The Canadian Men's Soccer Team Thread

[Johnny199r]

I remember being on the old network 54 Voyageurs forum in the late 1990s. Hell I remember being on the old TSN soccer message board.

We had so little to work with then. I would never have imagined this happening in my lifetime, not like this.

[PeteMoss]

Congrats to the diehards whove been around for all the pain. I drift in and out and wow.. Great to finally qualify.

[White Out 403]

Originally Posted by PeteMoss

Congrats to the diehards whove been around for all the pain. I drift in and out and wow.. Great to finally qualify.

Yep huge props to those who stuck it out. I'm hopping on the bandwagon.

[BlAcKNoVa]

My grandfather always had soccer on the TV when we visited and used to gloat about how good his Hungarian teams were in the 50's and 60's. I can vaguely remember cheering for the Bulgarians during one of the World Cups in the 90's when we were visiting. Other then that I didn't spend much time at all caring about the sport until that Gold Cup run we had in 2000. I can't say I was hooked but I watched what I could at the time.

By the mid 2000's I stopped watching and engaging with the sport. Worked a lot, gamed a lot lol, and our teams were pretty awful for a long time so I stopped caring. Honestly the qualifying matches in the second round vs Haiti were the first games I've watched since that Brazil/Germany game in 2014, and the first Canadian games I've watched since the mid 2000's.

With all that said, you can say I'm definitely back on the bandwagon.

[djsFlames]

I've waited my whole life for this. Ecstatic.

[shermanator]

Hopefully those jumping on the bandwagon also give the local club a look. The CPL is going to have a huge role in sustaining this national team's success.

[Yoho]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1508269891152924685

[Yoho]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1508192082841669642

[GirlySports]

Just wanted to add. The Tunisia and Egypt requirements need Canada to win as well. The other conditions do not, Canada could lose.

Canada plays last on Wednesday so they will know their situation at kickoff whether they need to win or not.

[PeteMoss]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

Just wanted to add. The Tunisia and Egypt requirements need Canada to win as well. The other conditions do not, Canada could lose.

Canada plays last on Wednesday so they will know their situation at kickoff whether they need to win or not.

Looks like tomorrow will be the decider - Costa Rica isn't going to win by 6 goals so I guess tomorrow decides whether the Panama game means anything or not.

[CroFlames]

If CRC wins by 6, CSA should buy each of their goal scorers a new car.

[MillerTime GFG]

These talking heads on the Fan or on TV may not (for the most part) have any idea what they’re talking about, but it sure is nice to turn on the Fan at lunch hour to hear them talking footy.

[SuperMatt18]

I remember being a foolish 12 year old in 2000, thinking that Canada winning the Gold Cup meant that Craig Forrest was going to lead Canada to the World Cup in 2002. Unfortunately that excitement was short lived.

Over the last 22 years since then I'd be lying if I said I was more than a casual observer of Canadian soccer. I'd generally pay attention during the Gold Cup, and would keep an eye on them in World Cup Qualifying, but really there was never much to be excited about. 2014 and 2018 showed some promise but they couldn't get over that hump of Honduras and into the Hex.

Really though sometimes all it takes is a spark, and I do believe that spark is Alphonso Davies. Honestly I believe him breaking out on the World stage in 2019 has triggered a confidence in this Canadian team that they have never had before. And I think you see it just building now. I think everyone was worried going into these last couple sets of games without Davies, but the rest of this team has really stepped up. Eustaquio, Larin, David, Buchanan, Laryea, etc have all really shown that they have the class to play on the World stage as well.

I really hope this is the start of a long string of qualification for this group. IMO nothing represents the cultural melting pot that is Canada better than our Men's and Women's Soccer teams.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

I remember being a foolish 12 year old in 2000, thinking that Canada winning the Gold Cup meant that Craig Forrest was going to lead Canada to the World Cup in 2002. Unfortunately that excitement was short lived.

Over the last 22 years since then I'd be lying if I said I was more than a casual observer of Canadian soccer. I'd generally pay attention during the Gold Cup, and would keep an eye on them in World Cup Qualifying, but really there was never much to be excited about. 2014 and 2018 showed some promise but they couldn't get over that hump of Honduras and into the Hex.

Really though sometimes all it takes is a spark, and I do believe that spark is Alphonso Davies. Honestly I believe him breaking out on the World stage in 2019 has triggered a confidence in this Canadian team that they have never had before. And I think you see it just building now. I think everyone was worried going into these last couple sets of games without Davies, but the rest of this team has really stepped up. Eustaquio, Larin, David, Buchanan, Laryea, etc have all really shown that they have the class to play on the World stage as well.

I really hope this is the start of a long string of qualification for this group. IMO nothing represents the cultural melting pot that is Canada better than our Men's and Women's Soccer teams.

I think it's also going to spark interest in dual-nationals who contemplating playing for Canada or their other country, which will help solidify Canada for 2026. We won't just be there as hosts, but to make some noise.

[SuperMatt18]

I do sometimes wonder if Owen Hargreaves could have been that spark back around the year 2000.

Maybe Hargreaves, Edgar, Stalteri, de Guzman, and Radzinski could have triggered a similar strong run for Canadian soccer in the mid 2000s.

Either way though this squad now is a lot deeper than it was back then.

[GirlySports]

Ingenious!

https://twitter.com/user/status/1508500074204172299

https://twitter.com/user/status/1508500712086548491

[CroFlames]

I hope Herdman's experience at previous tournaments helps prep the men's team to give them the best chance at winning matches in Qatar.

They obviously believe in him.

[Yoho]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1508564699952168977

[Yoho]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1508574660132282371

[Yoho]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1508604978180636677