Itâs been nearly four decades since the Canadian menâs national team took part in the FIFA World Cup, and John Herdman believes heâs the one to end that drought.
The CanMNT head coach did not flinch from big expectations and bold proclamations as Canada Soccer unveiled their strategic plan for the next three years on Monday, as he pledged to finally get Les Rouges punching at or above their weight in Concacaf and beyond.
âWe donât have excuses. I donât want to be that guy making them. At the end of the day if we donât qualify for [2022], itâll be a disappointment,â Herdman told reporters at an event at BMO Field in Toronto. âTo put that level of expectations on the team is critical. The team wants that, theyâre ready for it. They know itâs now or never for many of them.
âSo when you say, âhow do you know itâs going to happen?â â we have to make it happen. But more importantly, we have to believe, and I think that belief is there from the men who are going to be leading the charge.â
Whatâs more, he also vowed that the program will kick on and be truly competitive four years later, when Canada co-host the worldâs favorite tournament with Mexico and the United States. Herdman alluded to data analysis of the past 20 years that he said shows that Canada have been underperforming at international level relative to the rest of the region, and believes âa commitment to a high-performance cultureâ can raise the collective levels.
âThe 2026 World Cup has brought an acute focus for this organization to do everything in its power to ensure that Canada can compete at that World Cup,â said the Englishman, who took charge of the CanMNT slightly more than a year ago, after a successful six-year stint in charge of the womenâs national team.
âThe culture is evolving.â
