Sober second thoughts: One sexy hoser
This team is good. Very good.
Growing up we all probably knew someone who left for summer vacation without notice only to arrive back at school in the fall looking like they had walked off the lot of a a Hollywood movie set. Often, despite their sudden shift in attractiveness, the new starlet would be blissfully unaware of their new status.
While others swooned, they continued on doing what they had always done, oblivious to the sensation they were creating.
Sometimes, that clueless-ness would persist for years. Even though half the school was swooning over them, they still viewed themselves as awkward and unattractive. So much so that it could become a self-perpetuating prophesy; if you view yourself as unattractive, eventually you do become less desirable to those who might fancy you otherwise.
However, those that do figure it out — that realize that they have been blessed with exactly the right kind of attributes that attract others — can pretty much get whatever they want. To continue the Hollywood comparison, those kids are the cool kids hosting the party in the teen flick. They get most of the wins.
The lesson is that you need to believe in yourself, but this isn’t a blog post about teen dating (thankfully). No, it’s a blog about soccer.
Specifically, it’s a blog post about the CanMNT and their recent run of form in 2024 specifically and since 2019, in general.
Les Rouges are kind of that kid that got hot during the summer. Best of all, they now seem to also be the kind that have figured that out too. The way they approached the two game tie with Suriname showed just how confident they are in themselves and it hints at where they view themselves in the pecking order of CONCACAF now.
Simply put, they act and play like they are the top dogs in this confederation. Less than two years from the home World Cup, there’s only one of the host teams that are playing with their tail up and it’s not the one anyone would have guessed when North America was given hosting rights.
As fans — let’s make ourselves the new hottie’s best friend in this analogy that I’m still keeping up — we are still struggling with this reality. We shouldn’t. The work that was done under John Herdman in the 2022 cycle has been built upon and improved by Jesse Marsch this year and there is no sign that the good times are going to stop anytime soon.
It’s not like Mexico or the USA are going to roll over and just accept that Canada is the best team in CONCACAF right now, but the evidence is pretty clear. In March, CanMNT will get a chance to prove it by winning a trophy. It seems unlikely that they will dirty the sheets at the Finals like they did in 2023. It won’t be a walk — Mexico will practically be playing a home game in the semi-final and the USA— assuming they beat Panama — will definitely be playing one.
Canada is the favourite, though. They are probably the co-favourites (with the always-hosting USA) to win the 2025 Gold Cup.
What’s the ceiling in 2026? Can this team make it out of their group? They should be expected to. A quarterfinal?
Crazier things have happened. More? Well, South Korea made a semi-final at home in 2002, right?
The time for pulling our punches with this team’s exceptions is done. It’s time to start believing.
Canada is hot now.
The only thing that's frustrating with this team is how they play to their competition. They'll go toe-to-toe with Argentina but also struggle against Suriname for half a game. It's probably smart in some way I'm missing, but I'd expect blowouts like we saw at BMO to be the norm against those teams.
...missed passes.