Doha
When Canada take to the pitch in their first World Cup match in 36 years today, a country enamoured with ice hockey will showcase how much its men’s soccer has evolved since they crashed out of the 1986 tournament winless and goalless.
Canada has produced an Olympic gold medal-winning women’s team, but the men’s side lagged behind their peers until manager John Herdman took the reins in 2018.
For Bob Lenarduzzi, who represented Canada at the 1986 World Cup, Canada’s current level has been achieved thanks to the launch of a professional league in North America.
“The biggest difference and what got the ball rolling was the Americans being awarded the World Cup in 1994,” Lenarduzzi told Reuters. “One of the prerequisites was that a league needed to be started. The advent of MLS (Major League Soccer) has given way more opportunities for players to play.”
Lenarduzzi, who played for English side Reading as a young professional, said Canadian men no longer necessarily needed to seek opportunities in Europe to develop their skills. The proper infrastructure and expertise are now available in Canada.
Paul Dolan, a goalkeeper in the 1986 World Cup squad, said the globalisation of the sport through the broadcast of Premier League matches and FIFA video games was helping soccer to infiltrate Canadian sport culture.
“That has made world soccer visible in Canada,” he told Reuters. “It’s made it more aspirational for young kids to maybe play soccer instead of hockey.”
Canada are in a tough group with second-ranked Belgium as well as 2018 World Cup finalists Croatia and Morocco, who were unbeaten in African qualifying.
Canada have qualified automatically as one of the hosts of the 2026 tournament and will benefit from the expansion of the 32-nation tournament to 48.
Davies FIT FOR opener, SAYS Herdman
Alphonso Davies will be fully fit to face Belgium today as Canada prepare for their first World Cup game in 36 years, coach John Herdman confirmed yesterday.Bayern Munich star Davies, Canada’s most potent attacking weapon, has been struggling to regain full fitness after suffering a hamstring strain earlier this month. However Canada’s English coach Herdman told reporters yesterday that the 22-year-old would line-up against the Red Devils in the two sides’ Group F game at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium. “I don’t think there was any doubt we’d be starting him,” Herdman said at a pre-match press conference when asked about Davies’ fitness.
“But you’ve got to follow the medical advice. Our goal first and foremost was the safety of the players, and that’s paramount. So we’ve had to manage that process.”
Meanwhile, Belgium coach Roberto Martinez yesterday said his side have “huge respect”
for Canada who will be playing their first World Cup game for 36 years when the teams meet in Qatar.
Martinez’s side finished third in Russia four years ago and will be heavy favourites against Canada, playing at the finals for the first time since 1986, today.
Belgium faced a similar proposition in 2018 when they beat tournament debutants Panama 3-0 in their opening game with three second-half goals.
“We have huge respect for what Canada have achieved because when you finish top of the (qualifying) group ahead of national teams such as United States and Mexico, it’s something with substance, it’s not a coincidence,” Martinez said.
“They look like a team, not just a group of players coming together to play for the national team. That’s a very dangerous situation, when you’re playing a team with nothing to lose. We saw that with Panama for 50 minutes, and we have to match that enthusiasm.”
Belgium, ranked second in the world behind Brazil, played a warm-up friendly against Egypt last week in Kuwait but lost 2-1.
“The friendly was important for us and we took that game almost as a competitive training session,” said Martinez.
“I think it was a very good starting point.
“It’s good sometimes to feel like we’re not there yet. It was a wake-up for us. Probably that defeat will speed up the process.”
Belgium’s record goalscorer Romelu Lukaku is set to miss their first two matches as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury.
