Something happened on March 28 that hasnSA国际影视传媒檛 happened in 36 years.
It was the day CanadaSA国际影视传媒檚 menSA国际影视传媒檚 national soccer team finally qualified for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar and did so in rather emphatic fashion, beating Jamaica in Toronto by a score of 4-0 to grab one of the automatic qualification spots up for grabs in the CONCACAF region (thatSA国际影视传媒檚 North America, the Caribbean and Central America because they couldnSA国际影视传媒檛 find a smaller acronym than one where it appears a child was playing with a keyboard). ItSA国际影视传媒檚 the second time Canada has managed to get in on the big dance following qualifying for the 1986 event in Mexico.
I will admit SA国际影视传媒� I never thought they would ever get back there again and I was wrong when I told people they never would. All of those years of embarrassment losing to teams which had populations smaller than Brantford, Ont., all those years of looking like a second-rate bunch, all those years of just not playing well SA国际影视传媒� all gone now. Here I thought winning the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2000 would have been the brightest light this country would ever have on the international soccer scene and even that was a fluke. Had they lost the coin toss to South Korea that year, we would still be talking about how weSA国际影视传媒檙e the country that never was.
1986, to me, was the greatest moment in Canadian menSA国际影视传媒檚 soccer simply because it was so momentous. A bunch of guys who mostly played indoor professionally in the U.S. because there was no professional outdoor league in Canada at the time. Colin Miller was perhaps the biggest name on the team SA国际影视传媒� he played for Rangers in Scotland at the time. Randy Samuel was with Eindhoven in the Netherlands and Paul James played in Mexico but that was it. They managed to win CONCACAF by beating Honduras, 2-1, in St. JohnSA国际影视传媒檚 in September 1985 and the party was on.
It didnSA国际影视传媒檛 go the way we would have liked: lost all three group games and couldnSA国际影视传媒檛 score a goal but we got a taste of what it was all about.
Then came the 1994 qualification cycle, the year I thought was the last, best chance we had. That team had some serious firepower: Miller, Alex Bunbury (still my favourite Canadian soccer player ever), Frank Yallop, Craig Forrest as goalkeeper and several others who had outdoor professional experience. All we needed to do was beat Mexico at Varsity Stadium in a win-and-in game and we would be back. I was there that summer day in 1993 and the atmosphere was something you would expect at a Stanley Cup game. It was raucous and we were ready for a party.
Of course, Mexico had to go and ruin the party by winning, 2-1. You could literally hear the deflating sound being let out of Varsity. Mexico qualified and we didnSA国际影视传媒檛. That was a long train ride home. Sure, the guys still had a chance through the intercontinental route but that fell flat as we lost to Australia in a two-leg series. The game against Mexico killed the team because they had put everything into it.
This current bunch, under the lead of John Herdman, came together and really looked like the best team in CONCACAF from the start. Cyle Larin has become the offensive star of the team and Milan Borjan has been a wall between the pipes in goal but the big difference is the team itself.
In Herdman, the menSA国际影视传媒檚 team got someone who understands Canadian soccer. After all, Herdman had coached the national womenSA国际影视传媒檚 team to great success SA国际影视传媒� two Olympic bronze medals and a Pan-American Games gold medal among his resume. He took over the menSA国际影视传媒檚 program in 2018 and itSA国际影视传媒檚 turned into the best decision Canada Soccer has made in a long time. HeSA国际影视传媒檚 been the boss for 40 games, winning 29, drawing four and only losing seven.
But hereSA国际影视传媒檚 the big thing: players finally want to play for the national team. ThatSA国际影视传媒檚 not how it used to be because anyone who was any good and was eligible to play for Canada found a way to play for a country not named Canada. Borjan could have chosen to play for his birth nation of Croatia, Alphonso Davies could have made the decision to represent Ghana SA国际影视传媒� where he was born SA国际影视传媒� and even Ike Ugbo, who had a choice of either England, where he was born, or Nigeria, where his parents are from.
But they chose to stay and even if they thought cracking the national team here would have been easier than somewhere else, they could have gone and probably have success. Why play for a team that canSA国际影视传媒檛 do anything on the international scene? Why bother showing up when we know what the result will most likely be? But they stayed and thatSA国际影视传媒檚 how weSA国际影视传媒檝e arrived to this point.
So the menSA国际影视传媒檚 team will take their sword (yes, they travel with a sword SA国际影视传媒� neat idea, actually) to Qatar and will be a thorn in the side of more than one team. The attitude will be different because they know they can hang with the best.
And besides, weSA国际影视传媒檝e got one up on Italy. Italy cannae dae it SA国际影视传媒榗ause they didnae qualify! Hey!
(ISA国际影视传媒檝e always wanted a way to work in AllySA国际影视传媒檚 Tartan Army into Sports Talk SA国际影视传媒� Andy Cameron, you legend.)
