John Herdman, the coach of Canada’s men’s national soccer team, wears his worry on his face.
Speaking to reporters from his Slovakian hotel room last week — ahead of all-important friendlies against World Cup-host Qatar in Vienna on Friday (1 p.m. ET), and Uruguay in Bratislava, Slovakia on Tuesday (noon ET) — he appeared wan, anxious, not his usual exuberant self.
He admitted that lately his nights have been interrupted by more than jet lag.
“These last four months since June, there just seems to be so much happening,” he said. “Some super positive, and some things that, yeah, are keeping me up at night.”
June was a reference to Canada’s previous international window, which was a debacle from the start. After guiding his team to its first World Cup in 36 years, Herdman could only watch when everything he’d so carefully built began falling apart around him.
First, Canada Soccer’s proposed Vancouver friendly against Iran was cancelled because it was an unforgivably bad idea; a hastily arranged stop-gap match against Panama was then scuttled by a player strike over their World Cup wages.
That dispute remains unresolved. And now, just two months from Canada’s World Cup opener against vaunted Belgium on Nov. 23, Herdman’s navigation of a litany of other dilemmas will dictate whether he’s able to answer, positively, one overarching question: can he recapture the sense of joy, brotherhood, and predetermination that got his team to Qatar in the first place?
“I’ve got no doubt difficult decisions are coming,” he said. “There are a lot of moving parts at this point.”
WATCH | Chris Jones breaks down Canada’s World Cup friendlies:
Canada facing tough international tests against Qatar, Uruguay ahead of World Cup
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Duration 5:48
CBC Sports’ Chris Jones breaks down the biggest storylines heading into the CanMNT’s upcoming friendlies against Qatar and Uruguay.
Unusual World Cup schedule
Unusually, this year’s World Cup will be held in the winter to avoid the worst of Qatar’s heat, interrupting the European club season. That’s compressed the fixture schedules for Canada’s best players, including Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich, Stephen Eustáquio at Porto, and Jonathan David at Lille, raising concerns of fatigue and injury.
Atiba Hutchinson, one of Canada’s spiritual leaders and the veteran captain of Turkish giant Beşiktaş, will miss this window with a bone bruise that will sideline him at least until the end of October. It would be something like a tragedy if he can’t play in the tournament he fought so hard to reach.
“It’s a tough situation,” Herdman said. “I can’t hide from it. If there’s anyone you want to see at a World Cup, it’s Atiba Hutchinson.”
In Hutchinson’s absence, David (Junior) Hoilett will take over as captain.
Tajon Buchanan, one of Canada’s most dynamic young attackers, also has been reduced to spectating so far this season. He’s recovering from a quad injury he suffered with Club Brugge, and though he’ll be present for the Uruguay portion of the window, he’s unlikely to play.
“Both club and country are trying to wrap him in cotton wool,” Herdman said.
With any luck, Canada’s roster won’t prove as injury-depleted as its European counterparts, because not as many Canadians play in the top leagues. France alone is missing a dozen players this window, including Karim Benzema, Hugo Lloris, and Ngolo Kanté. Germany’s Marco Reds wept after injuring his ankle playing for Dortmund last week, fearing he had lost his chance to go to Qatar.
Every country is a slip away from disaster.
Star Alphonso Davies will be expected to lead Canada’s offence. (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press)
Another concern for Herdman
Herdman has another, opposite concern: Several of his key players are Major League Soccer professionals, and they’ll face long competitive breaks before the World Cup kicks off. Worse, many are missing the playoffs, extending their off-seasons.
On Toronto FC alone, Jonathan Osorio, Mark-Anthony Kaye, Richie Laryea, and Doneil Henry (who recently suffered a hamstring injury) will be home by early October.
While a short recovery period might have been in order, six weeks out of competition is too much of a good thing, pushing players past the realm of rest and into the kingdom of rust.
Soccer players are ridiculously fit, able to drop an elevated heart rate by 50 beats in a minute, but that level of conditioning requires constant maintenance.
So, crucially for Canada, does team spirit.
The Canadian men topped CONCACAF to qualify for the World Cup in part because they are young and talented, but also because of the sense of purpose and unity Herdman has instilled in them.
They lugged a literal sword around, inscribed in Latin: Nihil timendum est. “Nothing should be feared.”
That’s all well and good when you have to beat the likes of Haiti. Now they’re about to meet their stiffest competition in decades — Canada has rarely faced a team with the quality and ambition of 13th-ranked Uruguay — spending their last frenzied hours together before they reunite once again in Qatar to take on the world.
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
