Canadians ready to be drawn
Players dream of potential fixtures before Friday’s group selection
Qualification is barely over, but already all eyes on are on the World Cup with the draw for Qatar 2022 set for Friday.
Canada is among the tournament’s 32 participants for the first time in more than 36 years. John Herdman’s team finished an illustrious qualification campaign Wednesday night. Despite a 1- 0 loss to Panama, the Canadians finished as the top team in the CONCACAF standings, ahead of Mexico, the United States and Costa Rica.
It wasn’t long after Canada clinched Sunday that players were already dreaming about the countries they would like to face in Qatar. Defender Alistair Johnston liked the idea of going up against Portugal or Argentina, facing stars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in what could be their final World Cup. But as a longtime fan of England, because of his family’s heritage, Johnston said it would be surreal to face the Three Lions.
“I think once we see that World Cup draw, and we see who we’re going up against, that’ll really put things in perspective, when you realize, ‘ OK, in November I could be going up against Harry Kane, for example,’” Johnston said.
The Canadians dropped five places to No. 38 in the latest FIFA men’s world rankings released Thursday, from their record- high of No. 33, after the team’s two losses in March. How much falling in rankings will alter the difficulty level of Canada’s World Cup campaign remains to be seen.
Thirty- two teams will compete at the World Cup, which begins on Nov. 21, with 29 participants already qualified. That includes the host country, 12 European teams, four South American teams, three Asian teams, five African teams and three teams from the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, including Canada.
Two of the three remaining spots will be filled by the winners of intercontinental playoffs in June. Costa Rica will take on New Zealand, while Peru will face the winner of the United Arab Emirates against Australia.
The final spot will go to the winner of Wales against Scotland or Ukraine. That match was initially scheduled to take place earlier this month, but was postponed by FIFA to June following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The teams will be drawn into eight groups of four on Friday, from four pots seeded according to the latest FIFA’s ranking. Teams from the same federation cannot be grouped together, except for the 13 European squads.
Canada is in Pot 4, alongside Saudi Arabia, Ecuador, Ghana, Cameroon and the three countries that have yet to qualify, which likely means Herdman’s side will face at least one world powerhouse in the group stage.
The coach was realistic but optimistic about Canada’s chances in Qatar ahead of the draw. He knows Canada is going in as an underdog, that other countries boast far more players that play in the top teams in the world. He knows players have to experience big games to truly understand and manage them, and few Canadians have ever played a match anywhere near the magnitude of a World Cup tilt. He knows no one really expects Canada to get out of its group in Qatar, let alone win the whole thing.
But Herdman expects his team to continue to try and defy the odds, like it did by qualifying. The mission from Day 1 has been to score Canada’s first World Cup goal, to earn its first point and win. The team has eyes on getting to the knockout stages, but Herdman also wants the players and the country to just enjoy the experience.
“That’s all we can ask for of this team,” he said, “and if they’re enjoying themselves playing with no fear, anything’s possible.”