Early thoughts on the CanMNT's squad ahead of October's crucial World Cup qualifiers
The CanMNT's squad for their October World Cup qualifiers dropped this week. Here's a look at what stood out from the 27-player group called in by John Herdman.
It’s roster release day!
As expected, the CanMNT dropped their squad for the next round of World Cup qualifiers on Friday, revealing who will don the Canadian Maple Leaf during the next international break.
After a good start to the final round of World Cup qualifiers, one that sees Canada sit 2nd out of 8 teams in the ‘Octo’, this is a massive window for Canada, as some big games await them here.
Having faced Honduras at home, the US away, and El Salvador back at home during the last window in September, things will get harder for Canada this time around in this October window, as they must face Mexico away, Jamaica away and Panama at home, giving them a tough 3 matches to deal with in a span of just under a week.
Because of that, Canada’s head coach, John Herdman, has called in a strong squad to tackle these games, holding back no punches when it came to his roster selection.
After essentially calling in only 22 players in the September window, he’s elected to call in 27 this time around, as a combination of travel, injuries, health restrictions and other concerns has left Canada needing to call in extra bodies to shore up the squad.
And that’s exciting. With Canada’s player pool being as deep as ever, the more that they turn to their extra reservoir of players, the bigger the opportunity for someone to break out becomes.
That looks to be the case this window, because while 22 of the 23 players called up in September are back, 5 new players are in the squad, with all of them being intriguing options, making it interesting to see where those players fit in both in this window, as well as going forward.
So with that all in mind, however, here are some early thoughts on Friday’s squad announcement, as well as Herdman’s subsequent press conference. As usual, a more in-depth squad analysis will be out next week on btsvancity.com, but here’s what’s worth chewing on ahead of then.
Injury concerns take hold:
But while it’s exciting to see Herdman call up 27 players for this camp, it’s as much due to a necessity as it is to give a chance to some new faces in the squad.
Due to a rush of injury and other health concerns, it’s left him with a bit of a shorthanded lineup to start camp, making it tough to select a full squad.
So while Scott Kennedy is the lone face to actually miss out from September’s squad, as he suffered a muscle injury that could keep him out until well into November, the doubtful status’s of a few players left Herdman in a tough position with his squad selection.
Along with several other factors also in play, such as the fact that 5 Canadian players are 1 yellow card away from suspension, factored in with the travel, Herdman just preferred to give his team some extra depth to mitigate any potential risks, hence the bigger squad.
With Cyle Larin (thigh), Atiba Hutchinson (thigh), Milan Borjan (COVID-19) and Lucas Cavallini (knee) all doubts to be healthy for the camp, Herdman elected to just play things safe and call in some extra bodies for this one.
Despite that, though, with Larin, Hutchinson, Borjan and Cavallini all still on the squad, what’s Herdman’s plan for those players?
“Yeah, they’re included on the roster because we still think that there’s an opportunity where they can take part in some of this window,” Herdman explained on Friday. “Their return to play plan is progressing, and there is a chance that the 3 of them may see some time in this 10-day window.”
He added: “Then obviously with Cavallini, who is currently injured, he’s on a return to play (plan).”
“So we know it’s a complex window this one, we got lucky in September, being able to come into camp with everyone healthy and fresh and to carry only 23 players.”
But as mentioned earlier, those injuries aren’t the only thing that Herdman has to worry about this window.
According to Herdman himself, Junior Hoilett will be unable to participate in Canada’s first game against Mexico, as UK-based players are currently unable to travel to red-list countries such as Mexico unless they’re fully-vaccinated, which seems to apply to Hoilett in this case.
Otherwise, the other thing to keep an eye on is any disciplinary issues, because in CONCACAF’s World Cup qualifiers, picking up 2 yellow cards does earn you a suspension, which means that for Canada, Sam Adekugbe, Richie Laryea, Mark Anthony Kaye, Tajon Buchanan and Steven Vitoria are all one caution away from earning a mandatory one-game rest, so that has to be factored in as well.
Ultimately, with so many potential tight-ropes to have to navigate, Herdman went for a bit of safety with the extra bodies, and considering the depth that he has at his disposal, that should serve Canada well over the course of this tough window.
Canada celebrates a goal against El Salvador last month (Keveren Guillou)
Hot starts open door for new faces:
But while Canada would like to have as much of its supposed ‘first choice’ team as possible in these games, they know that’s not going to happen.
So with those potential absences, creates opportunities, and as a result, there are 5 new players who will get the chance to win some plaudits from Herdman this camp.
Thanks to the extension to a 27-man squad, that opened up space for newcomers Derek Cornelius, Jacob Shaffelburg, Liam Millar, Charles Andreas Brym and Zachary Brault Guillard to all come into this squad, adding much-needed depth.
Plus, more importantly, these 5 aren’t just here to come help fill the bench, but they all can fill a potential area of need for Canada, as they all are in good form.
Over in Europe, Cornelius is playing regularly at centre back for a solid Panetolikos side in the top Greek circuit, while Millar has been on fire up front for Swiss giants, FC Basel, as of late, and Brym has found some good form up top for FC Eindhoven in the 2nd Dutch division, too.
Along with the strong performances stateside from Shaffelburg on the wing for Toronto FC, making him one of the hottest players in MLS these past few weeks, and Brault-Guillard, who has quietly been solid all year long for Montreal, these are players that Herdman has targeted for a reason.
But other than Cornelius, none of them might have gotten a chance had it not been for this extended squad, which will now allow them a chance to show why their club form has given them this shot in the first place.
Because of that, Herdman is quite excited to see what this quintet can show in training during this camp, as he is well aware of what they can bring to the table, and will look to bring it out of them over the next few weeks.
“There are players like Liam Millar, who’s been a part of our program, and we’ve been waiting for him to get this consistent run of form at a big club like Basel,” Herdman explained. “And then obviously there’s Jacob Shaffelburg, who’s been a shining light for TFC.”
“Then there are other players, like Zachary Brault-Guillard who’s continued with consistency this season, obviously, Charles Andreas Brym would be another who’s starting to get continuity at the professional level, so I’m excited.”
What about Richie Ennin?
But while those players certainly deserved a call into Canada’s squad, it’s worth noting that there was one name that some were expecting to join that list of fresh faces, and that’s 23-year-old forward, Richie Ennin, who’s made a bit of noise with Russian side Nizhny Novgorod to start the year.
Having picked up a few assists to go along with some good performances in one of the strongest leagues in Europe, some wondered if Ennin could earn a first Canadian call-up this camp, helping shore up Canada’s depth at forward.
Instead, though, Ennin is now left waiting for his first Canadian call-up, leaving some to wonder if Herdman should’ve brought in the forward, who in most people’s eyes did enough to earn a call.
But for Herdman, it’s not just his form that played into the decision.
As he admitted on Friday, he’s well aware of Ennin’s existence, and likes the way that he’s tracking, but something else went into his decision to leave him without his first call-up - familiarity.
To understand what that means, considering this - what do Cornelius, Brym, Shaffelburg, Brault-Guillard and Millar all have in common?
They’ve been called up to a Canadian program at some point within the last 2 years, be it with the senior team or at the U23 level, all earning caps at some point along the way.
Unfortunately for Ennin, though, his last call-up to Canada came all the way back in 2017, when he was called into the U20 team, meaning that he doesn’t have the same familiarity with the program, making it hard for Herdman to justify calling him in ahead of the others.
That doesn’t mean that we can’t expect to see Ennin before the end of the Octo, though. If he keeps up his strong play, Herdman won’t be able to ignore him for much longer, and he made sure to point out as much when asked about the forward on Friday.
“Yeah, he’s someone that we’re tracking, for sure,” Herdman said of Ennin. “When you’re playing in a league like Russia, it’s a tough league for any young professional to hone a career in, so we’ve been tracking him, he’s played 5 matches, in those matches he’s showing that he’s got talent, you can see that.”
“And he’s growing a professional. He’s got a bit of a wait to get into the MNT, and see how he progresses over this period of time, but he’s certainly on our radar, and that’s good news for Richie, he knows that every game, national team staff is scrutinizing these performances, and hopefully that spurs him on.”
So while the Ennin hype train might have been slowed down for now, it still has plenty of steam left in the engine, and could very well rev up in time for, say, the November or January windows, among others.
If anything, he’s just another example of how hard it can be to get into the CanMNT these days (just ask Scott Arfield), and that’s a good problem for this team to have.
Back your winter jackets - the CanMNT is heading to Edmonton:
Lastly, it’s worth talking about the last bit of news to come out of today’s roster announcement, and it’s a big one - Canada is heading to Edmonton for November, where they’ll play their 2 games in that window, against Costa Rica on November 12th and versus Mexico on November 16th, at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium.
It’s a long time coming for Edmonton, who haven’t hosted the CanMNT since 2013, meaning that for many of these players, this will be their first time playing in the city.
But for those who know Edmonton, it’s a surprisingly underrated soccer city.
If you were there at the 2015 World Cup, you would’ve seen them fill the place to watch the CanWNT/CanXNT, for example, and the CanMNT is looking for a similar reception this time around.
Plus, with this being the first game in Edmonton for Alphonso Davies in a Canadian shirt, this is a big deal, as the Canadian superstar actually grew up in the city, which will make these games special for him.
So while it’s unsure how much of the 60 000 tickets that Canada will be able to sell for each game will be sold, these 2 games have the potential to be ones that fill the seats, especially seeing how important they are to Canada’s World Cup hopes.
But while all of that was factored into the decision to host these games, Herdman made sure to point out the obvious when asked about these games - these are also scheduled to make their 2 opponents, Costa Rica and Mexico, as uncomfortable as possible on the pitch.
A quick google search indicates that around that time of year, Edmonton tends to average a cool -10 degrees Celcius (before windchill), which for those who are familiar with geography, doesn’t exactly line up with the warmer Mexican and Costa Rican climates.
On the flip side, the question can also be asked - would this not hinder the Canadians as much as their opponents, as many of them don’t consistently play in this weather?
And while the answer to that is probably yes, seeing that Canada will have the whole window to set up shop in Edmonton and get used to the conditions, they’re banking on that disadvantage being nullified via that, allowing them to wreak havoc on their opponents.
Seeing that every time they travel to an away day in CONCACAF, their opponents aren’t shy in using whatever advantage that they have to their disposal, be it natural or unnatural, it’s only fair that Canada gives their opponent’s a similarly icy welcome (no pun intended) in November.
“We could have made things a lot easier by playing in a different environment,” Herdman admitted. “But we wanted to make it difficult for our opponent, we wanted to make them travel across time zones, to play in a Canadian winter, on a surface that they won’t be happy with.”
“We get a chance to play 2 matches at home in an environment that we can control, get our players acclimatized to, and create a fortress out west.”
Looking Forward:
Other than that, though, that’s the gist of what stood out from Friday’s roster announcement and subsequent press conference.
This is a big window for Canada, who can really do some important work in their quest to make the World Cup, and they’re well aware of that.
That’s reflected in their squad selection, both in terms of size and talent, as they’ll hope that the 27 players that they called up can do a job over the next few weeks.
After a decent first window, they’ll want to make this a great one, putting them in the driving seat heading into the last 3 windows of the Octo, giving them a chance to dream of returning to the World Cup for the first time since 1986.
It won’t be easy, as some tough games await them, but with the squad that they’ve got at their disposal, there’s no reason why they can’t have a bit of belief, and they’ll look to channel that belief onto the pitch as soon as next week, when the games get going for real again.
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Canada’s Jonathan David and Stephen Eustaquio celebrate David’s goal against El Salvador in September (Keveren Guillou)