Seven things we’ve learned about the Canadian men in seven World Cup qualifying games

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This article was published 13/11/2021 (1770 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

EDMONTON—The Canadian men’s national team has reached the halfway point of the final round of World Cup qualification in the region.

A 1-0 win over Costa Rica here left Canada third in the CONCACAF standings midway through the 14-game round. If the Canadians don’t drop any lower in the eight-team competition by the time it wraps in March, the country will qualify for its first World Cup, in Qatar next fall, since 1986.

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Here are seven things we’ve learned about coach John Herdman’s squad over its first seven qualification matches.

• Don’t sleep on the defence: Canada’s backline has conceded just four goals over seven games, tied with the United States for fewest by any country to date. Whether a three- or four-man unit, the Canadian defence has managed to stay well organized and communicate effectively, striking a balance between technical ability and physical presence.

• Canada knows how to CONCACAF: The Canadians have been CONCACAFed, which essentially means coming out on the wrong end of a referee’s poor call, in the past, without knowing how to make the phenomenon work to its advantage. This team knows which buttons to push, without prompting disaster.

• It’s not all about the kids: The young core gets the bulk of the attention but veterans play their part, too. Goalkeeper Milan Borjan, 34, delivers the post-training and post-game pep talks, and Herdman has turned to both Jonathan Osorio, 29, and Atiba Hutchinson, 38, at times, when he needed someone to take control of the midfield.

• Eustáquio can’t do it all: Central midfielder Stephen Eustáquio is one of just three Canadians to feature in all seven matches to date. The 24-year-old pulls the strings, and will put in a defensive shift. But there are nights, like when fellow midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye went quiet Friday, when Eustáquio has to juggle too much to link up the play.

• There’s no fixed 11: It would be easy for Herdman to ride his stars every game, but he has used 27 players over seven matches. Some of Canada’s best performances have come from its depth players, like backup goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau during the last window and Liam Millar’s performance up front for Canada on Friday night.

• If this is David quiet … Jonathan David hasn’t produced moments as eye-catching as attacking counterparts like Davies and Tajon Buchanan, which makes it easy to forget he leads Canada with three goals so far. He needs to be more of a presence off the ball, but if David is only getting hot, Canada is in for a treat.

• There’s no fear here: Canada knows it is now a team in this region to be feared. The team is leaning into the new-found reputation, and that confidence will have them pressing to jump to first or second in the standings — they’re one point back of the U.S. and Mexico — rather than remaining content with a third-place qualification berth.

Laura Armstrong is a Star sports reporter based in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @lauraarmy