
Raptors: Toronto led for most of the first three quarters before wilting in the fourth. The Raptors were outscored 33-14 in the final period.
Kings: Fox played strong defense but struggled again shooting from the floor as he is dealing with a finger injury. Fox went 5 for 17 and just 2 of 8 on 3-pointers. He is 5 for 25 from beyond the arc in his last three games.
Key moment
The Kings trailed 95-89 early in the fourth before going on a 9-0 run that gave them the lead for good. DeRozan started the spurt with a jumper, and Malik Monk scored the final seven points.
Key stat
Sabonis had the eighth game in the NBA since at least 1982-83 with a triple-double while missing no shots from the field or foul line. The previous player to do it was Josh Giddey for Oklahoma City against Portland on Jan. 11.
Up next
Raptors: At the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night, the third stop on a five-game trip.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps are one win away from moving on to the next round of the Major League Soccer playoffs.
To get there, however, the Whitecaps will need to pull off the improbable by defeating the powerhouse Los Angeles FC for a second straight game.
Vancouver blanked the visitors 3-0 on Sunday to level their best-of-three first-round playoff series at a game apiece. As the matchup shifts back to California for a decisive Game 3 on Friday, the Whitecaps are looking for a repeat performance, said striker Brian White.
“We take the good and the bad from last game, learn from what we could have done better and go to LAFC with confidence and, obviously, with a whole lot of respect,” he said.
“We know that we can go there and give them a very good fight and hopefully come away with a win.”
The winner of Friday’s game will face the No. 4-seed Seattle Sounders in a one-game Western Conference semifinal on Nov. 23 or 24.
The ‘Caps finished the regular season eighth in the west with a 13-13-8 record and have since surprised many with their post-season play.
First, Vancouver trounced its regional rivals, the Portland Timbers, 5-0 in a wild-card game. Then, the squad dropped a tightly contested 2-1 decision to the top-seeded L.A. before posting a decisive home victory on Sunday.
Vancouver has scored seven goals this post-season, second only to the L.A. Galaxy (nine). Vancouver also leads the league in expected goals (6.84) through the playoffs.
No one outside of the club expected the Whitecaps to win when the Vancouver-L. A. series began, said defender Ranko Veselinovic.
“We’ve shown to ourselves that we can compete with them,” he said.
Now in his fifth season with the ‘Caps, Veselinovic said Friday’s game will be the biggest he’s played for the team.
“We haven’t had much success in the playoffs so, definitely, this is the one that can put our season on another level,” he said.
This is the second year in a row the Whitecaps have faced LAFC in the first round of the playoffs and last year, Vancouver was ousted in two straight games.
The team isn’t thinking about revenge as it prepares for Game 3, White said.
“More importantly than (beating LAFC), we want to get to the next round,” he said. “LAFC’s a very good team. We’ve come up against them a number of times in different competitions and they always seem to get the better of us. So it’d be huge for us to get the better of them this time.”
Earning a win last weekend required slowing L.A.’s transition game and limiting offensive opportunities for the team’s big stars, including Denis Bouanga.
Those factors will be important again on Friday, said Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini, who warned that his team could face a different style of game.
“I think the most important thing is going to be to match their intensity at the beginning of the game,” he said. “Because I think they’re going to come at us a million miles per hour.”
The ‘Caps will once again look to captain Ryan Gauld for some offensive firepower. The Scottish attacking midfielder leads MLS in playoff goals with five and has scored in all three of Vancouver’s post-season appearances this year.
Gearing up for another do-or-die matchup is exciting, Gauld said.
“Knowing it’s a winner-takes-all kind of game, being in that kind of environment is nice,” he said. “It’s when you see the best in players.”
LAFC faces the bulk of the pressure heading into the matchup, Sartini said, given the club’s appearances in the last two MLS Cup finals and its 2022 championship title.
“They’re supposed to win and we are not,” the coach said. “But it’s beautiful to have a little bit of pressure on us, too.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
Each PWHL team operated under its city name, with players wearing jerseys featuring the league’s logo in its inaugural season before names and logos were announced last month.
The Toronto Sceptres, Montreal Victoire, Ottawa Charge, Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost and New York Sirens will start the PWHL’s second season on Nov. 30 with jerseys designed to reflect each team’s identity and to be sold to the public as replicas.
Led by PWHL vice-president of brand and marketing Kanan Bhatt-Shah, the league consulted Creative Agency Flower Shop to design the jerseys manufactured by Bauer, the PWHL said Thursday in a statement.
“Players and fans alike have been waiting for this moment and we couldn’t be happier with the six unique looks each team will don moving forward,” said PWHL senior vice president of business operations Amy Scheer.
“These jerseys mark the latest evolution in our league’s history, and we can’t wait to see them showcased both on the ice and in the stands.”
Training camps open Tuesday with teams allowed to carry 32 players.
Each team’s 23-player roster, plus three reserves, will be announced Nov. 27.
Each team will play 30 regular-season games, which is six more than the first season.
Minnesota won the first Walter Cup on May 29 by beating Boston three games to two in the championship series.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
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