Canada

Having thrown away their quarter final lead against Jamaica and then losing on penalties, Canada missed out on the CNL final four and now have a single match play-in against Trinidad and Tobago for qualification to the Copa America 2024, which will be played in the US with six Concacaf guests.

What to expect

Canada have been going through turmoil behind the scenes with players complaining they aren’t paid enough and the stepping down of former coach John Herdman who took over in 2018, took them to the World Cup and the Nations League final four, but ended his term after a disappointing 2023 Gold Cup that saw them knocked out in the quarter finals by the USA on penalties.

Their transition from being an also-ran on the international stage to being an elite Concacaf nation and competing on the world stage has been one of the feel-good stories of international football.

But with internal federation chaos, a lack of commercial support for the team within Canada, and a group of players greedy for more money, the feel-good story is losing its silver lining.

The current group of players is undoubtedly talented but has never quite managed to achieve the big tournament wins that their talent merits. Winning penalty shoot outs would be a start on that road having lost their last two major tournament deciding ones.

The Canadians have named a squad with their brightest stars for the play-in match including Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies.

There are 10 players in the squad with less than 10 caps. Only one player (31-year-old midfielder Jonathan Osorio of Toronto FC) is over the age of 30. Six are 23 or younger.

Interim head coach Mauro Biello is overseeing what he calls a “cultural reset” and playing a weak looking Trinidad and Tobago is a good place to start.

A win is pretty much non-negotiable for Canada. A loss will need to trigger more than a cultural reset.

Players to watch

Alphonso Davies, Concacaf’s player of the year in 2022, is the shining light and talisman in this Canada team. He was withdrawn from the 2023 Gold Cup squad along with star strikers Jonathan David and Cyle Larin but all three are back for this crucial match. They are surrounded by a youthful looking squad but Davies’ game-changing genius and David and Larin’s goals will be the deciding factor if they are to progress.

Manager

Mauro Biello was an assistant coach on the Canadian national team until taking over as interim head coach when John Herdman stepped down last year. A former striker he spent 16 seasons with Montreal Impact scoring 80 goals and making more than 300 appearances. He played four times for Canada.

From 2015 to 2017 he was head coach of the Montreal Impact before moving to to the coaching team at the national federation.

Schedule

March 23 vs Trinidad and Tobago, Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas, Kick-off 3pm

Squad