Having been spectators at football’s biggest party since 1986, Canada are back at the World Cup. Bolstered by Alphonso Davies, one of the true young stars of the game, the Canadians won’t be happy just showing up in Qatar. They’re looking to make some noise and pull off an upset or two.
The manager
Head coach John Herdman is undoubtedly the most important person in Canada’s transformation from being ranked 120th in the world as recently as 2017 into a CONCACAF region powerhouse.
With a persuasive and commanding speaking style and a detail-oriented daily approach, Herdman got the national team to buy into his aggressive tactics. Canada’s English manager has instilled a culture of togetherness within the squad that was previously lacking. He’s also helped raise funds for a federation that sometimes needs it.
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It’s no surprise then that Canada Soccer did not want to lose him after he had guided its women’s national team to back-to-back bronze medals in the 2012 and 2016 summer Olympics. Herdman is the first person to be a manager at the men’s and women’s World Cups, and his track record of success in Canada means you won’t find many who have a negative word to say about him.
He’s a colourful sideline character as well, constantly barking instructions in his thick Newcastle accent with his AirPods plugged in so he can hear his other coaches, and pristine white trainers on to boot.
The household name you haven’t heard of yet
If you’ve never heard of Jonathan David, you’ll see him coming a mile away.
He’s got a unique running style — a remarkably upright posture, in extreme contrast to Erling Haaland’s hunched-over sprint. When he drifts into space, as he has licence to do under Herdman, he makes the most of it: At the time of writing, David has nine goals for Ligue 1’s Lille this season, putting him just behind the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Neymar. The 22-year-old has become one of Europe’s next great young strikers and will be on the move to a top club soon enough.
Dubbed “Iceman” by Herdman, the uber-cool David doesn’t get fazed. As well as this season’s goal tally, he’s already a Ligue 1 champion and has scored in the Champions League. He has told The Athletic he’s still formulating a plan for a goal celebration should he score, but he does know how to use the spotlight: when David scored against Qatar in a September friendly, he covered up the Nike logo on his Canada jersey, which many interpreted as him showing frustration at Canada not getting a new kit to wear at the World Cup.
Strengths
In the 14-match final round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying, Canada finished top of the table, with the most goals scored (23) and the fewest conceded (seven). The World Cup itself is a different beast, however, and that’s something Herdman has echoed plenty of times in recent availabilities.
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It’s clear Canada will be relying on their transition game to find success in Qatar, and with good reason.
Left winger Alphonso Davies, of Bayern Munich, was recently named the fastest player in German Bundesliga history with a top speed of 22.69mph (36.51kph). And he is just one of a number of pacy wide men in the squad.
Sam Adekugbe, who plays for Turkish side Hatayspor, is a tremendous athlete who can overlap Davies down the left. Belgian side Club Bruges’ Tajon Buchanan combines speed and fearless dribbling ability on the right. Winning balls in their own half, moving forward with abandon and relying on David or Cyle Larin, also of Club Bruges, to finish with limited space could be the key to Canada pulling off an upset against Belgium, Croatia or Morocco.
Weaknesses
The spine of this side is full of question marks.
Stephen Eustaquio is playing the best football of his life right now for Porto in Portugal, but his pivot partner, 39-year-old Atiba Hutchinson, has hardly played this season for Turkey’s Besiktas thanks to injury. Jonathan Osorio, a technically competent advanced central midfielder, is recovering from a “neurological dysfunction” after an elbow to the head playing for Toronto in MLS. He last played a full 90 minutes in August.
Further back, Canada’s centre-backs offer little speed and their depth is limited after Scott Kennedy was lost to a shoulder injury. Defending close to goal can sometimes feel frantic.
Finally, 35-year-old Milan Borjan is the emotional heartbeat of this Canadian side in goal and has experience in European football — after spells in Bulgaria and Poland, he’s now at Red Star Belgrade in Serbia — but he’s prone to at least one gaffe a game, which could end up costing Canada.
Local knowledge
The make-up of this team is as diverse as any other in Qatar. Fourteen of the 26 players are part of visible minorities in Canada. Seven players were born outside the country’s borders. Five more are dual nationals, some of whom played for youth national teams other than Canada. And even more are first-generation Canadians, with their parents having emigrated from the likes of Colombia and Jamaica.
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“I think that’s the beauty of this country and this national team,” said defender Richie Laryea, whose parents are from Ghana. “It’s so diverse and multicultural and we come together as one.”
Expectations back home
After steamrolling through qualifying, there is a sense of hopeful optimism. Most media are giving Canada a chance to nab a win, but with the understanding that their group is arguably the toughest in the World Cup, so advancing to the round of 16 feels like a long shot.
Because of the goodwill this team have built up, simply competing for a full 90 minutes in each of those three group games will likely garner respect from media and fans back home. Their aggressive, attack-first style might leave them open to counter-attacks, but it’s an approach new fans in Canada will certainly get behind. Herdman’s job isn’t in any danger, even if they bow out with zero points.
Their build-up to the tournament hasn’t exactly been smooth, though — the team even went on strike in June, refusing to play a friendly against Panama over a variety of issues, including match fees.
They have yet to truly hit wide-scale popularity in Canada and convert the thousands of fans of other nations who call it home, but that could happen at the World Cup. A boost did come a year ago, when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stopped by for a training session, prompting Herdman to quip he’d only stop training for “the Prime Minister or Katy Perry”.
Read more: See the rest of The Athletic’s World Cup 2022 squad guides
Read more: Belgium vs Canada result: Batshuayi strikes on the break after Davies misses penalty
Read more: Croatia beat Canada 4-1 to eliminate the Canadians from knockout stage contention
(Main graphic — photo: Getty Images/design: Sam Richardson)
