There will be a whole lot of pressure on the Canadian men’s national team as they travel to Las Vegas for the 2023 Concacaf Nations League Finals, in search of their first bit of silverware in 23 years.

The team will also be looking to defend their title as the ‘Kings of Concacaf’ after finishing atop 2022 World Cup qualifying, beating all three of the other 2023 Concacaf Nations League finalists — The United States, Mexico and Panama — in the process. In fact, Panama, who they face in the semifinals on Thursday, June 15 (7:00 p.m. ET, OneSoccer), is the only one of those aforementioned sides who they lost to during qualifiers — and Canada were already World Cup-bound at that point.

As they step off the plane in Vegas next week, however, the Canadian men’s national team, on both an individual and collective level, has never had more experience in pressure-filled matches. After the irreplaceable spotlight of the World Cup, several of these players returned to their club teams where they were once again playing in high-pressure environments week in and week out. That includes in some of the top leagues across Europe.

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Lifting a trophy, after all, won’t be a foreign concept to these Canadian players, because several of them did it in recent weeks. Alistair Johnston won his third trophy of the season as Celtic lifted the Scottish Cup on Saturday, Stephen Eustáquio did the same on Sunday in Portugal — lifting the Taça de Portugal with Porto, while Sam Adekugbe (Turkey), Milan Borjan (Serbia) and Alphonso Davies (Germany) all won league titles this season.

“[Winning] becomes a drug, you want more of it,” said Canada head coach John Herdman in a media call. “You sense that with players like Stephen Eustáquio and Cyle Larin etc. These players after winning big leagues or big trophies, they just understand there is a different focus in this period of time. I’ve already sensed it in the conversations I’ve had, there are players that are so dialled in. They want that [Nations League] trophy.”

Pressure can be felt in different ways in European environments, however, and several other players on the squad have played in must-win matches of a different nature of late. Since arriving at their respective clubs in January, for example, the main goal for Cyle Larin on loan at Real Valladolid in Spain or Dominick Zator in Poland with Korona Kielce was to keep their teams out of the relegation zone.

“I think these players have moved into levels where there is always pressure,” said Herdman. “There is pressure to keep your shirt, there is pressure to keep the fans happy, the media happy. They live in a world of pressure.”

Zator’s former Canadian Premier League teammate with Cavalry FC, Victor Loturi, a 22-year-old midfielder playing in his first European season with Ross County, was also part of an incredible relegation escape. Ross County won the Scottish Premier League playoff final after an incredible comeback against Partick Thistle on penalties.

Both Loturi and Zator were crucial to their team’s survival, with the former playing 27 matches, 20 of which were starts and picking up 2 assists, while Zator scored a goal and added an assist in 17 matches, all starts, between fullback and centreback with Korona Kielce.

Larin, meanwhile, and Valladolid were heartbroken on the final day of the season, and relegated to the Segunda Divisiòn. The Canadian, however, certainly did his part scoring a stunning eight goals and adding three assists — including one of each against Barcelona, the first Canadian men’s player to score against the storied club.

Long-term, Herdman hopes to see these players move to environments where they are spending more time at the top end of the table. However, he recognizes the importance of some of the lessons that can be taught under the pressure of survival.

“You’ve got to feel what it is to survive, and you’ve got to feel what it is to win,” said Herdman. “Some of the feelings are similar, but Canada are doing their best to recruit players who are expected to win. Because it changes the culture completely, the language changes, the mentality changes.”

Whether that translates into more big wins in Concacaf competition remains to be seen. What is certain, is that the vast majority of Canada’s Nations League Finals roster will come in pressure-tested and ready for the bright lights of Vegas.