Canadian coach sees U.S. rematch as ‘life or death’
Herdman says every game crucial in World Cup chase
While the road may not have always been clear, the destination was for the players on Canada’s men’s national soccer team and head coach John Herdman.
Herdman was brought on board to do with the men’s program what he did for the women. And while it may not be an easy task, considering the historical struggles of the program, the course he has plotted is working out so far as Canada looks to take a giant leap toward qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar when they face the U.S. Friday at Exploria Stadium.
“I think underneath, all the players know how important this game is,” Herdman told reporters on Thursday. “It’s World Cup qualification, Hex qualification, CONCACAF points, to get to the Nations League semifinal, to give us the FIFA points. And that’s it. There’s nothing else on our minds right now.
“We’ve heard all that stuff on the outside and what’s being said about the team, but we just need points, it’s that simple. We want to go to the World Cup, we want to take this country to the World Cup, and games like this, it’s another Cup final. Other teams will have other motivations, but for us, we have to win these games, we have to pick up points. We’ve got to finish top of the Nations League, it’s life or death.”
Canada hasn’t qualified for a World Cup since its only appearance in 1986 in Mexico.
In reality, the team hasn’t really come close to qualifying for another World Cup since, as getting to the final group stage in qualifying (Hex) has proven a chore in recent qualifying cycles.
For the 2022 Qatar event, CONCACAF changed the qualifying format, and instead of playing their way into the top six to battle for three and-a-half qualifying spots, teams will be awarded a spot based on FIFA/ Coca-cola World Rankings.
Originally, Herdman and Canada believed a complex CONCACAF ranking system would be used to determine the top six, but halfway through the process of playing in the Nations League — a first-year regional tournament — they realized it would be FIFA rankings points instead that would make the difference.
All it means is that Canada needs to earn points from every game they play, which has limited its ability to schedule exhibition matches against higher-ranked opponents for fear of sliding down the world list.
The U.S. and Mexico are the only higher-ranked opponents Canada has played since Herdman took over the program. They lost 3-1 to Mexico in the group stage of the Gold Cup this past summer.
If Canada gets through to the semifinal of the Nations League, then bigger fish await, worth even more ranking points. Failure to get in the top six would leave Canada scrambling.
Following a disappointing exit in the Gold Cup, where Canada blew a 2-0 halftime lead in a 3-2 loss to Haiti in the quarter-final, it appeared getting into the Hex would prove extremely difficult. Now, following their 2-0 win over the Americans at BMO Field in October, Canada appears to have its fate in its own hands.
“Yeah, it was an emotional time coming out of the Gold Cup. Experiencing that and a couple of changes that were made around the ranking system ... we saw ourselves sitting in eighth place and (the Hex) was quite a way away.” Herdman said.
“But I sat down with my mentor (Herdman did not give his name) and he said that wisdom doesn’t grow on good days, and this now is your biggest and best opportunity.
“I sat on his couch for about four hours, just chatting with him, and I came out of that and realized that’s what this was all about, and these are the moments now. If we turn this around, what a hell of a story this is going to be, it will be a football fairy tale if Canada can push through.”
Despite the result against the U.S., there’s still a lot left to do for Canada to get into the Hex, and ultimately, to Qatar.
According to Duane Rollins, host of the Soccer Today! podcast, a win against the U.S. would give Canada a 95 per cent chance of getting into the Hex. A loss would drop it to 10 per cent.
Eventually, Canada must convince higher-calibre opponents to take the field against them to prepare for the challenge of World Cup qualifying once it begins next year. You can’t run a marathon training just 10 kilometres a day.
“I think for this group, their experience at the Gold Cup has really fired them up. As a group, we really feel like we came off page during that period of time,” Herdman said.
“Those lessons have been massive for us, that we have to stick to the plan. We have a plan and we have to stick to it, regardless if we’re under pressure or we’re under adversity.
“Playing teams like the U.S and Mexico give us a chance to test our identity.”