Canada was one of the last World Cup teams to name their roster for the tournament, but when they did on Sunday, their potential at their first World Cup in 36 years became that much clearer.
So much of Canada’s roster has been known for some time now, though there were a few notable surprises on Sunday. Head coach John Herdman said that his priority was informing players who didn’t make the squad ahead of informing those who did, some of whom likely already knew. Such has been the state of Canada’s team for close to a year now: throughout qualifying, Herdman wanted to determine who he could trust in difficult situations in preparation for the World Cup.
That likely led, in some part, to the most notable surprise of Sunday’s announcement: 24-year-old Liam Fraser getting the nod as one of the final players on the roster.
Fraser likely made the squad following Doneil Henry being forced out of Canada’s friendly against Bahrain on Friday with a calf injury sustained in warm-up.
A touching video posted by Canada Soccer after the announcement speaks to that sense of surprise:
This is far from just a polite invite for the deep-lying midfielder. Fraser has a long-range passing ability few on the team have. That should help Canada switch the play in possession and get the ball quickly to its wide players, whose pace will be leaned upon.
Fraser can read the game well, too. He goes into tackles with clarity and purpose, making him a vital player who can line up just ahead of the centre-backs and provide defensive coverage to a team that, right now, looks like they could use it.
Fraser was unable to earn a regular starting job in recent spells with Toronto FC and the Columbus Crew. He found that in his move to Belgian second division side KMSK Deinze, though. His invitation to Canada’s camp in Bahrain was his final audition for Herdman and his substitute appearance was apparently enough to confirm his place.
“I definitely think Liam Fraser had a strong performance,” said Herdman. “We needed to see what level he was operating at. That was really important. I thought his second half performance was one of the shining lights in the performance.”
Now, even though Fraser was a late addition to the team, it’s worth noting he has almost always impacted games in a positive way when he’s played for Canada — whether that was as an early substitute against the United States in an October 2019 Nations League game or away to Honduras in World Cup qualifying, when a precise pass that stretched nearly an entire half of the field led to a critical Jonathan David goal.
Next, on Henry: It’s gutting to not see him on the final World Cup roster. He undoubtedly would have been there had he not sustained that aforementioned injury.
Herdman said Henry felt tightness in his calf during the warm-up and tried to push through it, which likely led to a tear. While it was determined Henry might have been able to play in 14 days and therefore had an outside shot to log some minutes in Qatar, Herdman said on Sunday that it was the 29-year-old Henry himself who made the call not to be in the team, and to give the spot to a younger player who would be able to play right away if called upon.
“It really shows his courage, and what this brotherhood is about, when a man can surrender his shirt and take that step forward to support the team in a different role,” said Herdman.
Henry was set to captain Canada in that friendly, a testament not only to his importance on the field and the role he can play in neutralizing attackers with his physicality, but his massive voice among his teammates.
In some welcome news, Henry will still indeed travel to Qatar and be part of the team off the pitch. Throughout the build-up to the World Cup, teammates sung his praises, showing just how important a role he serves off the pitch.
Jonathan Osorio previously praised Henry’s “presence and personality,” including “what he’s been through with the national team and his influence on a lot of young players.”
“(Henry) is vital for the team unity. Vital,” Osorio said. “Because if there’s one guy in that tight-knit circle that is starting to fall out, Doneil is the one to pull them back in.”
CANADA SQUAD
Goalkeepers: James Pantemis, Milan Borjan, Dayne St Clair
Defenders: Samuel Adekugbe, Joel Waterman, Alistair Johnston, Richie Laryea, Kamal Miller, Steven Vitoria, Derek Cornelius
Midfielders: Liam Fraser, Ismael Kone, Mark-Anthony Kaye, David Wotherspoon, Jonathan Osorio, Atiba Hutchinson, Stephen Eustaquio, Samuel Piette
Forwards: Tajon Buchanan, Liam Millar, Lucas Cavallini, Ike Ugbo, Junior Hoilett, Jonathan David, Cyle Larin, Alphonso Davies
With the previous injury to Scott Kennedy that ruled him out of Canada’s World Cup squad, Henry was likely in line to be Herdman’s first-choice centre-back off the bench. Canada’s centre-back depth chart gets quite thin after Henry, with Joel Waterman having just one international cap and Derek Cornelius, a competent defender in his own right, never having his career take off for Canada.
And so Henry’s injury leaves Herdman with even more questions heading into their first game against Belgium on Nov. 23.
One option that Herdman will consider: 39-year-old defensive midfielder Atiba Hutchinson could move into a centre-back role when required. Expect Hutchinson to be used to help slow the game down from a position he’s played before, though sparingly.
“He still has a class IQ wherever you play him on the pitch. And for me, he’s definitely got a profile to be able to give us something in that position. His experience puts him potentially ahead of some of the other centre-backs. So he certainly is major depth in that position,” said Herdman, adding that it will take an “emergency situation, as well as some type of adaptability,” to see Hutchinson at centre-back.
Speaking of adaptability, Liam Millar was likely one of the last names to be called, but that shouldn’t be a knock on what he can bring. Canada’s forward depth is just that stable, and the players ahead of him have been locked in for some time. Millar plays as more of a pure winger for FC Basel in Switzerland, but there’s literally no one on the squad who is taking minutes away from Alphonso Davies in a left wing role.
Herdman went into the September camp wanting to test different forwards in different roles to provide his team with some depth and versatility. Millar fits the bill there. Given Davies’ dominance as a left winger, it feels likely Millar could be tested in a left wingback role to back up for Sam Adkeugbe when needed. Millar’s inclusion could give Canada some attacking flavour at left wingback.
Two other notable additions to the squad that would have been difficult to fathom a year or so ago were Waterman and goalkeeper James Pantemis. Both had strong, upstart seasons for Montreal and undoubtedly played their way onto the roster. Injuries helped the case for both players, particularly that of Pantemis, but nevertheless, both can provide inspiration to others: they are the only two members of the team with experience playing in the nascent Canadian Premier League.
The CPL began in 2019 to provide professional opportunities for players who might not have gotten them otherwise. While there have been some ups and downs throughout the league’s first four seasons, that Pantemis spent time on loan with Winnipeg’s Valour FC and Waterman was drafted into the CPL in 2018 and became the first player to move from the CPL to MLS speaks volumes about the role this league could have in future Canadian World Cup rosters.
“It’s a great message, a huge message to young Canadians,” said Herdman. “The pathway to the World Cup is non-linear. It’s a dynamic approach, you have to keep believing, and what I believe the Canadian Premier League has done is created a foundation for players in this country to keep believing, to keep pushing. And I think we all hope that (the CPL) becomes a top, top league in years to come and decades to come. And that’s been started by a group of pioneers now that we’re celebrating. In five, 10, 20 years more, I think we’ll be celebrating a lot more.”
We can’t look at the inclusion of both Pantemis and Waterman without understating what a role CF Montreal has played in this Canada roster. Six total players from CF Montreal will head to Qatar. The next closest number is three players from Toronto FC and two from Club Brugge. Every other player on the squad comes from different clubs.
With four outfield players likely to see regular minutes in Qatar and Waterman possibly seeing time as a substitute, the synergy these CF Montreal players have and the understanding of each other’s natural movements on the pitch could end up benefitting Canada in their build-up play.
“It’s a huge advantage,” said Herdman. “These players have fought together in the club environment, they’ve grown in confidence. There’s obviously some chemistry there. They understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses. So for me, it’s a huge plus.”
And Herdman can use all of the pluses he can get. Canada is entering a group with Belgium, Croatia and Morocco as a serious underdog. As much as Herdman talks up this team’s brotherhood and fighting spirit, that’s a fact he has never run from.
“Whether you’re playing in an MLS semi-final, or you play your first cap for Canada, a World Cup is different, and the opponents are different,” said Herdman. He was discussing 20-year-old Canadian midfielder Ismael Kone in particular, but in some ways, his message can apply to many other players on this Canada team. “They’ll smell and they’ll take advantage of any inexperience. That’s the level we’re dealing with, when you’re coming up against (Belgium players like Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard and Youri Tielemans), these players can smell and sense the inexperience in players and they will take advantage.”
The Europe-based Canada players who have not already arrived in Qatar with the MLS players will do so on Sunday and Monday. Canada will then face Japan in a friendly in Dubai on Thursday. That match should provide a clear look at what Herdman’s first-choice starting XI could be.
And from there, the 26 players named to the roster will return to Qatar and begin their group stage, hoping to prove they are capable of stunning the soccer world with an upset or two at their first World Cup in 36 years.