John Herdman, the coach of Canada’s men’s soccer team, has his concern on his face.
Speaking to reporters from his hotel room in Slovakia last week ahead of all-important friendlies against World Cup host Qatar on Friday in Vienna (1 p.m. ET) and Uruguay in Bratislava , Slovakia, Tuesday (12 p.m. ET), looked low. anxious, not his usual exuberant self.
She admitted that lately her nights have been disrupted by more than just jet lag.
“These last four months since June, it seems like so much is happening,” he said. “Some super positive stuff and some stuff that, yeah, keeps me up at night.”
June was a reference to Canada’s previous international window, which was a debacle from the start. After guiding his team to their first World Cup in 36 years, Herdman could only watch as everything he had so carefully built began to crumble around him.
First, Canada Soccer’s proposed Vancouver friendly against Iran was canceled because it was an unforgivably bad idea; a hastily arranged provisional match against Panama was scuttled by a players’ strike over their World Cup wages.
This dispute remains unresolved. And now, just two months away from Canada’s World Cup opener against host Belgium on Nov. 23, Herdman’s navigation of a litany of other dilemmas will dictate whether he is able to respond, positively, to a general question: can you recover the feeling of joy, of brotherhood. , and the predetermination that got his team to Qatar in the first place?
“I have no doubt that difficult decisions will come,” he said. “There are a lot of moving parts at this point.”
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Unusual World Cup calendar
Unusually, this year’s World Cup will be held in winter to avoid the worst of Qatar’s heat, disrupting the European club season. That has compressed the game schedule of Canada’s top players, including Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich, Stephen Eustáquio at Porto and Jonathan David at Lille, leading to fatigue and injury concerns.
Atiba Hutchinson, one of Canada’s spiritual leaders and the veteran captain of Turkish giants Beşiktaş, will miss this window with a bone bruise that will sideline him until at least the end of October. It would be like a tragedy if he can’t play in the tournament he fought so hard to get to.
“It’s a tough situation,” Herdman said. “I can’t hide from it. If there’s someone you want to see in a World Cup, it’s Atiba Hutchinson.”
In Hutchinson’s absence, David (Junior) Hoilett will take over as captain.
Tajon Buchanan, one of Canada’s most dynamic young forwards, has also been reduced to a sitter this season. He is recovering from a quad injury he suffered with Club Brugge and while he will be present for the Uruguay side, he is unlikely to play.
“Both club and country are trying to wrap it in cotton wool,” Herdman said.
With any luck, Canada’s squad won’t be as depleted by injuries as their European counterparts, because there aren’t as many Canadians playing in the top leagues. France alone are missing a dozen players in this window, including Karim Benzema, Hugo Lloris and Ngolo Kanté. Germany’s Marco Reds broke down in tears after injuring his ankle playing for Dortmund last week, fearing he has missed his chance to go to Qatar.
Every country is one step away from disaster.
Star Alphonso Davies is expected to lead Canada’s attack. (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press)
Another concern for Herdman
Herdman has another, opposite concern: Several of his key players are professionals in Major League Soccer and will face long competitive breaks before the World Cup begins. Worse, many are missing the playoffs, extending their seasons.
At Toronto FC alone, Jonathan Osorio, Mark-Anthony Kaye, Richie Laryea and Doneil Henry (who recently suffered a hamstring injury) will be home in early October.
While a short recovery period might have been in order, six weeks out of competition is too good as it pushes players beyond the realm of rest and into the realm of rust.
Football players are ridiculously fit, they can drop an elevated heart rate by 50 beats in a minute, but this level of conditioning requires constant maintenance.
So, crucially for Canada, team spirit.
The Canadians breezed through CONCACAF to qualify for the World Cup, in part because they are young and talented, but also because of the sense of purpose and unity Herdman has instilled in them.
They carried a literal sword, inscribed in Latin: Nihil timendum est. “There is nothing to fear.”
That’s pretty good when you have to beat Haiti. Now they’re about to face their toughest competition in decades (Canada has rarely faced a team with the quality and ambition of 13th-ranked Uruguay), going into their final hours frantic together before gathering once more in Qatar to face the world.
No wonder John Herdman is a little sleepless.