Canada ascending to elite of CONCACAF

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This article was published 06/09/2024 (367 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Does Canada, right now, have the best men’s soccer team in CONCACAF?

It’s a question that was put to Jesse Marsch this week, and one he predictably skirted. With friendly matches against the United States and Mexico — the traditional regional heavyweights — upcoming in the next few days, the manager was not about to pin material to his rivals’ bulletin boards.

Certainly not when his side, better or not, might have already been enjoying the recent momentum and its inherent advantages.

Since his May appointment, Marsch has guided Canada to a scoreless draw with World Cup runner-up France, two respectable showings in defeat to World Cup champion Argentina, wins over Peru and Venezuela, a draw with Chile and a loss on penalties to Uruguay in the third-place game of the Copa America.

Over the same period, the Americans — who will host the Canadians Saturday in Kansas City (3 p.m., OneSoccer) — have beaten only Bolivia, sacked their manager and questioned with growing concern the abilities of this generation of players.

Meanwhile, the Mexicans – who will sort of host the Canadians in Arlington, Texas on Tuesday (7:30 p.m., OneSoccer) — have crashed out at the Copa’s group stage, sacked their manager and questioned with growing concern the abilities of this generation of players.

Canada’s men, by comparison, are not only a picture of stability, but also, having moved on from a post-Qatar plateau, a group in which promise and positivity abound.

A lot of the bullishness is down to Marsch, but then his quite capable players needed only a slight reprieve from the customary incompetence of the national association to regain their pre-World Cup enthusiasm. The mood right now is a good one; and, as it turns out, contagious.

When Marsch revealed his roster for the two September friendlies, a pair of names jumped off the squad-sheet.

Stephen Afrifa, enjoying a breakout first full season in Major League Soccer, will likely make his international debut from the bench Satuday afternoon. The 23-year-old forward plays for Sporting Kansas City, so a first match for Canada in what is essentially his home stadium will be especially motivating. The manager will be eager to cap him, as he is also eligible to represent Ghana.

Another debutant, Niko Sigur, could well start against the U.S at Children’s Mercy Park.

A versatile midfielder and occasional defender, Sigur plays for Croatian outfit Hajduk Split, where his head coach is legendary Italy hardman Gennaro Gattuso. At 19, he played at right-back in the 2023 Croatian Cup Final, which Hajduk won, though he has since transitioned to a protective role in the centre of the park. With Ismael Kone injured, he’ll probably slot right in alongside Stephen Eustaquio.

Now 20 — he’ll turn 21 on Monday — Sigur had already represented the Croatia Under-21s when he told senior manager Zlatko Dalic he’d be making the switch to Canada (he was born in Burnaby). To put it in perspective, his decision was sufficiently notable for Dalic to be questioned about it when the Croatian team assembled this week.

When he takes the field and is officially Canada-capped, Sigur will instantly be among the top prospects in CONCACAF, as well as one of its more gifted midfielders.

Given his and Afrifa’s additions, as well as the Derek Cornelius-Moise Bombito defensive tandem invented by Marsch, the summer performances of winger Jacob Shaffelburg, the early-season goalscoring form of Jonathan David and the now customary contributions of Eustaquio, Alphonso Davies and Maxime Crepeau, it’s little wonder that Canada enters the international period in higher spirits than their next two opponents.

Mikey Varas is currently managing the Americans on an interim basis as the United States Soccer Federation negotiates, seemingly endlessly, with Mauricio Pochettino. Results over the extended term have also revealed what was supposedly a “golden generation” of U.S. players to be only slightly better than average.

The Mexico Football Federation, for its part, has appointed Javier Aguirre as manager for a third time, and beyond Edson Alvarez — who is injured — El Tri has no one who can take over a match. The Under-20 side that won CONCACAF’s youth championship last month is some way off from graduating into the senior team, though what at first seemed only a generational gap may well be something more deep-rooted.

Would it be an exaggeration to suggest that Panama, Jamaica and Costa Rica are, like Canada, in the ascendancy while the United States and Mexico decline?

Perhaps. The next few days will go a long way towards settling that question.

Is Canada the best team in CONCACAF? See above.

There’s a reason certain questions are asked. At the very least, the answers to these reveal a gap that has narrowed to the point where they are determined game by game.

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