World Cup qualifying | We need to talk about Ismaël Koné

Ismaël Koné has only nine professional games under his cleats, and he is already tipped as one of the great hopes of Canadian soccer.

Jean-Francois Teotonio
The Press

The 19-year-old midfielder is off to a rock-bottom start to his career. He made his professional debut with CF Montreal in February. He has already scored two goals and obtained three assists under Wilfried Nancy.

His performances earned him a very first recall with Canada for this international break. After playing ten minutes in Costa Rica, coach John Herdman called on his services as a starter for Wednesday’s game in Panama.

Canada also lost 1-0 in Panama City, which still allowed them to finish first in the CONCACAF Octagonal. We obviously remember that the qualifying work was done last Sunday in Toronto.

Herdman does not hide it: he wants to showcase his young Canadian players so that they quickly have the chance to play in Europe in the biggest competitions possible.

“I want to allow these players to get this experience, he commented by videoconference after Wednesday’s meeting. We want to push these players into these competitive environments where they can have that Champions League experience. The Davies, David, Larin, Hutchinson and Borjan had these experiences. They played in hostile places, they understand the stakes of big matches. We want to build that as a team. »

The day before, Herdman had even specifically targeted two other CF Montreal players with essentially the same words.

“I hope to see players like Alistair Johnston and Kamal Miller take the next step and play in the top European leagues,” he said. […] When you see the American players who play in clubs of the Champions League, we scratch our heads a little to see our Canadians who still play in MLS. »

Koné is still in its infancy, and his performance on Wednesday proves it. He started his match nervously, although he eventually found his rhythm. But remains that if Canada noticed his talent quickly, he must not be the only one to have taken notes.

Montreal fans who follow CF Montreal know that sporting director Olivier Renard’s current strategy is to play and acquire young players to potentially sell them at a high price.

With Koné, it could bear fruit quickly. But it is still necessary that we do not rush its development. Will there be differences of opinion on this plan between club and selection?

“Canadians are realistic,” Herdman said Wednesday. We have a good team, but it takes five to six players who play on top teams in the starting lineup. These guys not only have to play in the five biggest leagues, but they have to play against the top teams on a regular basis. This is what the research tells us, if we analyze the last 15 World Cups. This is what we are pushing towards. »

A game without real stakes

The Canadians qualified for the World Cup last Sunday in Toronto. Panama had seen their dreams come to naught against the United States at the same time. The stakes were therefore at a minimum for this meeting.

Panama took the lead in the 49^and minute, courtesy of a nice recovery from Gabriel Torres on a superb cross from Cristian Martinez.

After a quiet first half, the game opened up at this point. Changes on both sides helped in this regard.

Alistair Johnston fell back brilliantly in the 58^and with a furious race towards its surface, before tackling the Panamanian attacker perfectly. This game confirmed a very good Canadian camp for the defender of CF Montreal.

Maxime Crépeau had the opportunity to assert himself for this last match, he who generally played the role of second behind Milan Borjan in these qualifications. He particularly distinguished himself at the 77^and on a good low shot to his right.

The onset of Cyle Larin and Junior Hoilett pushed Canada forward. At the 80^andit was thought that the maple leaf had equalized, but Larin’s goal was finally disallowed for offside after checking the video replay.

We were talking about minimal stakes: the only one left in Canada was to win to try to improve its FIFA ranking as best as possible. He could thus have been part of the third hat – instead of the fourth – in Friday’s draw. Which would have allowed him to be paired with a weaker team when forming the groups.

But that won’t happen. And it’s not very serious. Canada finished first in its pool, ahead of Mexico (on goal differential) and the United States. And he is qualified for the World Cup.

Costa Rica meanwhile took fourth place and will face New Zealand in the play-off.

“I would never say that we only want to go to Qatar to participate,” Herdman said. We absolutely want to go there to compete. […] Our mission from day one has been to score Canada’s first ever World Cup goal. We want to get our first point, and maybe get a first victory to allow us to get out of the group. »

“We want to continue to defy the odds. »

Next up for Canada is the group draw on Friday.