Canada prepares for its 1st World Cup in 36 years
With the World Cup now getting closer to the final stages, the players and coaches of the Canadian Soccer Association are getting more and more excited. The first World Cup in 36 years, featuring the reigning CONCACAF Champions and Olympic champions is now in the books.
The first game in the history of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, played in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, on June 1, 2012, saw the Canadian men’s group finish as runners-up to the United States. The Canadian men’s women’s group finished fourth but were able to take home the silver medal, after edging past Canada’s women. The men’s senior group finished first in their group of four, but lost to Japan by a single goal.
When asked if he was surprised the Canadian men were able to go into the 2012 competition with only four players from the Gold Cup, head coach John Herdman said, “It’s always a challenge. Now, two [Canadians] have been playing at the same age for a long time. To say the Canadian men’s Gold Cup team is a young team is really an understatement. The most important thing is to have young players come in who are hungry. It’s very difficult to go into a World Cup with a young team. You have to be willing to put the young players through the paces to see if they can compete at the highest level. The biggest thing is to have the players who have been in the program for a long time.”
“We’re delighted to have the chance to win a World Cup for the first [time] since 1986,” said Herdman after the Canadian men’s Gold Cup win. “I hope when we win this World Cup it’s the kind of trophy that takes us to the next level and the
