For the next few years, perhaps, the legacy of Canada at the 2022 World Cup will be a little bit complicated. They are the team who made Canada believe in them for the first time in generations, then the group that showed there is still a long way to go for the sport in this country.

Canada had some legitimately thrilling moments during the tournament, the country’s first-ever World Cup goal against Croatia scored by Alphonso Davies being the finest. But those moments never turned into anything tangible; over 270-plus minutes, the Canadians were given a lesson in what it takes to win on the world’s biggest footballing stage.

They leave Qatar as one of only two teams — the other being the lacklustre hosts — to fail to record a single point. They also leave with a suitcase full of critical lessons and experiences that if applied the right way will be fuel for the team to continue its progression in four years, and beyond.

Belgium, Croatia and Morocco showed Canada in different ways that a gap still exists between them and the world’s top teams. But this country has never before had a better structure in place to continue building a bridge over it.

That work starts with what Canada’s players learned on the field in Qatar — that at the highest level there is no margin for error. Every missed pass, shot or certainly missed penalty will more often than not produce a negative result.

Those lessons also extend to a coaching staff that undoubtedly got it wrong on more than a few occasions, be it in the press, or in the way the team pressed on the field. The tactical questions compounded over the tournament: why was Davies on the right? Why the insistence on a double pivot in midfield? Why did Jonathan David not start against Morocco?

In a responsibility that is likely equally shared by both players and the coaching staff, Canada also fully committed to playing an attacking system that took defensive risks to stay on the front foot in matches and play an entertaining high-tempo style. They certainly learned the downside of doing that in a 4-1 demolition they suffered at the hands of a very good Croatia side. The approach, at its core, may not have been an outright mistake, but Canada did learn the risks of playing this way against world class opposition.

The good news is that Herdman and this group have shown a tremendous ability to take these lessons in stride. Be it the heartbreaking comeback 3-2 loss against Haiti at the 2019 Gold Cup, the 4-1 loss to the United States in Nations League qualifiers or 2-1 to Mexico in the 2021 Gold Cup semifinal, the Canadian team unquestionably learned from all of those experiences.

Herdman will almost certainly be back in 2026 — something he reiterated to media during the tournament. He has more than earned that right, and also few are better placed to apply what he is known to call “learnings”. Continuity will also be critical, as no manager has led Canada through multiple World Cup cycles since Bob Lenarduzzi just before the turn of the century.

This tournament will have provided multiple lessons for Canada Soccer as an organization as well. Everything from logistics to media relations will have to improve in four years’ time to set this team up for success both on and off the pitch. Sure, some of the logistics will be significantly easier on home soil but the demand and hype around this team as World Cup hosts will also never be bigger.

Even the media coverage of the team has a long way to go on multiple levels. Some handled this team with kid gloves unbefitting of progress or this sport’s highest stage. At the same time, a number in Qatar were understandably new to covering this team, which unfortunately resulted in some unfair criticism of a group that remains pioneers for the sport in this country — World Cup results or not.

That group led Canada to their first World Cup in 36 years. Now it will only be four — well three and a half to be exact — before they are back. As hosts, they won’t have to go through the same rigorous qualifying process that shaped this group into what it was on the field and galvanized support off of it.

The work has to start now to make sure that the team remains as relevant as possible during that gap between tournaments. A rumoured appearance at the Copa America would unquestionably be the pinnacle of that, but high-profile friendlies made all the more possible by the fact that Canada’s profile itself is the highest it has ever been, are paramount.

Speaking of high profile, it is just as important that Canadian players continue to test themselves at the highest level week in and week out in club environments. That is already the case in a way it has never been before with Davies and Bayern, David at Lille, Tajon Buchanan and Cyle Larin with Club Brugge, Stephen Eustáquio at Porto and beyond. More will need to join them for this group to continue closing the gap.

Thankfully, launch pads now exist in Canadian soccer that didn’t all those years ago when Canada last qualified for a World Cup, or even a decade ago for that matter. The emergence of League1 Canada and the Canadian Premier League has meant coast-to-coast opportunities for players in a way that has never existed in this country before.

In a nation as diverse as Canada, it has never been more attractive to suit up for the Canadian men’s national team, with several players now pulling on the maple leaf instead of the kits of other high-profile nations. That player pool is only likely to expand with the promise of making history at a home World Cup in 2026.

Speaking of history, it is also impossible to mention the progress that is being made in the sport in this country without celebrating the women’s national team — at least not without the risk of some serious Janine Beckie side-eye. They continue to raise the standard of what is possible for Canadian teams, and will have the chance to build on the wave of momentum for the sport in this country that they started this summer in a World Cup of their own.

They were the first to host a World Cup on home soil, doing so in 2015 and reaching the quarterfinals. As the men’s national team tries to follow in their footsteps the work has to start now. The soccer community in this country needs to reflect on what they witnessed over the past few weeks and then commit to pulling the same direction toward 2026. It will take a lot of work, a lot of builders, but the tools exist in a way they never have before in this country. That in itself provides hope that this World Cup can be the foundation for Canada’s continued rise through the World’s soccer ranks.