Category: Canada

Canada falls to Croatia, but Alphonso Davies still delivers iconic moment

Davies announced to the world that Canada is done being a pushover

Canada may not have gotten the result they wanted, but Alphonso Davies still produced the goal they needed.

Croatia won 4-1, shifting into high gear after a tepid start to the tournament, and Canada can no longer qualify for the knockout round. However, in the years to come, Canadian fans will remember that one history-making goal for their side more than they lament defensive lapses that let the game slip away.

To know why, you have to go back to 1986, with Canada going to their first-ever World Cup. They weren’t embarrassed — facing Michel Platini and France, for example, they held out for 79 minutes in a 1-0 defeat — but they left the tournament with zero points and zero goals.

They had to wait 36 years to get another crack at the men’s tournament, but the World Cup remained cruel. Canada suffered arguably the most unjust result of the tournament so far against Belgium, with Davies seeing his early penalty kick saved. Canada’s wait for a goal from a Canadian man at a World Cup would extend for a few more excruciating days. With Croatia the opponent, the prospect of their wait getting extended was looming.

Davies made sure that once gameday came around, Canada fans would get their moment quickly. A long ball to Cyle Larin found the Canada striker in a seam, and he shuttled the ball out to Tajon Buchanan. With Canada surging forward and Croatia simply not realizing the game had kicked off, Buchanan drove a cross to the back post, where Davies soared high to power a header home.

Canada head coach John Herdman had to calm a bit of a storm over his “F Croatia” post-game motivational speech after that Belgium loss, but you have to say, giving that kind of team talk is designed to get exactly this kind of response. Canada, the team with four previous World Cup games and zero goals in any of them, had no fear at all of Croatia, an established global power who went to the 2018 final.

It was a perfect reaction for this Canadian team, who have time and again shown that they believe they can play with anyone. That attitude adjustment breaks decades of tradition for their men’s national team, who were generally trying to sneak a lucky goal and hang on for dear life rather than make their opponents worry.

The “New Canada,” as Herdman likes to call them? They’re a problem for every team they face.

Yes, the game itself slipped away as the first half wore on. Andrej Kramarić equalized in the 36th minute after a long spell of Croatian pressure on Milan Borjan’s goal, and Marko Livaja gave them a 44th minute lead after a moment of poor defensive work on the Canadian back line.

Canada made a real go of it coming out for the second half, sending a few shots barely wide, but Kramarić struck again as Herdman’s side faced repeated problems in central midfield and inside their own box. Croatia, after not really looking quite right against Morocco, roared to life, and Canada wasn’t quite good enough in critical moments to keep pace. A stoppage-time fourth from Lovro Majer flattered Croatia.

It happens. Sometimes, even when you belong on this stage, you lose 4-1 to Croatia. There are only two or three teams in this World Cup that can be completely confident in their ability to avoid getting put in the spin cycle by Croatia the way Canada was for spells. Canada’s inexperience came through, and they’re one of the first teams to be officially eliminated after arguably the most difficult opening pair of fixtures anyone in the tournament had.

However, Davies’ goal should be seen for what it is: a true watershed moment for Canada on the men’s side. It’s definitively not the “biggest moment in Canadian soccer history,” when Canada’s women have literal gold medal on their shelves, but it is the announcement that Canada’s men’s national team has truly arrived at this level.

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In stunner, Croatia objects to Canada coach Herdman’s ‘F Croatia’ speech

Things are heating up ahead of Croatia vs. Canada

Croatia is not happy with Canada coach John Herdman ahead of Sunday’s potentially decisive Group F meeting.

The reasons are pretty straightforward: Herdman was interviewed on the field after Canada’s narrow loss to Belgium — a defeat that saw Canada draw praise for largely outplaying the favored Belgians — and admitted that his post-game speech to the team was not exactly deferential to Croatia.

“I told them they belong here, and we’re gonna go and ‘F’ Croatia,” said Herdman with a laugh. “That’s as simple as it gets.”

As far as speeches to a huddle of players go, it’s pretty tame stuff. Coaches and players have been talking themselves up by saying whatever the equivalent of “F Croatia” is for their situation for as long as there have been competitive sports.

Unfortunately for Herdman, the global nature of the World Cup means that his speech aimed at a group of a couple dozen Canada players and staffers has made its way to a team that apparently didn’t enjoy it as much: Croatia.

“The Croatian national team deserves respect from everyone. We’ve earned it with our performances, behavior and results,” Zlatko Dalić, Croatia’s head coach, told reporters on Thursday. “Each of us has our own way of communication, he expressed himself like that, I don’t know how nice that is. I will not look back on it, we have to show on the field that we are a better team.

“We have to and we will certainly talk about it. It can only motivate us. We must not accept any negativity, we are worthy when we play and it is crucial that we focus on our football.”

If Dalić was mildly put-off by Herdman’s quote, the Croatian tabloids were ready to take things to the next level. The outlet 24sata put a nearly naked rendering of Herdman, with two strategically-placed maple leaves, on its cover, an extremely unsubtle hint that they believe the Canada manager has more of a big mouth than he can back up.

Herdman explains his remarks

Herdman was somewhat bemused that this became anything of a controversy, telling reporters that he didn’t see it as particularly abnormal.

“You say those things in an impassioned moment trying to inspire your team in a huddle,” said Herdman. “When you’re asked the question ‘What did you say in that huddle?,’ yeah, it’s what I said.”

Herdman added that for him at least, the statement was “not massively respectful to Croatian people and the Croatian national team.”

However, if Croatia was hoping to hear an apology, it wasn’t coming.

“I mean no disrespect to the Croatian team and Croatian people, but at the end of the day it’s a mindset that Canada is going to have if we’re going to have three points against one of the top teams in the world,” said Herdman. “It’s the mindset we took to Belgium. We have to, it’s part of ‘New Canada.'”

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Even in defeat, Canada stuns the world with ‘fearless football’ vs. Belgium

In one stunning performance, Canada showed it belongs on the world stage

AL-RAYYAN, Qatar – The conventional wisdom gave Canada a snowball’s chance in the desert.Les Rouges had to make their long-awaited, deliriously anticipated return to the men’s World Cup stage against vaunted Belgium, the No. 2-ranked side on the planet and a popular pick to make a very deep run at this strange tournament. It was an encounter with soccer royalty 36 years in the making, in an alien setting many thousands of miles away from home.No matter. Pressing high and working ferociously, Les Rouges dominated the run of play, most of the match statistics and even the stadium itself on Wednesday night as thousands of loud, maple leaf-clad Canadians turned Ahmed bin Ali Stadium into a loud little patch of the Great White North on the Persian Gulf.

Alphonso Davies, Stephen Eustaquio and their teammates forced Kevin De Bruyne and the rest of the Red Devils to chase and scramble for most of the match, flashing both cleverness and bravery in a riveting affair.“I thought they really tried to win the stadium tonight, they were brilliant,” said head coach John Herdman of his team and its fans postgame. “They walked away, I’m sure, proud and feeling like we are a football nation. We came into that game with a couple of goals. The first one was to play fearless, and the second goal was to entertain.”Fearless was indeed the word of the night.“It’s our first time here in 36 years,” said defender Alistair Johnston. “We wanted to come here and give joy to the Canadian fans. It’s been a long time, it’s been a long wait, let’s go out there and give them a team they can be proud of. And for us, sitting in, bunkering in, it’s not really our identity. It hasn’t been us through Concacaf, it doesn’t really resonate with any of the players. So we had a discussion as a group over the past couple months, how we wanted to play that one, and everyone was unanimous that we wanted to be on the front foot, put them under pressure.

Nov 23, 2022; Al Rayyan, Qatar; Canada defender Alistair Johnston (2) dribbles during the first half of a group stage match against Belgium during the 2022 FIFA World Cup at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium. Credit: Yukihito Taguchi-USA TODAY Sports

“We’re trying to play Canadian football that we believe that Canadian fans, and us as fans of the game as well, would want to watch … We want to be exciting, we want to play fearless football and I think we did that.”All they needed was an actual goal or two to translate their quality onto the scoreboard. Alas, that last part never materialized.Despite an expected goals more than quadruple that of Belgium’s, Canada was undone by Thibaut Courtois’ save of an Alphonso Davies penalty kick and a hopeful Toby Alderweireld long ball that dropped to Michy Batshuayi to slam home just before halftime, eking out the tightest and most unimpressive of 1-0 wins for a title contender.“At this level, this is how the game is: one chance, one goal. You can win a game like that,” said midfielder Jonathan Osorio. “We have 21 shots, dominate the game. They save a penalty. It’s the way the game goes. It’s football, right? You have to finish your chances. But we definitely can take so much positive from this.”The entire stadium, even Canada’s fans, seemed shocked by the extent of the upstarts’ superiority right out of the gate, and while it took a VAR review to earn it, their 10th-minute penalty kick was a fair reward. Up stepped Davies, setting the stage for a storybook moment, a Liberian refugee kid turned soccer phenom scoring the nation’s first-ever men’s World Cup goal.But Courtois spoiled the narrative with a firm stop of the Bayern Munich star’s pedestrian spot kick.“When you have Courtois in net, anything’s possible,” said Johnston with a rueful grin.

DOHA, QATAR – NOVEMBER 23: Thibaut Courtois of Belgium saves the penalty taken by Alphonso Davies of Canada during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group F match between Belgium and Canada at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium on November 23, 2022 in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)

Coach and teammates alike refused to engage in anything resembling finger-pointing with their young talisman. Though somewhat surprisingly, they revealed that the team has no defined list of set penalty takers, instead deciding on an ad hoc basis: “The brotherhood sorted it out,” said Herdman.“I’m proud of Fonzie, he’s picked the ball up. I mean that’s a big moment for any player to do that, you’re carrying the weight of a nation, 36 years of waiting – longer than 36 [for the] first goal,” the coach added. “And when you’ve got an $85 million player, a player with that sort of confidence and swagger, let him pick the ball up and take it.”Clearly aggravated by their inability to find a breakthrough despite a relentless pursuit all second half, Les Rouges emphasized that they’re not in Qatar for moral victories. If they are to advance to the group stage, they must now find a way to pick up points versus the 2018 finalists — “we’ve got a big effin game coming up against Croatia,” said Herdman – and then Morocco, who held the Croatians to a 0-0 draw in Al Khor earlier in the day.“There’s a lot that we can be proud of. But I want to be clear that we’re not satisfied with our performance,” said center back Steven Vitoria. “We need to be proud that this is what Canada’s about. But we want points, we want points.”Still, for those who experienced the dark days of Canadian soccer’s not-so-distant past, when North America’s third-largest nation repeatedly failed to even reach the final round of Concacaf World Cup qualifying and struggled for relevance in their hockey-obsessed homeland, this was a deeply inspiring night.“We definitely made a statement,” said Osorio. “I think we opened the world’s eyes to what Canada has and what we’re growing here, what we are now, and I think what the future is going to hold here — the mentality of this group and the ambition and bravery that we have and the belief that we have in ourselves.”

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Canada took it to Belgium and still came away with nothing

It’s a cruel game sometimes

Many observers expected Canada to lose its World Cup opener to Belgium, but not like this.

Canada took the game to the Europe heavyweights, but could not find a decisive final touch when it was most needed. Alphonso Davies was the guiltiest party, as his early penalty was saved by Thibaut Courtois.

Belgium, meanwhile, scored against the run of play when an opportunistic long ball over the top near the end of the first half found Michy Batshuayi, who slammed a shot home for the game’s only goal.

Final score: 1-0, in a cruel return to the big time for the Reds.

Canada, playing its first men’s World Cup game since 1986, is left down but not out after Morocco and Croatia drew in the other Group F game on Wednesday. But John Herdman’s side will need to be more clinical in its next two games, or its World Cup return will be a short one.

Canada squandered a golden opportunity to take the lead just 10 minutes in. After a VAR review Belgium was penalized for a handball in the box, sending Davies to the spot.

But Courtois went down low to his right to deny Davies, who didn’t produce his best effort with the chance to score Canada’s first ever goal at a men’s World Cup.

Belgium took advantage against the run of play when Toby Alderweireld found Batshuayi, who took advantage of Canada’s high line to power a shot past Milan Borjan.

Canada had plenty of scoring chances, ending the game with 22 total shots. But only three were on target, including Davies’ penalty.

Herdman’s men did themselves proud on the night, but frustratingly came away empty-handed. Now they’ll need a similar performance, only with goals, on Sunday against Croatia.

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Alphonso Davies is ready, says Canada coach: ‘Fonzie’s fit now … the dark clouds have shifted’

With Davies clearing fitness tests, Herdman says he can select his best 11 vs. Belgium

AL-RAYYAN, Qatar — For two weeks, the state of Alphonso Davies’ hamstring has been the biggest issue around the Canadian national team camp, the health of their most talented player looming over their first men’s World Cup since 1986.

If you take the words of Canada head coach John Herdman at face value, the Bayern Munich superstar is ready and raring to go for their Qatar 2022 opener vs. Belgium at Ahmed bin Ali Stadium on Wednesday despite the strain he picked up in club play on Nov. 5.

“Fonzie’s fit now. He’s hit his markers. He’s ready to go,” said Herdman, who was initially cagey about his fleet-footed wide man to start of his pre-match press conference only to later effectively confirm Davies’ own enthusiastic proclamations of fitness the previous day. “He was flying in training yesterday, enjoying himself. Canada, we’re in a position now where we can field our strongest team. Everyone’s came through well.”

Herdman added that goalkeeper Milan Borjan has worked through an abdominal issue and should be ready to start.

“It’s exciting times for us now, the dark clouds have shifted and this will be our last training session together where we’ll be all 100%,” said the English coach, after explaining the tenuous wait for Davies to pass the performance staff’s benchmarks.

“I don’t think there was any doubt we’d be starting him. But you’ve got to follow the medical advice. I mean, that’s always part of this,” said Herdman. “Our goal first and foremost is always the safety of the players, that’s paramount, so we’ve had to manage that process.

“I think as a coach, you’re always sitting frustrated when you get the reports in and all the algorithms on return to play and what they can and can’t do and their loadings, etc. But when you speak to the player, you have to be able to look into their eyes and get a sense of what they want and how far they’re willing to push. And you’ve got to ask the questions: first game, what’s the risk? What’s the second game risk?

“We’ve all been willing for him to be ready to go. He’s just starting to hit his top speed, that last sort of full-on sprint. And I think positive psychology always helps injuries heal a little bit quicker. So yeah, I mean, it was good. He’s clear that he wanted to play, I think our medical team, we wanted him to play as well. but you’ve just got to go through the mathematical algorithms that they put in front of you, progress him to top speed, and he hit that.”

‘We don’t have a great amount to lose’

If Herdman holds to his word and gives a start to Davies, the standard-bearer of Les Rouges‘ dramatic resurgence on both the regional and global soccer scenes, it’s the best news imaginable for Canada supporters, especially considering Belgium’s talent-laden squad.

In one sense, anything they can conjure up from here on out is a bonus for Canada. Herdman vowed that his team would play without pressure — “we don’t have a great amount of lose, just a genuine opportunity to make it our cup final” — and veteran captain Atiba Hutchinson spoke of the transformative effect their run to the tournament has already had back home.

“I’ve already seen it sparking a lot of interest in younger players, seven-, eight-year-olds, some in my family, teammates, children and just the interest that it’s brought to our country is really special to see. I’ve been with the national team a very long time and I’ve never seen it get to this level. So it’s great to see and I think it’s going to continue to get bigger and bigger from here on out,” said the 39-year-old, who plays for Turkish power Beşiktaş.

“We’ve got a very strong team with a lot of good players. And we’re going to just do what we’ve been doing. It’s going to be a battle in every game we play. We’re going to fight, we’re going to show our brotherhood. We want to put Canada on the map. So our intention is just to enjoy the moment. We’ve worked a very long time to get here.”

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Canada got some pretty good news on Alphonso Davies’ injury

Canada’s worst fears have been averted

Bayern Munich has offered a positive injury update on Alphonso Davies, saying the Canada star is not in danger of missing the World Cup despite suffering a hamstring strain.

Davies limped out of Bayern’s 3-2 win over Hertha Berlin on Saturday, holding the back of his right leg in what appeared to be a nightmare scenario for Canada just two weeks ahead of the World Cup.

But a day later, Bayern issued an update on the 22-year-old star that eliminated fears of a worst-case outcome.

“FC Bayern will be without Alphonso Davies for the two remaining Bundesliga games prior to the winter break,” a club statement said.

“The 22-year-old fullback suffered a hamstring strain in the 3-2 win at Hertha BSC on Saturday. The diagnosis was confirmed by the German record champions’ medical unit. The Canada international’s participation in the World Cup in Qatar is not at risk.”

Though Davies will be available for Canada’s first men’s World Cup since 1986, it is decidedly not ideal for one of the country’s most vital players to be working his way back to fitness as such a late stage.

Davies has 34 caps and has scored 12 goals for Canada.

Crépeau broken leg confirmed

In less positive injury news, Canada Soccer confirmed that goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau suffered a broken leg in MLS Cup and will miss the World Cup.

The LAFC goalkeeper very clearly suffered a serious injury when he came off his line in extra time, colliding violently with Philadelphia Union forward Cory Burke.

As Fox opted not to show the replay, Crépeau was shown a red card for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity before he was stretchered off.

Crépeau has been capped 15 times by Canada, and was set to serve as backup to Milan Borjan at the World Cup. In his absence, Minnesota United’s Dayne St. Clair looks set to take over as Canada’s backup.

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Canada holds its breath as Alphonso Davies picks up hamstring injury in Bayern win

Canada’s worst fears ahead of the World Cup might be coming true

Canada’s return to the World Cup is at real risk of happening without their best-ever player.

Alphonso Davies left Bayern Munich’s 3-2 win over Hertha Berlin in the 64th minute holding the back of his right leg. Julian Nagelsmann said after the match that Davies has suffered a hamstring strain of unknown severity.

“According to the doctors, at first glance, it is at least a muscle tear. We’ll have to wait for further tests,” Nagelsmann told reporters following the match.

Canada has just eight days between Davies picking up his knock on Saturday and the FIFA-mandated deadline to submit their final World Cup squad, which falls on November 13. Bayern will have to run scans on the injury, which could be a minor strain that requires nothing more complicated than a few days off and some massage treatment.

It could also be more severe situation that keeps him out for weeks or even months, which would prevent John Herdman from bringing Davies to Qatar.

Canada needs good news

For Canada, losing Davies would be a potential catastrophe. They managed to get through much of the CONCACAF World Cup qualifying cycle without the 22-year-old, as a bout with Covid-19 became a struggle with myocarditis that lasted for four months earlier this year.

However, no team wants to enter a World Cup without their biggest star, and that’s especially so for a team that hasn’t played in the tournament in 36 years. The work-around for going without Davies is not simply plugging in another player on the left flank. Raheem Edwards or Richie Laryea would be solid options for that job, but Canada’s attacking threat in transition would take a significant step back without the next-level ability Davies has on the ball.

A Canadian team without their star would have to spread that attacking responsibility around the team. Tajon Buchanan’s success would be that much more important, while young midfielder Ismaël Koné’s ability to drive forward from central midfield will become all the more vital.

Even if Herdman can shuffle the deck without Davies, Canada’s chances in Group F are surely stronger with him than without. The coming days will be telling for their hopes.

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Sinclair announces new Thorns contract, gets a ‘F––– Seattle’ in for good measure

The striker celebrated her new deal in delightfully vulgar fashion

Christine Sinclair announced she’s signed a new one-year contract with the Portland Thorns at a rally to celebrate the team’s NWSL title on Tuesday night.

The Thorns later made the move official, as the legendary Canadian forward gets set to return for her 11th season with the club.

Sinclair started on Saturday in the NWSL championship as Portland defeated the Kansas City Current 2-0 at Audi Field, lifting its third NWSL title.

Two nights later, the 39-year-old was at the microphone in front of a big crowd at Providence Park.

“I’ve been told I’m not allowed to swear,” Sinclair said, before ignoring that request very soon after.

“I’m announcing it here, I’ll be back next year to win a fourth one of those,” she said pointing toward a table with the Thorns’ three NWSL championship trophies.

She concluded her speech with two words that will endear her even more to the fans in Portland: “F— Seattle.”

Sinclair is the Thorns all-time leader in games played (157), games started (152), minutes played and goals scored (59).

“Sinc is a foundational member of this team. Their success is her success, the Thorns and Christine Sinclair are synonymous,” Thorns FC head coach Rhian Wilkinson said in a release. “Having Sincy’s leadership, goalscoring prowess, and standard setting mentality, makes the Portland Thorns better every day.”

Sinclair is also the all-time leading international goalscorer with 190 goals. She appears set to participate in her sixth World Cup with Canada next summer in Australia and New Zealand.

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Ismael Kone’s star continues to rise with playoff winner vs. Orlando City

The 20-year-old’s stock continues to skyrocket

Ismaël Koné scored the winner midway through the second half, sending CF Montréal to the Eastern Conference semifinal with a 2-0 victory over Orlando City in an MLS playoff match on Sunday.

The 20-year-old Canada international has had a breakthrough campaign and his star continued to rise after a well-worked goal assisted by Djordje Mihailovic.

Mihailovic would add a penalty deep into stoppage time to lock up the win.

Montréal controlled most of the possession on the night but it was the visitors who had the better of the chances, squandering several good looks in the first half.

Those misses would prove costly as Montréal took full advantage of its first big chance of the evening, which was put away by one of the rising stars in CONCACAF.

Koné only joined Montréal in August 2021 from local semi-pro club CS Saint-Laurent. One year later, Montréal turned down a seven-figure bid from Sheffield United on transfer deadline day. They may not be able to hold on to him much longer.

The midfielder has also rocketed up the depth chart for Canada and has just about locked up a place on the team’s World Cup roster. Now the question is how much he’ll play in Qatar.

Before the World Cup though, there is the matter of trying to bring an MLS title to Canada. Koné and his teammates will face the winner of Monday’s game between Inter Miami and New York City FC in the conference semifinal.

Watch Koné’s winner vs. Orlando City

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Vancouver Whitecaps win Canadian Championship, Vanni Sartini loses shirt

If you win a trophy, you get to pop your shirt off

The Vancouver Whitecaps are the champions of Canada, lifting the Voyageurs Cup after defeating Toronto FC on penalties at BC Place late on Tuesday.

Brian White put the Whitecaps ahead in the 19th minute, nodding in a Ryan Gauld cross after Vancouver had two chances to recycle a corner kick. TFC—featuring Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi—had a set piece answer of their own, equalizing in the 75th minute. Bernardeschi’s outside-foot service on a short corner picked out Lukas MacNaughton for a point-blank header to level the scores.

Neither side found a late winner, setting the stage for penalty kicks. Vancouver converted all of their first four opportunities, while Jonathan Osorio struck the post in the third round for TFC. Tristan Blackmon went down the middle as Alex Bono leapt left on the Whitecaps’ fifth, setting off wild celebrations at BC Place.

None were wilder than Vanni Sartini, though. The Whitecaps head coach appeared to very quickly go left as Blackmon’s penalty hit the back of the net, in what turned out to be a sort of barrel roll on the BC Place turf.

Sartini got in several fist-pumps from his knees before hopping up to to acknowledge Toronto’s Bob Bradley before taking off towards the rest of the Vancouver bench, popping his shirt off and windmilling it, and then adding in a couple of jumps and a particularly strong fist-pump for good measure.

Sartini then found himself shirtless for a bit longer than planned, as his “Home Is Vancouver” shirt was inside-out, and Whitecaps staffers kept coming over for hugs while he tried to get things sorted out. The shirtlessness lasted for a solid 30 seconds before Sartini could get back into all of his clothing.

The victory means Vancouver are the sixth team to qualify for the 2023 CONCACAF Champions League, joining Haiti’s Violette AC (who won the Caribbean Club Championship) and four Liga MX representatives (Atlas, Tigres, Léon, and Pachuca).

Celebrate Sartini’s celebrations

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