Posted at 12:00 p.m.
“They have an assurance that I haven’t seen from a Canadian team since 1986.”
Paul Dolan knows what he’s talking about: he was a goalkeeper for the Canadian soccer team that played in the World Cup in Mexico that year. He notably allowed his team to hold in check the powerful France, European champions, until the 79and minute. Canada finally lost 1-0 in this first match, an honorable defeat if ever there was one.
The 1986 squad was Canada’s first team – and to this day the only one – that managed to qualify for a World Cup.
Until the one mentioned in this phone call with The Press. The current group have yet to confirm their ticket to Qatar next November, but they have never been closer: after 11 out of 14 matches, Canada are first in the CONCACAF Octagon. He is still undefeated. And plays with a “confidence” and a “fraternity” which, according to Paul Dolan, compares to what we saw in 1986.
“It’s a more talented team player for player, concedes the analyst of the Vancouver Whitecaps games for TSN. But it also takes a group of individuals who are on the same wavelength. That’s what we had in 1986, with the excellent trainer Tony Waiters. And that’s what we see now. Everyone has this cohesion and works for the same goal. »
That faith and trust in each other, on and off the pitch, is paying off.
Paul Dolan
Forward Dale Mitchell was also there at this World Cup. He had scored four goals in qualifying. And had started for the last of three games in Mexico, against the Soviet Union.
For him, this 2022 team stands out for the “depth of its workforce”. The pool of players available to coach Tony Waiters was a lot thinner back then, shall we say.
“We had to rely on a small core of players, explains the scorer of 19 goals with Canada, from 1980 to 1993. When we arrived at the last qualifying phase, Tony Waiters went for George Pakos. He was an amateur player who worked for the City of Victoria. It’s incredible. He scored crucial goals that helped us qualify! »
“There are a lot of players these days playing in great environments,” adds Mitchell, pointing out that many of them play in MLS or step onto European grounds professionally.
“They deserve everything that happens to them”
What strikes our two interlocutors respectively, is the way in which Canada plays – and wins – its qualifying matches. We’re not talking here about a few good results here and there against teams considered weaker: coach John Herdman’s team beat the United States and Mexico at home, and will seek points from them.
“I love it, it fills me with pride,” rejoices Paul Dolan.
He explains that to qualify in 1986, Canada had to secure first place in CONCACAF. Only 2 teams from the region were going to be part of the 24 nations invited, and Mexico was automatically qualified.
In September 1985, the selection faced Honduras in Saint John’s, Newfoundland. The winner would go to Mexico to play the World Cup there. Canada would win 2-1.
Some cynics might argue that qualifying for the World Cup is easier today: the top three CONCACAF teams go straight there, while the fourth has to go through play-offs. We now invite 32 teams.
But with a four-point lead in the lead, Canada dominates its group.
“They will be the number 1 team, which means they would have qualified in any format, regardless of the number of teams invited. »
“And they deserve everything that happens to them,” said Paul Dolan. They win smart. They win the hard way. They win with beautiful goals and less beautiful ones. It’s just amazing. It’s a real collective effort. »
Dale Mitchell admits the team’s current position in the Octagon is “even better than expected”.
“Personally, I had in mind that the simple fact of going to this final phase was good. This team was going to gain experience which was going to be beneficial for the next World Cup. […] But obviously, their expectations were much higher than we could hope for. The group is to be commended for what it has achieved so far. »
PHOTO THOMAS SZLUKOVENYI, THE CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
Goalkeeper Tino Lettieri prepares to stop the ball redirected by Sergei Rodionov in the first half of the match between Canada and Russia in 1986.
1986, a stab in the water?
In an interview given to FIFA TV in 2014, offered on YouTube, former Canada forward Bob Lenarduzzi lamented that no real legacy had come from Canada’s trip to Mexico.
“Qualifying for our first World Cup didn’t really have the impact we could have hoped for,” he said. All these years later, we haven’t gone back. »
There is a clear explanation, according to both Paul Dolan and Dale Mitchell.
“The North American Soccer League (NASL) went out of business around the same time,” Dolan notes. It meant that there was no longer a professional basis for our young players. I sincerely believe that the leagues that have emerged since the NASL, like MLS, have allowed young players to shine. »
Dale Mitchell, now director of coaching at the Metro-Ford Soccer Club in Coquitlam, east of Vancouver, agrees.
“I found myself playing indoor soccer for a living,” he says. Many of us have done this. We had no choice. »
Mitchell is pleased with the current “structure” of soccer in the country. The MLS teams, their academies as well as the Canadian Premier League (PLC) are all trajectories that did not exist at the time.
What we have in Canada now is so much better than what we had in 1986.
Dale Mitchell
“There have always been good active Canadian players, adds Paul Dolan, but there has not always been this house like the NASL for them to develop. »
So are the current successes the result of increased investment by Soccer Canada? Or can we simply credit a generation of players who answer the call?
“We have the most talented group of players we’ve had, and we have them all at the same time,” said Paul Dolan.
“At the same time we have an Alphonso Davies, suddenly we have a Tajon Buchanan coming out of nowhere. Then a Jonathan David. Then there is Cyle Larin who arrives from college and becomes the all-time leading scorer in the history of the selection in just three years. Who would have thought that we would see this one day? »
By adding a strong core of leadership, like captain Atiba Hutchinson or goalkeeper Milan Borjan, it gives a tight-knit group that believes in its abilities.
And a country that encourages it like never before.
“I’ll never complain about the support we’ve had,” Dolan said. Those who were there were loud and vocal. We had a good Canadian crowd following us in Mexico. But it’s on another level right now. »
PHOTO MOSES CASTILLO, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
jonathan david
A team that has seen others
If they confirm their qualification, will they be intimidated when they come up against the best teams in the world in Qatar?
“Not at all,” launches Paul Dolan.
“There’s probably no place more intimidating than Azteca, Mexico. European teams would tell you the same thing. And what we saw of the current Canadian team against Mexico is that they wanted to attack and that they were absolutely fearless. »
He also underlines the absence of “emotional baggage” resulting from past failures of the selection.
“Alphonso Davies won the Champions League, justifies Paul Dolan. He played against Messi. He plays at the highest level and he fears nothing. This confidence is felt throughout the team. »
“It feels like there is no challenge too big to overcome. »
Scenarios
The next international window will take place from March 24th. Each of the eight teams in the Octagonal will play three games there. Canada could confirm its ticket to Qatar:
- if they win against Costa Rica on March 24, OR…
- if they draw with Costa Rica and Panama draw/lose to Honduras, OR…
- if it draws against Costa Rica and the United States loses against Panama.