It’s remarkable how quickly things can change in international football.

Tuesday night’s resounding win over Suriname closed the book on 2024 for the Canadian men’s national team, bringing them to a natural point of reflection after a whirlwind few months.

One year ago, the Canadian team was at its lowest point since the 2019 Gold Cup. Much of the optimism of the 2022 World Cup qualifying run had vanished, after disappointing performances in big games at the 2023 Gold Cup and Concacaf Nations League, not to mention the reality check in Qatar itself. As 2023 ended, Canada found themselves on the brink of missing out on Copa América, after squandering an aggregate lead and losing their Nations League quarter-final to Jamaica on home soil. At the time, they didn’t even have a permanent head coach, with Mauro Biello taking charge after John Herdman’s departure in late summer.

All the optimism is back in full force 12 months later, though. Canada’s first appearance of 2023 in March saw them get their foot back in the door of the global stage, beating Trinidad and Tobago in a nervy play-in match to qualify for Copa América and book a date with Argentina.

From there, a steady march forward. Jesse Marsch was installed as head coach in late May, shortly before the Copa, and he led Canada all the way to the semi-finals. He followed that fairytale run with an unbeaten window of friendlies against the United States and Mexico, and now this 4-0 aggregate win over Suriname means Canada enter the 2024-25 Nations League semi-finals as the top seed in Concacaf.

In 13 games under Marsch within six months, Canada have won six. The only teams they’ve lost to have been among the world’s elite: twice to a Lionel Messi-led, top-ranked Argentina, once to the seventh-ranked Netherlands, and once — on penalties, with a heavily rotated squad — to Uruguay in the Copa América third place match.

Canada will likely finish 2024 around 31st in the FIFA World Rankings, their best ever placement. At the end of 2023, they were 48th. No other team in the current top 35 was outside the top 40 a year ago. It’s likely one of the sharpest rises in international football this year, at least among teams around the World Cup level.

Marsch revealed to the media on Tuesday that prior to the game, he’d thanked his players for 2024.

“I said that they’ve already impressed me from every level of what my expectations were, and I said they’ve accepted me as a Canadian, and I hope you guys take that as honestly as I mean it,” he said. “They have really accepted me, welcomed me, made me feel at home. And as a manager, especially for a national team where I’m a non-Canadian, it’s very important to me.”

He added: “They’ve literally never let me down since I’ve been with them. They have never come out flat on a performance. Since I’ve been here they have, at every moment, surprised and exceeded expectations.

“What a wonderful experience as a coach.”

However, it’s Marsch himself who has earned gratitude from Canadian soccer fans. Canada may have embraced him, but he has embraced it back. The national team manager has travelled across the country engaging with communities, and he’s demonstrated a keen interest in understanding the full development pathway, from grassroots football to the Canadian Premier League to MLS and beyond. Marsch has brought a handful of Canadian coaches under his wing, including the likes of Mauro Eustáquio and Patrice Gheisar from the CPL, to contribute at national team camps as representatives of the domestic coaching community.

On the pitch, Marsch has overseen a rejuvenation of the Canada squad — sticking to the same core of stars, but more heavily incorporating players like Moïse Bombito, Jacob Shaffelburg and Mathieu Choinière, newcomers to the fold since the 2022 World Cup campaign.

Away from the first team, though, Marsch has also been keen on establishing a blueprint for Canadian football. He made sure, in his postgame remarks on Tuesday, to mention the U-17 team, who beat both Costa Rica and Mexico in friendlies this week; it’s all part of an effort to keep every level of the national team program aligned with a singular vision.

“I’m trying to, in every way, expand our player pool, but also introduce the idea of the way we think about football to a wide population of players and coaches in the Canadian community, with the hope that we can change the trajectory of what this sport can become, and use 2026 in every way possible to explode as a footballing nation,” Marsch said.

“I think we can do that, and that’s why I mentioned the U-17s in this press conference. I want everybody to know that this is not just about the first team. Obviously that’s my job, that’s my task, that’s my mandate, but I believe we can be so much more than that.”

As 2024 ends for the men’s national team, Marsch and his staff will look forward to a massive 2025 — their last full calendar year before the 2026 World Cup on home soil. The full team won’t be together again until March, when they play Mexico in the Nations League semi-finals, but ideally they have learned enough in the handful of camps under Marsch that they can pick up where they left off.

The next year might not have quite the highs of 2024 — at least, they won’t be playing the best team in the world in the semi-final of the world’s oldest international tournament. However, what 2025 does provide is two golden (or perhaps silver?) opportunities for the next box to tick in this team’s progression: winning a trophy.

Canada might not technically be favourites to win either the Nations League or the Gold Cup, but there’s a belief bordering on expectation that the time is right for them to win their first honour since 2000.

“Certainly, we’ll respect everyone that will be there, but we won’t fear anybody,” Marsch said of entering the Nations League final four. “However that tournament turns out, I know that we’ll be ready for it. Sometimes in moments like that, it’s a moment here and a play here and a bounce here or there, but our group is strong and growing. There is something special developing, and it’s clear to all of us.”

One thing was clear in Marsch’s messaging: Canada are not an underdog in Concacaf, but rather a serious threat on any stage.