Herdman names 25-man CanMNT squad for final World Cup qualifiers

2022-03-20

Charlie O’Connor-Clarke, Digital Content Editor (@charliejclarke)

Canada Soccer announced on Sunday the full men’s national team roster that will participate in the upcoming final round of FIFA World Cup qualifying matches beginning later this week.

Coach John Herdman elected to name 25 players to his squad as they prepare to face Costa Rica away from home (March 24), Jamaica at home in Toronto (March 27), and finally Panama on the road (March 30) to close out this Concacaf octagonal stage of qualifying.

This month’s group of players is largely similar to the squad that played during the last window in victories over Honduras, the United States, and El Salvador. Key stars like Jonathan David, Tajon Buchanan, and Stephen Eustáquio have been included, as has CF Montréal youngster Ismaël Koné, earning his first senior call-up after impressing in the early stages of the MLS season.

The most notable absence is Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies, who continues to recover from mild myocarditis and thus won’t be able to play this month for Canada. CF Montréal midfielder Samuel Piette is also absent due to injury.

“As a young man he’s been frustrated, that’s for sure,” Herdman said of Davies. “He’s an energetic guy and he’s been told to sit and do nothing for eight, nine weeks. He’s excited to be back, I know that, but realistic as well about his recovery and road to recovery.

“We were desperate to have him in, to be part of this, to get him on the pitch even for a few minutes to help him experience all the effort he put in over this four years, but there’s bigger things ahead. His health, everything around the heart is so precarious so all of us just want to make sure he comes back to full health, and the best place for him to be is Bayern Munich.”

Herdman did add that Canada Soccer continues to work with Bayern on the possibility of having Davies present with the group at some point this window, but asserted that his recovery takes priority.

The Canadians find themselves on the cusp of securing their ticket to Qatar 2022, with the possibility of clinching their first World Cup appearance since 1986 as soon as their first match against Costa Rica. After 11 games so far, Canada sit first in the eight-team table with seven wins, four draws, and zero defeats for 25 points — four ahead of both the United States and Mexico. The top three teams in the round robin qualify directly to Qatar, while the fourth side (currently Panama) advances to an intercontinental playoff against a team from Oceania.

Canada have already secured at least a spot in that playoff, but they’re extremely close to guaranteeing the automatic qualification as well — and the staff and players have indicated that they would like to finish the qualification round in first place, and maintain their undefeated record.

“I don’t think anyone wants it to end, we’ve really enjoyed the experience,” Herdman quipped. “I mean, if you’d asked was I enjoying it as I was entering the stadium in Haiti, no, but when you look back, there’s been some amazing moments… It’s been 17 games now on this journey, and three left to go.

“There’ll be more growth in these next three games; I think this is probably the toughest schedule in terms of heading into Costa Rica in a must-win match for them, with altitude and heat, back to Canada against a team like Jamaica with their quality that can play free without the burden of qualifying, and then we’re off to Panama who will be in another must-win game. That’s what you get out of bed for, it’s what we’ve hoped for, that we play these types of matches and keep writing new chapters in this story.”

All three of Canada’s matches in this window can be viewed on OneSoccer, as well as on Sportsnet and RDS. The full squad is below:

CanMNT’s Roster