John Herdman tells anyone who will listen: there is a “change of mentality” taking place in the minds of the members of the Canadian team.
Posted yesterday at 9:30 p.m.
The Canada coach even describes Sunday’s clash against the United States in Hamilton, Ontario, as a “derby match”. This expression is generally used to describe a geographical rivalry between clubs.
“There is a real excitement to face the United States” among Canadian players, commented Herdman by videoconference, on the eve of this qualifying meeting for the 2022 World Cup between the two nations.
“It took us a long time to get to where we are. The United States are a few years ahead in terms of their talent pool, the depth of their squad and the players playing in Europe. But Canada is coming. »
John Herdman keeps repeating the word “humility” in his press briefings. He wants to imprint this value at all stages of his team’s development and qualification process. And he still applies it, on the eve of this clash at the top of CONCACAF.
The truth is that Canada is potentially the best team in the region. Otherwise, they are by far the fittest team. The only team still undefeated in the Octagonal after nine games, the selection arrives in the cold of Hamilton with four straight wins. She is first in the standings, one point ahead of the Americans. His attackers continue to produce at a steady rate. His defense is rough and tight.
One would be tempted to say that Canada has already reached its destination. He will have the opportunity to confirm it on Sunday afternoon, at Tim Hortons Field.
“The Americans want to take that number one spot away from us,” Herdman said. This is a great opportunity for our players. These are the qualifications for the World Cup. It’s a huge meeting. We play against our biggest rivals. »
Even said rivals have only good words for Canada and its progress. Gregg Berhalter, John Herdman’s counterpart for the Americans, says he has a “good relationship” with the Canada coach.
“We want Canada to qualify for the World Cup,” he said by videoconference on Saturday noon. It’s not a secret. It’s only [ce dimanche] that we want them to lose. All the other games, I’m happy to see them win. »
“John Herdman has done a great job with this program,” he adds. I repeated it several times. They have talented players and strong leadership. They have ambitions for this program. When people embark on this vision, it’s no surprise to see them be so successful. »
“We thrive in this type of chaos”
It’s not for nothing that this match was organized in Hamilton. The experience of freezing cold in Edmonton in November, against Mexico, had worked like a charm.
“What we learned in that first game in Edmonton was that we were able to keep the intensity high throughout,” explained John Herdman. […] It got pretty chaotic against Mexico, but we thrive on that kind of chaos. »
The thermometer should read – 6 ° C on Sunday afternoon, at the start of the match. Nothing to scare visitors.
“They played in Edmonton and we played in Columbus,” said Berhalter. We are used to the cold now. »
“Everything we do, we do to maximize our chances of qualifying,” said Herdman. […] We knew that no matter where we organized this game, the fans were going to follow us. The team captured the enthusiasm of the fans. We could have gone to Saskatchewan, and we would have filled the stadium! »
“We are Canadian, we like the cold,” he adds, laughing.