Canada's 'fearless' new generation are no longer a laughing stock
Canada’s ‘FEARLESS’ new generation are no longer the laughing stock of North America: Transformed by an ex-English university lecturer, the 2026 co-hosts are building a legacy as they stand on the brink of a first World Cup appearance since 1986
- Canada need one more point to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar
- It would be only their second ever World Cup appearance, after Mexico in 1986
- Englishman John Herdman, who used to be a university lecturer, is the manager
- He has excelled in changing the culture and helping build this team’s legacy
- Canada, along with Mexico and the United States, will co-host 2026 World Cup
It was February 2019 when manager John Herdman sat down in front of reporters, looked them in the eye and declared his unfancied side were bound for Qatar.
‘We’re going to qualify for 2022 Qatar,’ the Englishman declared. ‘And lay the foundation for 2026.’
Sat 79th in the FIFA world rankings, and with just one World Cup appearance in their history coming in Mexico in 1986, few believed him, not that Herdman cared too much.
For Herdman, a former university lecturer in the north east of England, his plan was clear: transform Canada’s men’s team from a laughing stock to a side an entire nation can rally behind in Qatar.
Now he’s within touching distance of being able to sit back down to say, ‘I told you so’.
Canada’s men are within touching distance of qualifying for their first World Cup since 1986
They now have a team that the country can get behind and a legacy is being developed
Only team captain and 38-year-old midfielder Atiba Hutchinson, of Turkish side Besiktas, was alive the last time Canada’s men packed their bags for a World Cup.
In a group with France, Hungary and the Soviet Union, Canada were blown away. They headed back home having lost all three games and not a single goal scored.
And so when Herdman boldly talked up a spot at Qatar, there was more than one raised eyebrow in that room of media members.
Much of the credit is being laid at the door of Herdman, a former semi-professional footballer in England.
Herdman, who grew up in County Durham, England, as the son and grandson of steelworkers, a key part of his ethos since taking over in January 2018 has been on culture.
Englishman John Herdman (right) has transformed the culture to navigate them towards Qatar
In the last seven days Canada have beaten Honduras, the USA (pictured) and El Salvador
He took his coaching badges as a 16-year-old and has honed his philosophy from spells in South America, where he closely observed the methods of Brazilian coaches.
A spell with Sunderland’s academy soon followed and in three years at the club he worked with youngsters such as Jordan Henderson, who has gone on to captain Liverpool and thrive for the England national team.
Balancing his work with Sunderland’s academy alongside lecturing at Northumbria University as part of their sports science department four days a week, Herdman has put in the work to pave the way for this success.
‘I can’t remember when I haven’t done an 80-plus-hour week,’ Herdman once said.
‘It’s my personality, probably my mental disorder… when I’m tuned into something I’m passionate about, I’m a bit crazy about it.’
Herdman made his name in North America as coach of the Canadian Women’s team from 2011 and he showed his class in guiding them to gold in the same year at the Pan American Games.
Herdman, a former university lecturer in England, has enhanced his reputation in Canada
Bronze medals at the London Olympic Games in 2012 and at Rio 2016 kept the medals rolling in before the men’s national team called on him.
Canada’s men had not managed to reach the final round of World Cup qualifying since 1998 and players were declining national team invitations.
Games were being lost before a ball had been kicked. They were proving a soft touch, a laughing stock.
CANADA’S STARTING XI VS EL SALVADOR
4-3-3
GK: Milan Borjan (Red Star Belgrade)
RB: Richie Laryea (Nottingham Forest)
CB: Doneil Henry (Free agent)
CB: Scott Kennedy (SSV Jahn Regensburg)
LB: Sam Adekugbe (Hatayspor)
RCM: Atiba Hutchinson (Besiktas)
CM: Stephen Eustaquio (Porto)
LCM: Liam Millar (Basel)
RW: Junior Hoilett (Reading FC)
ST: Jonathan David (LOSC Lille)
LW: Jonathan Osorio (Toronto FC)
Make no mistake that this is no story of all highs and no lows.
Months after Herdman had declared he was leading Canada to Qatar he and his players were made to do plenty of soul-searching after a damning defeat to Haiti at the Gold Cup.
Haiti came back from 2-0 down at half-time to win, progressing to the semi-finals at Canada’s expense.
Crestfallen in his press conference, Herdman said: ‘We said that it would come down to a battle of wills and just felt at the end we didn’t have what it took, we just didn’t have enough.’
Progress was feeling like one step forward, two steps back, and that second-half collapse against Haiti felt like a turning point for Herdman and his players.
Fear Nothing quickly became the unofficial mantra for Herdman and his team. They needed to believe they were heading to Qatar or it was never going to happen.
The qualifying route for the 32-team tournament saw Canada make light work of the in preliminary rounds, winning all six of their matches against lower-ranked opponents to an aggregate score of 31-1.
Then came the make-or-break ‘Octagonal’ route where eight teams would battle it out – the top three go straight to Qatar, the fourth-placed side face a play-off.
Expectations – given Mexico, the USA, and Costa Rica have proven formidable – stood that Canada can squeeze into that third spot. What has followed has been nothing short of extraordinary.
Herdman has only lost six games since taking over in 2018 and his side are now just one point away from Qatar. En route it required this bold new generation to shatter records and banish the ghosts of the national team’s past.
They won their first World Cup qualifier in Honduras for 37 years on January 28, then followed that up with a 2-0 win over rivals United States in Hamilton.
Jonathan David, a striker for Lille in France, has become one of the world’s brightest talents
A gruelling seven days ended with a 2-0 win away in El Salvador for the first time in qualifying since 1986.
Herdman has dusted off the cobwebs of a team that was routinely being overlooked and injected a swagger and a confidence that has a country, that will co-host the World Cup in 2026, dreaming of glory.
‘The team is fearless,’ captain Hutchinson said after the El Salvador win, in which he scored one of the goals.
‘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.’
There is a sense of patriotism in this Herdman team that was clearly missing for many years
Factor in too that three wins in seven days have all come without star man Alphonso Davies, who is sidelined with myocarditis, a heart muscle inflammation.
The Bayern Munich full-back is one of the shining lights in Herdman’s group but he is not alone – and much of this generation’s success is down to Major League Soccer’s Canadian expansion.
The collapse of the Canadian Soccer League (CSL) in 1992 damaged the national team as players were finding opportunities limited abroad.
What an MLS expansion – to Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver – has done is provide a pathway.
Canada will co-host the World Cup in 2026 and so it is paramount they get to Qatar on merit
Take this current team, with Davies, Sam Adekugbe, Liam Fraser, Doneil Henry and Jonathan Osorio, all emerging through Canadian MLS academies, and the standards have risen exponentially.
Canada are unbeaten through 11 games in the current qualifying cycle and know they need just one more point from their remaining three games. They are the envy of North America.
‘It means everything,’ Hutchinson added.
‘This team, this program, we’ve gone through a lot. We’ve had a lot of rough times and heartbreaking results.
‘You go into games with different feelings now. The confidence is there.
Players are getting more recognition and gone are the days of Canada being a laughing stock
‘We’ve got a whole nation that’s finally behind us, supporting us. And we feel that and that really pushes us on.’
In just five years Canada’s men have gone from a mere footnote on the national sporting calendar, ranked 120th in the world to preparing to be confirmed at No 33 this month, their all-time highest FIFA ranking.
Finish the job and avoid being disgraced in Qatar and Herdman’s side will, rightly, be crowned the most talented men’s team ever fielded by Canada.
Times are changing and with that comes a legacy to put pride into a nation starved of footballing success stories. Here’s one and things are only looking up with the World Cup coming to town in 2026.
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