Canada not done after historic win over USMNT: 'It's only one step'

Rudi Schuller

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Canada not done after historic win over USMNT: 'It's only one step' image

TORONTO — Canada promised a fight, and on Tuesday night, it delivered.

The men's national soccer team scored a historic 2-0 CONCACAF Nations League victory over the United States, putting an exclamation point on a week-long buildup during which both sides were vocal in how much importance they placed on the match. The Canadians were adamant they'd be ready for Tuesday's game — which was one of the most important for the program in a generation — while American players and media spent much of the time espousing how little it actually meant.

Perhaps predictably, it was Canada who came out of the gates with more of a spark when the ball was kicked off at BMO Field, and John Herdman's squad pulled the USMNT into a fight it really didn't seem to want.

What resulted was the first victory for the Canadians over their southern neighbours since 1985, and it was fairly obvious to all in the stadium why it happened.

"I think the first thing that stands out to me was desire. Desire from Canada. Give them credit. But having said that, the minimum we expect is to match that," U.S. head coach Gregg Berhalter said after the match. "I wasn't happy with the desire that we displayed tonight to win the soccer game. Too many 50-50 balls were lost, and that hurt us."

CONCACAF NATIONS LEAGUE: Canada finally defeat USMNT after 34 years

The Canadians made it tough on the U.S. to match their intensity, as they swarmed every loose ball and closed down quickly when the American players had possession. It led to some sloppy play by the visitors, who at times resembled a streetball team more than a highly-talented collection of professional soccer players.

"What stands out to me is just the sloppiness with the ball," Berhalter explained. "Too many miscontrolled touches, too many missed passes, too many easy things that we normally make that we weren't making tonight."

As poor as the U.S. was on the night, Herdman says his players came into the game knowing that they could ramp the intensity up to a level that would be hard to match. It was all part of the game plan, as the coach told the media 24 hours before kickoff that the team would bring "blood, guts and thunder" into the match, and his players publicly echoed that sentiment.

"There's been a belief right from the onset. I think they were clear what they were going out there to do tonight," Herdman said, cautioning that while Tuesday's victory goes down in history, there's still work to be done in a month's time when the two teams face off again in Orlando, Fl., with the top spot in Group A on the line. "It's only one step. It's only the one little drop in the ocean, I'm hoping, for this team. And there's more to come."

Regardless of what happens in the group-stage finale, the players will return to their club teams riding a high that hasn't been felt by the Canadian men since they surprisingly won the Gold Cup way back in 2000. They went looking for a fight on Tuesday and reaped the spoils of one of their biggest-ever victories. 

Now it's time for Canada to ride that momentum onto bigger and better things.

Rudi Schuller