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Four games. Four wins. Zero goals conceded. Fifteen goals scored. A banner group of rising young stars, including the incomparable Alphonso Davies.
Canada’s men’s soccer team has had an unprecedented 2018 under the helm of John Herdman, rising to its highest FIFA ranking in five years. Yes, the good times are rolling.
But Herdman is waiting for the other boot to drop, because he knows having two proverbial feet on the group is going to give his team a far more stable base as they quest for their lofty goal — a 2022 World Cup berth.
“I’m telling you now, we’re going to have some bad results, and you’ve got to have them for the guys to learn from and to assess themselves,” said Herdman, whose team is ranked 76th globally. “They’ve got to experience (adversity) … they need to embrace it. (They need to realize) that at this next level, that will be the difference, whether they’ve prepared (their minds) effectively, and raising their awareness as to how our culture has to develop to ready us for those moments — because they’re coming.
“Whether it’s the off-field culture and creating more of a bond, or the clarity of our tactical identity on the field … it’s preparing us for when the, shhhhhh hits the fan, they can come back to something clear. Whether it’s heat, or a goal down, or a referee’s decision, it’s something we can come back to and identify with.
“If it’s all plain sailing and things are great, by the time we get to a big game … we’re guaranteed to fail.”
There has been little hint of that in the team’s first four games. A 1-0 friendly win over New Zealand in March, followed by three Nations League qualifying wins over the U.S. Virgin Islands (8-0), Dominica (5-0) and Saint Kitts and Nevis (1-0).
Their fourth game in the qualifying round will come in March when the Reds will host French Guiana at B.C. Place Stadium in a critical game for Canada. A win clinches a top-six spot among the 34 teams in the top table in the three-tiered Nations League and a spot in the 2019 Gold Cup.
Davies, along with fellow teens Jonathan David and Ballou Tabla, are part of an unprecedented young crop of talent that’s bolstered by veterans like Atiba Hutchinson — who scored Canada’s lone goal against SKN — and David Edgar.
“We made history this year in so many different ways,” said midfielder Russell Teibert, who has carried over his strong club play with the Vancouver Whitecaps to the national team, assisting on Hutchinson’s goal. “Obviously there’s going to be pressure when you’re playing better teams, and playing in bigger games, but pressure can be used as a motivator. No matter what pressure it is, we’re going to take it in stride.”
The excitement around the team and its young core of players is mounting, and so are the expectations. And when asked what his team’s expectations are, Herdman said: “To leave a legacy.”
“Whether that means we win a game at a World Cup, whether that means we get out of a group stage in a World Cup, or whether that means we’ve pushed further in the Hex than we’ve ever pushed before … all of those things are things that are going to be our legacy. That’s what we’re striving for.”
Tickets for March’s game against French Guiana go on sale Nov. 28 on Ticketmaster, or by phone, and will be available for as low as $20.
