World Cup: John Hardman, Alphonso Davies talk Belgium defeat

Returning to football’s biggest stage for the first time in 36 years, Canada dreamed big.

The expectations of observers and seers mattered little. Many considered qualifying for the tournament a success in itself, while others wanted to avoid embarrassment. But we still have to wait. Internally, however, the team had other dreams.

Manager John Hardman’s men wanted to finish at the top of their group. They stepped onto the pitch on Wednesday to beat Belgium. This team has long been a dark horse to win it all, and has also flirted with competitor status. But in the end Canada lost her 0-1.

“I’m proud of our performance, but we need to get the three points in the first game,” Hardman said after the match. Missed it I’m proud of the performance these young people made a difference they showed they can live on this stage and make the fans proud and feel they are here It was important to us.”

Early in the tournament, Argentina extended their dominance and lost their match against Saudi Arabia, while Germany faced Japan. Canada finds itself in the same boat of emotion that these powerhouses speak of. Let the past be the past and bounce back against Croatia on Sunday.

Herdman recalled coaching the Canadian women who lost their first round of the 2012 Olympics and how they won the bronze medal. He challenges this men’s team to recognize what they achieved on Wednesday and beyond, and repeat the trick.

“I showed them the stats, I showed them they belonged here, they said they belonged here,” Hardman said of his post-game speech to the team. “We are going to attack Croatia. It is very easy. That is our next mission now.”

Canadian star Alfonso Davies had a good game overall, but will probably regret it the most after missing an 11-minute penalty kick.

“It happens,” said Davis. “Which side to choose, if the goalkeeper’s guess is correct, if he saves or if he’s lucky he puts in. Of course you have to keep your head up after that, but you have to make sure you keep going strong. I won’t.”

Through all the qualifiers and this first game against Belgium, Canada has turned many skeptics into believers. Still, this step is huge for a team that reached the 2018 World Cup semi-finals before losing to eventual champions France and the quarter-finals of Euro 2020 before losing to eventual champions Italy. is.

The context of what Canada achieved in this match shouldn’t be lost because of how wasteful the team was in the final third. Incoming Canada was the team expected to play this match on the counter, with Belgium controlling the game, but that was not the case.

Defense is considered Canada’s weak spot and will have an internal discussion about what went wrong with Toby Alderweireld’s long ball, with Michy Batshuayi scoring the lone goal, but Kamal Miller was an absolute warrior on the pitch, infused by Richie Laria. The last drop of his heart and soul in this match.

In the final tally over-scores, Canada beat Belgium 22-9, earning penalties and trailing by two points. More than any goal, it showed that the red and white men were absolutely worthy of the World Cup.

“This tournament is all about getting three points,” Davis said. “It’s not easy for him to play against the second best team in the world, but I think we came here and gave our best and showed that we deserve this stage. Playing at this level. I’ve shown you what I can do.”

Canada still have a lot of World Cup firsts to achieve and the quest continues on Sunday. Croatia brings its own sense of urgency after her 0-0 draw with Morocco. This is a point of consolation in knowing that Canada is in last place in the group.

“Tough, tough,” Davis said. “We will definitely give it our all in the next game, hopefully we can perform like we did today and hopefully it goes well. should get three points.”

This team believed they could beat the group when no one else could. Now everyone has seen enough to believe Canada can pull through.