Canada's World Cup run ends with a loss, but optimism for future
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After three thrilling games in Qatar, Canada’s World Cup experience has come to an end after a 2-1 loss to Morocco.
“This game was a really tough start. The mistake by Borjan early on cost them and put them on their back heel,” said John Mozas, who watched with friends at Café Diplomatico on College St. “Unfortunately, in the second half it really was a defensive struggle. Morocco sat back. All they had to do was not have two goals scored against them. They knew they were going through.”
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Hopeful fans watching the morning game see a bright future in a team that returned to the world stage after 36 years.
“It’s pretty cool that they’ve gotten there after so long,” said Jade Palmer, a New Zealander and newly-minted fan of Team Canada sporting a jersey. “A bit of shame that they haven’t been able to get out of the pool stage.”
Canada showed several sustained moments of promise in each World Cup game, and has now scored two goals at this men’s level.
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But no wins yet.
“I think they set soccer forward in Canada. It makes a difference in the way that kids view the game now. It makes a difference in Canadians getting recruited to the Premier league and other European leagues,” said Mozas.
“The team play is miles above where it was four years ago. The coach is excellent. The unity is good. At the end of the day, they had the guys to score. They just didn’t score enough goals. And that was it. They had their chances,” said Mike Fenton.
The national soccer program will shift focus to remaining competitive, developing players, and preparing for the World Cup in 2026 hosted by Canada, the U.S., and Mexico.
But many wonder if coach John Herdman will stay.
“I don’t know if he is going to stick around to tell you the truth,” said Mozas. “He took the team from playing smaller nations, and he took us from that to playing against Belgium, and playing against Croatia, and being on the field with world-class teams. And that is a huge leap.”
Others think he might be enticed to coach in Europe.
“It must be tempting to go for bigger money in Europe. So I don’t know. He has certainly done a great job,” said fan Bob Boettcher. “But if I had to bet, it bet he’s going to go.”
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