Canada is cautiously laying groundwork for World Cup
Jonathan Osorio is not ready to call the group of players on the Canadian men's national soccer team a “golden generation.”
Despite Canada having, arguably, the most talented and deepest pool of players in men's national team history, the Toronto FC and Canadian midfielder is holding off judgment until it's proven in competition.
Canada is currently laying the groundwork for a critical year in the men's national program, at a training camp in Florida.
Canada begins its 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign in March, and plays in the CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament this summer. The under-23 team will also attempt to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, which were pushed back to this summer due to the COVID -19 pandemic.
“You call a generation a golden generation based on results and what they've accomplished,” Osorio said. “Yes, we have a lot of talent, but it's only a golden generation if we qualify for the Olympics, do well in the Olympics; we qualify for the World Cup, do well in the World Cup; do well in the Gold Cup, fight to win the Gold Cup.
“I think then at that point you can call it a golden generation. We're still trying to make an imprint in world football, in CONCACAF and in the world. We're still developing as a team. We have the talent there. We can't waste it; we're well aware of this, but we're more excited about it than anything.”
The investment made by the Canadian Major League Soccer franchises in youth academies is starting to pay off for the men's national team program.
In the past, the program scrambled to find players scattered throughout the world, and in some cases not playing anywhere professionally to field a team for international competitions. Results were indicative of the struggle.
Canada's only participation at a FIFA World Cup took place in 1986 in Mexico, fielding a team of semi-professionals and a handful of players based with European clubs. Canada lost to France, Hungary and the Soviet Union at the tournament and failed to score a goal.
Now at the national team camp currently taking place in Bradenton, Fla., from Jan. 9-24, every player is a full-fledged professional. There are a number of notable absentees at the camp, who are still with their European-based clubs.
The professional landscape has changed the country due to MLS and the Canadian Premier League, which has given head coach John Herdman more options in terms of player personnel than any other men's team coach in the history of the program. Herdman is charged with getting the most out of the talent and achieving results, mainly qualifying for the World Cup before Canada plays host along with the United States and Mexico in 2026.
“It's not really pressure on us to get these results now, but more of an excitement that these things are possible now; these things are no longer out of reach,” Osorio said. “We want them to be expectations. That's what we're trying to do, we're trying to grow Canada to be a country in football that is expected to be at the World Cup every four years, a country that is expected to fight for the Gold Cup every time.
“We want to be a country that goes to the Olympics every time. Those are the expectations that we want this country to have, but it comes with us actually accomplishing those things. This year is huge for that.”
Canada hasn't competed at the Olympics since 1984, where it reached the quarter-final before losing to Brazil in a penalty shootout.
The national team's only win at the Gold Cup was in 2000, when it needed to win a coin toss to advance out of the group stage and then defeated Mexico along with Trinidad and Tobago in the knockout round before beating invited guest Colombia in the final.
Qualifying for next year's World Cup in Qatar starts in March for Canada against Bermuda and the Cayman Islands, in what is the beginning of a long and arduous road to Qatar.