John Herdman wants to remain as Canada coach through 2026 World Cup
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — John Herdman desires to stay as Canada’s coach by means of the 2026 World Cup in North America after main the nation to its return to soccer’s prime event.
“Eleven years of work in this country and I’ve been pioneering for a long period of time, and you’ll not find anyone as passionate as I am about this program or about these players or about this staff,” Herdman said Wednesday. “You’ll not find one as passionate who wants to take the country to that next level. And you’ll not meet anyone that’s experienced this moment with this team — and the learning that I’ll take from this to take into the next one.”
In the World Cup for the primary time since 1986, Canada misplaced its opening match 1-0 regardless of outplaying Belgium, then took a second-minute lead towards Croatia earlier than dropping 4-1 and getting eradicated. The Canadians shut towards Morocco on Thursday.
Herdman, a 47-year-old from Britain, coached New Zealand’s girls’s workforce from 2006-11 and Canada’s girls from 2011-18, successful Olympic bronze medals in 2012 and 2016.
He took over the Canadian males in 2018 and led them to first place in qualifying in North and Central America and the Caribbean.
Herdman was particularly pleased with the best way Canada performed towards Belgium.
“Thierry Henry told me this team played them off the park,” Herdman mentioned of the previous French star, now an assistant to Belgium coach Roberto Martinez. “I’ll take that, because if that’s our foundation, we got a great four years ahead, and I can’t wait to get after it.”
Herdman sees a part of the workforce’s mission as rising the game’s prominence in Canada. Alphonso Davies’ objective was Canada’s first in 5 World Cup video games, and Herdman hopes the nation will get its first win towards Morocco, which is contending for a spot within the knockout stage.
Canada will co-host the 2026 World Cup with the United States and Mexico, staging video games in Toronto and Vancouver, British Columbia. Canadian soccer officers hope this yr’s World Cup and the build-up to the following spark elevated youth curiosity within the sport.
“It’s those kids and those schools that will keep believing that Canada is a football country,” Herdman mentioned, “because they’ve seen that Belgium game, they’ve seen Davies score against Croatia and they know we are — I nearly said it, yeah, we’re a football country. We’re there. And you can’t deny that. No one can.”
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