It was February of 2020 when Canada coach John Herdman was at Starlight Stadium and peppered with questions about looking forward to co-hosting World Cup 2026. There were more than a few startled eye rolls and smirks among the assembled media when he said his goal at that moment wasn’t automatic qualification for 2026 but going through the front door in 2022. That seemed a forlorn hope with Canada No. 73 in the FIFA world rankings at the time and No. 7 in CONCACAF.
Nobody is laughing now. Canada, up 40 spots to world No. 33 in two years, leads the CONCACAF standings and can clinch a berth into World Cup 2022 in Qatar with a victory tonight against Costa Rica (7 p.m. PT on Sportsnet). A Canada draw against world No. 42 Costa Rica, combined with a Honduras victory over Panama today, will also end Canada’s 36-year drought.
“When we opened camp four years ago, we committed to qualifying [for 2022],” said Herdman, in a call with Canadian sports media Wednesday.
On the brink of that historic accomplishment, qualifying for the World Cup for the first time since Island players Ian Bridge, Jamie Lowery and George Pakos played in the 1986 World Cup, Herdman is playing it cool.
“[Tonight] is like a cup final but we are staying away from the occasion and scoreboard watching and not getting carried away,” he said.
“We are tempering it while feeling the excitement and passion. The enormity of the occasion doesn’t affect this group. It’s the humility of the process. Each game is very different. I don’t think anyone wants it to end. There’s been some amazing moments.”
Although Herdman was careful not to get ahead of himself, there is a growing feeling that beyond just qualification, Canada can actually do some damage at World Cup Qatar 2022.
“We want to do more than just qualify,” said Herdman. “We want to show we can walk the talk.”
And to think this all started with Canada outside the CONCACAF final octagonal round and having to qualify just to get into it with games against minnows in which any mis-step or upset could have ended matters abruptly right there and then.
“Playing in Haiti [in the preliminary CONCACAF round] was in as tough conditions as I have ever seen,” said Herdman.
“But we kept both hands on the steering wheel.”
On a road leading right to Qatar.
And again without prodigy Alphonso Davies of Bayern Munich, who has been out since January because of myocarditis, a heart condition that popped up after he contracted COVID-19. Davies missed the last three Canada games and will miss the next three. But Canada is now secure in the knowledge it has the kind of depth that can make up for such a huge loss as Davies.
“It’s a new Canada. We’re not just about two or three players anymore,” said Herdman.
“We have been growing massively on this journey.”
Frontrunner Canada is undefeated in the final round of CONCACAF qualifying play at 7-0-4 and is four-points clear of both world No. 12 Mexico and the world No. 13 U.S., which are tied for second place at 6-2-3. Panama (5-4-2) is fourth and Costa Rica (4-3-4) fifth. The top-three from the eight-team final round will advance to the 2022 World Cup with the fourth-place CONCACAF team advancing to play a national side from Oceania in a last-chance qualifier.
Canada closes out Sunday against Jamaica at BMO Field in Toronto and at Panama on March 30.
The World Cup draw will be made April 1 in Doha for the 2022 tournament to be played Nov. 21 to Dec. 18 in eight stadiums in five cities in Qatar.
