‘Why can’t it be Canada?’

The question coming into the Canada-Switzerland game was: is Team Canada’s success in this year’s tournament a fluke?

It kept echoing through my mind.

The team achieved its first World Cup point with a tie against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Then came a resounding and historic first win, the 6-0 victory against 56th-ranked Qatar — still the only host team in World Cup history to not win a game. And Maxime Crépeau gave the team its first shutout.

This should be a reason to celebrate compared to the days of 1986.

But the 2-1 loss feels like it ruined the party, even though Canada finished a respectable second in Group B — good enough for a historic berth into the knockout round.

And with the loss on Wednesday comes the loss of home-field advantage, where Canada now has to travel to Los Angeles for the Round of 32 match.

Prior to the match, thousands of frenzied Canadian fans marched to the stadium decked in red and white through plumes of flare smoke. The chanting and singing continued into BC Place to welcome Les Rouges.

A Maple Leaf was flying in every bar and fan zone. The buzz was real.

And, with the disappointing loss against a top-flight contender, can we really say we are good? We are polite Canadians, after all. It’s a new reality check.

The tournament Vancouver is far more famous for happened 16 years ago, where both the Canadian men’s and women’s hockey teams took Olympic gold on home ice. It brought people together in a rabid, delirious and patriotic way.

Here fans were again, right next door to the arena where those gold medals were won.

The men’s soccer team, on the other hand, has been a long walk in the dark. Until now. Sort of.

Now our soccer players are starting to become household names.

Captain Alphonso Davies was already well known before the World Cup began. He is the kid from a refugee camp who rose through the Canadian soccer system to earn a fortune playing for UEFA Champions League powerhouse Bayern Munich. His name is on the backs of thousands of Canadian fan jerseys.

Ismaël Koné, the man of the match against Bosnia-Herzegovina, is now unfortunately known as the star whose leg was broken by a reckless Qatari tackle. In support of the midfielder, on Wednesday fans carried a No. 8 sign into the match — Koné jersey number.

And then there is Jonathan David, the Juventus striker, who notched a breakout hat trick against Qatar after a slow start to the tournament. For a moment in time, he was tied with Lionel Messi for the Golden Boot — the trophy awarded to the player who has the most goals at the conclusion of the tourney.

Cyle Larin had been a hero so far, scoring in the first two matches.

And, in 2022, Canada qualified for the World Cup by winning the CONCACAF qualifying championship. It was a major achievement. But they didn’t win a match in Qatar, though Davies scored the country’s first goal.

Since then, Jesse Marsch has taken the reigns of the club. And he has taken this team far under his leadership.

In 2024, at the Copa America, Canada made a historic run to the semifinals, winning and drawing against tough opponents like Peru, Chile and Venezuela, before succumbing to eventual champions Argentina. (Not bad considering La Albiceleste would go on to win the 2022 World Cup).

Under very questionable refereeing, Canada finished fourth after losing to Uruguay in a penalty shootout.

And when I travelled in South America this year, I was surprised to have many people tell me, “Canada has a really good team.”

No one — in my entire life — had ever said that to me before. Even fans from Europe would chime in and say, “Oh yeah, Canada is great.”

So if people from other parts of the world — not just ourselves — are saying we are good, can we start thinking, saying and believing it ourselves?

“We are in the conversation now,” sports fan Lee Keple said. “Before, we weren’t. This has brought a lot of excitement for people.”

England fans leaving the Granville Island fan fest on Tuesday may have been disappointed by their team’s draw with Ghana, but they were at least somewhat enthusiastic about the co-host’s team.

Canada has improved a lot with Davies, the England fans said. Canada has a few good players now. The home ground is helping.

There was also this: more teams have qualified, so Canada should get out of its group.

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So a “not bad” team?

It’s still hard to know, but the good news is there is more time to figure out the answer.

When asked who will win the World Cup, Canadian soccer icon and all-time international goals record holder Christine Sinclair didn’t budge: “Why can’t it be Canada? I’m not going to say anyone else.”

Now Canadian soccer fans live in a world where hope for their team still exists. And during the knockout round of a World Cup, that’s a pretty good place to be.

Carrie Serwetnyk is a former Canadian national team soccer player and the first woman inducted to the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame. This is the 10th-straight men’s World Cup that she’s attended.