There is a storm brewing in Canada. No, it is not a typical Canadian surge of snow that will inevitably sweep across the nation as the winter months approach. Instead, it’s a soccer storm that has begun to spread across the country. If it hasn’t hit you yet, it just might in the new year.
The storm is brought on by the Canadian men’s national soccer team, who are in the process of doing some incredible things. Heading into the winter break of the CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers, they sit atop the table as the best team in the group and have yet to lose a single game of the eight they’ve played so far.
In this tournament-style system, the top three teams in the qualifiers make it to the World Cup, with a fourth qualifying for a playoff-elimination round. The World Cup will take place in Qatar next summer.
Needless to say, this is big news for Canadian soccer. The only time Canada has ever qualified for a World Cup was in 1986, when they failed to score a single goal in three losses. That was a fluke run with a team full of players who quite frankly didn’t have any business playing on the same field as some of the best in the world.
This year’s team is different. They are talented, well-coached, well-balanced and unlike any teams of the past. They are shaping both the present and future of soccer in this country. Unlike the 1986 team, this year is just the beginning of the growth of soccer in Canada.
Look no further than superstar midfielder Alphonso Davies, who grew up in Edmonton, Alta. He is now one of, if not the best talents Canadian soccer has ever seen, playing for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga and making a name for himself as a superstar.
This team is riddled with quality and depth. Along with Davies and fullback Alistair Johnston, Canada’s roster includes Cyle Larin, Jonathan David, Tajon Buchanan and Stephen Eustáquio, all of whom are young players who will undoubtedly be members of the national team for years to come.
Soccer is one of the most popular youth sports in Canada and this team’s run, along with the incredible run by the women’s national team to win gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, shows how much soccer in Canada is growing.
The CONCACAF qualifiers have also felt like a changing of the guard.
The most recent game for Canada took place Nov. 16 at a frigid and snowy Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, and when I say frigid, I mean freezing. The snow, cleared from the frozen field throughout the day, sat on the banks of the pitch, with fans bundled up to brave the conditions. It looked like the NHL’s Winter Classic for soccer.
Canada came home with a 2-1 victory in a game that will forever live on as “Iceteca,” a play on Mexico City’s intimidating Estadio Azteca. The win marks their first against Mexico in over 20 years.
This is a qualifying group that Mexico, one of the top soccer nations in the world, had previously coasted through. But Canada seems to have matched, if not surpassed Mexico as a top team in CONCACAF.
Still not a soccer country? 🥶 https://t.co/IJao3ufPMz
— Alistair Johnston (@_a_johnston) November 17, 2021
“Still not a soccer country?” Johnston tweeted after the game. It certainly seems to be heading in that direction.
The CONCACAF qualifiers are not a blip on the radar. The new soccer wave brought on by this team is sweeping the nation and changing the landscape of Canadian soccer. This wave will carry the team through the remaining six qualifying games and, if all bodes well, to Qatar next summer.
Photo by Ankush Nath Sehgal via Unsplash.
