Canada's men's soccer team enjoying genuine coming of age amid World Cup qualifying
Final round of qualifying proving Canadians are no longer CONCACAF minnows
It used to be that the Canadian men's team cowered at the feet of CONCACAF's elite nations.
Games were routinely lost before a ball was even kicked, such was the psychological advantage that Mexico, Honduras and other top teams in the region held over timid and unassuming Canada.
Those days are long gone. Canada has successfully turned the tables, and not only does it now walk among the CONCACAF giants, it towers over them.
Canada all but punched its ticket for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar by going unbeaten in the latest international window with three wins, capping things off with a 2-0 victory in El Salvador in CONCACAF qualifying on Wednesday night. Veteran Atiba Hutchinson and Jonathan David scored for Canada, who have now won six games in a row to remain in first place in the CONCACAF table with a 7-0-4 record.
The win in El Salvador, which was Canada's first since 1996, followed in the footsteps of similarly gritting victories in Honduras and at home to the United States last week. The Reds didn't officially clinch a World Cup berth on Wednesday, but qualification is within touching distance, and is a mere formality at this point. With just three more games remaining in March for the Canadians, it would take a collapse of unprecedented proportions for them not to book their spot at the World Cup.
"We have to stay humble"
"It's going to happen. We know it's going to happen. We have to stay humble, though. We're not there yet... We're not at our target either that this team has set for themselves. We still have a few more steps we need to take to really take it where we want to get to," coach John Herdman told reporters after Wednesday's win.
El Salvador did not make things easy for Canada on a hot night in San Salvador. It was a chippy, physical affair that took its toll on a pair of teams who were both playing for the third time in a week. But the Canadians managed to grind it out, and put in a disciplined performance in less-than-ideal conditions. Midfielder Stephen Eustaquio called Estadio Cuscatlan "one of the toughest places" he's ever played in.
"We're all knackered. This has been a challenging window. We're happy we picked up the points and we're steps closer to Qatar. But this one was tricky. We lost four staff members to COVID, and three players just before departure, and then you come into a real CONCACAF environment tonight. This was a place where it was difficult," Herdman admitted.
After the game, Hutchinson spoke to the media with a poster hanging in the background that showed an image of Canada's players celebrating under the slogan "Fear Nothing." That was more than fitting.
Fear nothing has become the unofficial mantra of a Canadian team that has flawlessly navigated a gruelling CONCACAF-qualifying marathon that has taken them to Central America, the Caribbean and all points in between.
"The team is fearless. There's nobody that we fear now. We know that we can go up and play against anybody in this region - and that's because we stick together and we know and trust in each other," Hutchinson said. Indeed, the Canadians have mightily risen to the challenge that stared them down at the beginning of this journey.
Not seriously tested until now
Herdman's side was never seriously tested in the preliminary rounds of the qualifiers, winning all six games against lower-ranked opponents by a combined score of 31-1. Before this final round of World Cup qualifying, Canada played 27 games and posted 21 wins, with only six losses since Herdman took over the coaching reins in 2018.
But the overwhelming majority of those victories were against CONCACAF minnows, and only twice had Canada defeated a higher-ranked nation in the Herdman era. Questions lingered over whether the Canadians were for real, and if it had mettle to compete against the region's big boys.
Turns out they did. This final round of World Cup qualifying has marked a genuine coming of age for the Canadian men's team. Long heralded for its character and resolve, Canada is now playing with a level of confidence never seen before.
"The boys have executed. They've had that clarity and the confidence is there," Herdman said after Wednesday's win. "There's a real confidence that we're going to find a way and get the job done. So today was just another step."
Canada has successfully thrown off the shackles of past disappointments that have long weighted it down, and asserted itself as one of CONCACAF's top dogs. Games against Mexico and the U.S. are no longer feared, but rather viewed with relish and optimism.
It's ability to win games in a variety of different fashions during this qualifying run is what's been especially impressive. The Canadians were dominant on the road in Honduras, they physically bullied the Americans in Hamilton, and they overcame the fatigue factor to grind it out in El Salvador.
Having last qualified for the World Cup in 1986, Canada is on the cusp of returning to the big dance. After decades of underachievement, the Canadian men's team has dared to ask the question, "Why can't we be great?"
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