hosted partly in Canada<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe room for improvement is definitely in the defensive third, there can be no denying that. In each of their three games, the Canucks were a little too open at the back. Even against Belgium on match-day one, when they conceded just once, they allowed their opponents too much space to break into, while they offered little resistance when push came to shove. Sure, they play an offensive game, which means that being open is often an occupational habit, but they need to find a better balance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To find a better balance, they must improve in terms of end-product. If the final third quality increases, then they can pick and choose their attacks more wisely, which should help them to leave themselves less exposed at the back, which at times was a huge issue. It\u2019s probably why they conceded seven goals in three group games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leaving themselves too open was not the only reason why they failed to advance from the group stages, picking up zero points in the process, oh no. In fact, that had very little to do with the fact that they failed to get something from their opening game against Belgium, during which they were absolutely the superior side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The next steps<\/h3>\n\n\n\n In truth, it wasn\u2019t big things that went wrong for Canada at the World Cup in Qatar. Realistically, their downfall comes down to a combination of some naivety, which is understandable given their lack of top-level tournament experience and poor luck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We really must be honest and say that they could\u2019ve very easily won their opening game against Belgium, which could\u2019ve had a knock-on effect. OK, they didn\u2019t, and they failed to recover, so what are the next steps? How do Canadians bridge the gap between themselves and those who made it through the group stages?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the right track<\/h3>\n\n\n\n First and foremost, they simply need to keep going. Keep trying to play their own game. Herdman really does have some great talent at his disposal, and a lot of his highly talented players are far from finished articles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s not forget the likes of Davies, David and Buchanan are all 23 years of age or under, and they\u2019re all playing their club football in Europe, so the improvement will come, that\u2019s for sure. Pick their moments<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aside from that, in terms of specifics, the Canucks, between now and the next World Cup, need to find a way to manage games better. Of course, they don\u2019t want to lose the attacking drive and high-intensity pressing that made them so threatening at times during their stint in Qatar, but as touched on above, they need to find a balance; they need to work on knowing when to go for it, and when to dig in a keep things a little tighter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the end of the day, when it comes to tournament football at the highest level, it\u2019s not always about being on the front foot. Some of the best teams ever to grace the World Cup have been successful because they\u2019ve had the nous to know when to adopt a more pragmatic approach. Sure, it can get a little dull from an entertainment point of view at times, but at the World Cup, it\u2019s all about getting the job done, and sometimes you have to do it the ugly way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Making huge leaps<\/h3>\n\n\n\n In general, Canadian football has come by leaps and bounds. There\u2019s a real feeling that qualifying for this World Cup was anything but a fluke, and to many people who follow the CONCACAF game, they are the best team in that region, better than both the US and Mexico, which is a testament to how far they\u2019ve come in recent times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The grassroots game has improved, while Canadian Soccer League<\/a> clubs in Canada have advanced quite considerably in terms of talent production. Plenty of good players are now coming through at teams like Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, while more and more of those products are heading to play in Europe, as we\u2019ve seen in recent times with the likes of Jonathon David, Alphonso David and Tejon Buchanan. Who knows, by the time the 2026 World Cup comes around, there could be a whole host of new talent waiting to line up for a Canucks team that looks upwardly mobile.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The journey has now come to an end for the Canadian national team, and it was a journey that started with so much promise. John Herdman\u2019s men were fast out of the gate on match-day one against Belgium, and there was a real sense of belief from both the players and the fans inside Ahmad […]","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9721,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Went Wrong for Canada at the FIFA World Cup?<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n