AL RAYYAN, Qatar – The Canadian men’s national team made history, just not enough of it.
As breathtaking as the team’s performances were in various stages, Canada still suffered defeat in all three games. It’s difficult to draw sweeping conclusions based on small sample sizes in tournament settings, let alone in a nation’s first men’s World Cup in 36 years.
The underlying numbers highlight Canada’s misfortune – it had the best expected goal (xG) difference in Group F, per FBRef.com. Therein lies the fun of a three-game group stage in a high-variance sport.
There were still plenty of valuable lessons for Canada despite the losses, though, and Les Rouges can apply those “learnings” – as coach John Herdman refers to them – when the country co-hosts the 2026 World Cup.
Canada will be expected to show significant progression in three-and-a-half years. In order for that to occur, there are a few factors to consider.
Here is how Canada can build on this World Cup run to bounce back in 2026:
HAVE MORE “TIER 1” PLAYERS
Back in 2019, Herdman received backlash for referring to his defence as “Tier 3” in a live television interview.
“If you put (the squad) on paper, it’s a Tier 3 back four, and a Tier 1 front four in Concacaf,” Herdman said at the time. “I’ve got a back four that doesn’t get regular minutes, that are young and haven’t really made their mark on the international, or even national, domestic stage.”
In hindsight, those weren’t outlandish comments. Canada’s defence was among the best in World Cup qualifying. But it also overachieved its xG conceded by five goals, mainly due to stellar goalkeeping from Milan Borjan.
Once Canada faced top opposition (more on that later), it was punished for every little mistake, from Borjan’s blunders or the defence’s aerial weaknesses against Morocco to not tracking runners in the 4-1 defeat to Croatia.
Croatia has 19 “Tier 1” players who are either playing in Europe’s top-five leagues or for big Portuguese, Dutch or Belgian clubs that are regular participants in the UEFA Champions League. Belgium has 21. Morocco, the Group F winners, has 14.
Canada has six. Only seven nations have fewer at this World Cup and only one – Australia – advanced to the round of 16.
“That’s one of the big questions that we’ve got to keep answering as a country,” Herdman said, when asked if the national team needs more top-tier players. “Now, our players have been seen.
“We know that people around the world are looking at this country saying, ‘Wow, they’ve got some good, young, talented players.'”
When Morocco qualified for the 2018 World Cup, it was its first appearance at the tournament since 1998. The North Africans were placed in Pot 4 and drew Spain, Portugal and Iran. They put up a good fight but ultimately finished bottom of Group B.
Morocco had eight Tier 1 players at that time, yet it paled in comparison to Spain and Portugal.
But four years later, Morocco has made steady progress in the African Cup of Nations, recruited more dual nationals and boast a squad with 14 Tier 1 players at this tournament. It topped the group over Croatia and Belgium to set up its first knockout-stage match in 36 years.
Canada’s strength is its diversity. There are countless dual nationals who are in some of Europe’s biggest academies who may want to represent Canada. The Canadian Premier League and Major League Soccer offer two new pathways that didn’t exist three years ago (in the CPL’s case).
Alistair Johnston is about to join Scottish giants Celtic, where the pressure to perform is immense. He’ll play in the Champions League. Ismael Kone will likely join him in Europe with several clubs reportedly pursuing the 20-year-old midfielder.
Playing in those settings will help the players prepare for high-pressure environments in the future.
FACE MARQUEE OPPONENTS
Canada was achieving firsts before the World Cup. The Uruguay friendly in September was the first South American opponent for the men’s team in eight years.
The Canadians hadn’t even squared off with a non-Concacaf opponent in four years – Iceland’s B team in January 2020 aside – until meeting Qatar a few days before the Uruguay match.
Such is life in Concacaf.
Belgium was the first time Canada faced a top-10 team in the FIFA rankings in more than a decade. Nations League makes it tougher to arrange friendlies with those countries, but this is where reaching the World Cup unlocks new possibilities.
“Now teams will want to play Canada and teams will invite Canada,” Herdman stated.
The star power of Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David, coupled by Canada’s eye-catching performances will surely lead to more.
Friendlies, or an invite to the 2024 Copa América to square off with South America’s elite, would be a good start.
It’ll also behoove Herdman. He surely learned a lot about himself as a coach, be it tactically or otherwise, by facing other top-level coaches and national teams.
IMPROVE YOUTH PROGRAMS
This year’s crop of under-20 players was full of potential. Unfortunately, they failed to qualify for the U-20 World Cup and the 2024 Olympics by bowing out of the Concacaf U-20 Championship in the round of 16 to Guatemala.
Optimism was high after a pair of April friendlies against Costa Rica’s U-20s. Then, out of nowhere, the players looked shackled.
After the tournament, multiple sources told Sportsnet that there was a sudden shift in tactical philosophy from the April camp to the Concacaf U-20s, which likely contributed to the team’s disjointed play.
Whatever the case, the youth teams can’t underperform. The federation has missed out on several dual nationals because of a lack of camps, and for the first time in years, the U-20s gathered before the Concacaf Championship. Dual nationals were thrilled to represent Canada and spurned call-ups from other top nations in order to do so.
But whether it’s coaching or overall funding – and there’s more than $10.5 million on the way, minus the players’ cut – the youth programs need more focus.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
CALGARY – Mired in their first four-game losing skid in 20 years, the Calgary Stampeders are going back to Jake Maier at quarterback on Saturday after he was benched for a game.
It won’t be an easy assignment.
Visiting McMahon Stadium are the Eastern Conference-leading Montreal Alouettes (10-2) who own the CFL’s best record. The Stampeders (4-8) have fallen to last in the Western Conference.
“Six games is plenty of time, but also it is just six games,” said Maier. “We’ve got to be able to get on the right track.”
Calgary is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
“I do still believe in this team,” said Stampeders’ head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson. “I want to see improvement, though. I want to see guys on a weekly basis elevating their game, and we haven’t been doing that.”
Maier is one of the guys under the microscope. Two weeks ago, the second-year starter threw four interceptions in a 35-20 home loss to the Edmonton Elks.
After his replacement, rookie Logan Bonner, threw five picks in last week’s 37-16 loss to the Elks in Edmonton, the football is back in Maier’s hands.
“Any time you fail or something doesn’t go your way in life, does it stink in the moment? Yeah. But then the days go on and you learn things about yourself and you learn how to prepare a little bit better,” said Maier. “It makes you mentally tougher.”
Dickenson wants to see his quarterback making better decisions with the football.
“Things are going to happen, interceptions will happen, but try to take calculated risks, rather than just putting the ball up there and hoping that we catch it,” said Dickenson.
A former quarterback himself, he knows the importance of that vital position.
“You cannot win without good quarterback play,” Dickenson said. “You’ve got to be able to make some plays — off-schedule plays, move-around plays, plays that break down, plays that aren’t designed perfectly, but somehow you found the right guy, and then those big throws where you’re taking that hit.”
But it’s going to take a team effort, and that includes the club’s receiving corp.
“We always have to band together because we need everything to go right for our receivers to get the ball,” said Nik Lewis, the Stampeders’ receivers coach. “The running back has to pick up the blitz, the o-line has to block, the quarterback has to make the right reads, and then give us a catchable ball.”
Lewis brings a unique perspective to this season’s frustrations as he was a 22-year-old rookie in Calgary in 2004 when the Stamps went 4-14 under coach Matt Dunigan. They turned it around the next season and haven’t missed the playoffs since.”
“Thinking back and just looking at it, there’s just got to be an ultimate belief that you can get it done. Look at Montreal, they were 6-7 last year and they’ve gone 18-2 since then,” said Lewis.
Montreal is also looking to rebound from a 37-23 loss to the B.C. Lions last week. But for head coach Jason Maas, he says his team’s mindset doesn’t change, regardless of what happened the previous week.
“Last year when we went through a four-game losing streak, you couldn’t tell if we were on a four-game winning streak or a four-game losing streak by the way the guys were in the building, the way we prepared, the type of work ethic we have,” said Maas. “All our standards are set, so that’s all we focus on.”
While they may have already clinched a playoff spot, Alouettes’ quarterback Cody Fajardo says this closing stretch remains critical because they want to finish the season strong, just like last year when they won their final five regular-season games before ultimately winning the Grey Cup.
“It doesn’t matter about what you do at the beginning of the year,” said Fajardo. “All that matters is how you end the year and how well you’re playing going into the playoffs so that’s what these games are about.”
The Alouettes’ are kicking off a three-game road stretch, one Fajardo looks forward to.
“You understand what kind of team you have when you play on the road because it’s us versus the world mentality and you can feel everybody against you,” said Fajardo. “Plus, I always tend to find more joy in silencing thousands of people than bringing thousands of people to their feet.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
