Canada Soccer fumbles at the US hurdle again

In the CONCACAF tournament,  the  Canadian men’s national team reached the final of an international tournament for the first time since 2000 by defeating Panama 2-0, thanks to goals by young European-league stars Alphonso Davies and Jonathan Davies.

The Canadian joy was, however, short-lived, as Las Vegas could not provide the much needed win against the US. The home team beat Canada 2-0  to remain champions of the season-long tournament. The Canadian men remain without a trophy since their surprising Gold Cup victory in 2000, and they’re winless in their last 22 matches against the U.S. on American soil — a streak stretching back to 1957.

Though Davies had a quiet game by his standards and the team as a whole failed to match the intensity of the Americans, Canadian coach John Herdman turned his frustration instead toward Canada Soccer, challenging the cash-strapped federation to provide his squad with more resources as it prepares to return to the World Cup as a co-host in three years.

“We’ve got the best generation of players we’ve had and there’s more coming,” Herdman said after the defeat at the hands of the US. “[But] we’ve got to figure this out financially… We’ve got to get serious about winning a World Cup… We’ve brought a World Cup to our country and we’re not serious about winning it.”

Heading into the semi-final, Herdman grumbled about being afforded only a four-day training camp while Panama’s federation arranged for a 10-day camp and an exhibition game. The coach framed this as another example of how Canada Soccer has been slow to meet the growing needs of his rapidly rising team.

“Things are changing but it’s got to change quickly,” Herdman said. “I don’t think anybody was expecting [the 2022 World Cup berth] to happen. It happened early. So let’s adapt. Let’s get on with it.”

The ongoing conflict between Canada Soccer and its teams , both men and women, asking for better financial deals is still to be resolved. Women players want to be paid at par with their male counterparts. The issue of inadequate training camps and not enough of practice games before major events are the other sore points.

The story of Canada’s women’s soccer team may not be different. It was Herdman who coached the women’s team  to back-to-back Olympic bronze medals before switching jobs in 2018. The 2021 Olympic gold medallists have ripped Canada Soccer for (among other things) what they see as inadequate training camps and a shortage of exhibition matches in the lead-up to the Women’s World Cup, which kicks off a month from now in Australia and New Zealand. The women, who want to be paid and supported in equal measure to the men’s team, went on strike briefly in February, echoing a similar move by the men last June.

As both teams continue to negotiate a new deal with Soccer Canada, the men turn to the CONCACAF Gold Cup — the championship for North America, Central America and the Caribbean. Canada, ranked 47th in the world, opens on June 27 in Toronto against a TBD qualifier before travelling to Houston to complete its group-stage matches against Guatemala (116) and Cuba (165).

It may not be an ideal situation to start  the qualification round to end its 23-year title drought  as Davies, David, Cyle Larin, Tajon Buchanan, Alistair Johnston and Ismael Kone will not play in the Gold Cup. Neither will long-time captain Atiba Hutchinson, who retired after the Nations League final.

With his roster depleted of so many standouts, Herdman will instead focus on getting some “young lads” a bit of international experience ahead of the upcoming Copa America.

The intensely competitive South American championship, featuring World Cup champion Argentina and perennial power Brazil, is being hosted by the United States next summer and six CONCACAF teams will be invited. Those will be decided in the 2023-24 Nations League, which kicks off in September. Canada has a bye to November’s quarterfinals, where a win will earn them a spot in the Copa America — and some of the high-end prep for the 2026 World Cup that Herdman and his team so badly crave.

Prabhjot Singh