The Canadian National Men's Football Team made history this week in Edmonton
I have to say that Tuesday night was one of the event nights that you remember years down the line when someone asks you where you were. On Tuesday night November 16th, the Canadian Men's National Soccer Team played the powerhouse Mexicans or El Tri in a 2022 World Cup Qualifying match in Edmonton in front of close to 45, 000 people.
The rise of Canadian football in the last few years has been great to watch. With the talent that the men's team has been able to develop through local clubs and Major League Soccer and in Europe, we now are seeing the fruits of Canadians being able to play in big leagues. If you watch this team you Canadians like Alphonso Davies who plays his club football at one of the biggest clubs in the world, Bayern Munich in Germany. Over the last several years it seems that Davies and Bayern have won every major trophy available to the club and at 21 years old Davies is one of if not the best footballer Canada has produced in decades. The Canadian talent pool goes even further with players like Jonathan David who plays in France and Cyle Larin and Atiba Hutchison who both play on the same team in Turkey's top league. The Canadian men's team has finally come into its own under coach John Herdman and it seems like the sky is the limit.
The Canadian win on Tuesday night put them at the top of the World Cup Qualifying group, ahead of The United States and Mexico and in a clear position with six matches left to make it to next year's World Cup Finals in Qatar which Canada has not qualified for since 1986.
I think most of my friends know me pretty much as a baseball guy and it may seem weird that I speak about soccer but take it for what it is. It feels much better being a sports fan than just living through only one sport. As kids, if you play one sport you are often urged rightfully so to play another sport. This is what builds the love of different sports and understanding of different sports. This past Tuesday shows that Canada still has a love for a sport that might not be number one or two or three and I'm sure a potential World Cup berth will only help it that love growing.
Comments