The development of Men’s Soccer in Canada took a harsh blow last night, as they lost 2-3 at home to Jamaica in a decisive Nations League Quarter Final. Suggestions of it being one of the worst or most embarrassing nights in the program’s history however are vastly overblown. It was not that long ago that this team was losing 8-1 in Honduras in a 2014 World Cup Qualifier, or throwing away a lead to lose to Haiti 3-2 in the 2019 Gold Cup. It was a bad loss, an relatively unexpected one, and Canada definitely needs to stop the rot and soon. However a reality check may go a long way in helping the program achieve this.
Canada Soccer’s mismanagement at the highest level is no secret, whether having payment standoffs with the Men’s or women’s teams, suggesting they may have to go bankrupt, or even being unable to secure friendlies for their teams to play in. That massive elephant in the room aside there are other problems closer to the on-field product that need to be addressed, particularly with the men’s team. The women haven’t had a stellar 2023 themselves, having an unceremoniously early exit at the 2023 world up over the summer, but the men’s recent resurgence to somewhat try and match the extended period of excellence from the women may flame out almost as quickly as it started. The general sentiment around men’s soccer in Canada probably got a bit too positive and big too soon, and it seems to have resulted in some hasty decisions. Firstly, men’s soccer in Canada has been in the wilderness for years, having not qualified from 1986 till this most recent edition in 2022. During that time the team hit new lows, worst of which was getting hammered by a country that isn’t even a powerhouse by CONCACAF standards. To get to a competent level, much less a good one, it will take plenty of time with a few heartbreaks along the way. Canada did many things well, developing general elite talent in the likes of Alphonso Davies, Jonathan David, Tajon Buchanan and co. and of course eventually qualified for a world cup, doing so as the first placed team in the region to boot. However, maybe this success was too much too soon. Canada’s scintillating style of play and unbeaten run at home (particularly when playing in Toronto), meant that expectations skyrocketed. Many within Canadian circles thought their world cup group containing Belgium, Croatia and Morocco was ‘easy’ and that they would qualify from it in second behind the Belgians. As it turned out, Croatia and Morocco both made it to the semi finals, while Canada finished in rock bottom losing all three group games, going home early with the Belgians. This showing was not as poor as it sounds, as those three nations all have a depth of talent plying their trade all over Europe’s top leagues, while Canada has only just recently started to get its’ players in such lofty positions. In fact, even their coach at the time, John Herdman, got a bit too ahead of himself, using expletives to describe what Canada would do to Croatia ahead of their match. Expectedly, this gave an experienced Croatia side even more fire in their bellies, before comfortably swatting Canada aside. In reality, Canada did give a good account of themselves, gaining the admiration of many neutral supporters with their fearlessness and quick passing play. They simply lacked the experience and sometimes quality of their opponents when it counted, in what was the most difficult group in the tournament. Despite his shortcomings, Herdman had overseen men’s soccer in Canada’s most promising period ever, but stepped down earlier this year, plunging the program into even more uncertainty. This was after a Quarterfinal exit at the Gold cup, and a Nations League final loss both to the United States. Yes, after topping qualifying including beating the Americans in Canada en route to doing that, it was not farfetched to expect if not at least hope the Canadians could pull off an upset in either competition. The reality is however, the USA are still miles ahead and Canada was about realistically where it should be. Improving all the time and making deeper runs in regional competition, instead of being whipping boys or the first team out. Fast Forward to this past week, with an interim coach who is not nearly as experienced or accomplished as Herdman in Mauro Biello, Canada faced a strong Jamaican team. Jamaica are of similar level to Canada with both teams having rightful belief they could beat the other. However it again seemed as though the general consensus was that Canada is better than they are, and having underestimated the Jamaicans, found themselves on the wrong end of an embarrassing reversal. Biello is not the right man to lead the team going forward, but if and when they do settle on a more accomplished coach, hopefully the past year will serve as a sobering reminded for Canada soccer to not get too ahead of themselves, and remember everything is a process, and even small progress is good, lest they undo all the good work of the past few years and waste their golden generation of male talent.