Scott Arfield is already looking forward to the next Gold Cup.
The Scottish-born Canadian international got his first taste of international tournament play over the summer at the biennial regional championship, and while he had previous experience in World Cup qualifying and friendlies, Arfield said there is nothing that compares to a continental tourney.
"I was so excited to do it," Arfield told Sporting News. "The Mexico qualifier [in 2016] was obviously a great experience as well, but to play in tournament football, the boys will tell you there's nothing better than that. It was my first taste of CONCACAF and the Gold Cup, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I cannot wait for the next one."
Arfield got his international start relatively late, debuting for Canada in March 2016 at the age of 27. The Burnley midfielder had previously played for Scotland's youth sides and has a single appearance for Scotland B, but since joining Canada's set up he's amassed 12 caps.
Four of those games came in the 2017 Gold Cup, with Arfield notching his first international goal in the tournament opener against French Guiana in New Jersey. Despite the time difference between Europe and North America, Arfield still had family watching closely.
"The first thing I did was ring my brother, he was still up jumping off the ceiling," Arfield said. "It was a special moment for me, obviously a great experience [to play in a continental tournament] and to cap it off with a goal was special."
Since coming into the team last year, Arfield has been looked upon to be a leader on the field given his vast experience in England's Premier League and Championship. But the midfielder points to the team's new leader, head coach Octavio Zambrano, as someone who can help Canada reach the next level internationally.
"The first time I met him was the Scotland game in March," Arfield said of Zambrano, who took over the program the week prior to Canada's 1-1 draw with the Scots. "The first thing he wanted to do was ... for us to throw the first punch, and I think the boys really took that [to heart]."
Arfield praised Zambrano's approach to coaching, stating that the boss has "galvanized the whole nation and the football there." And while Canada stumbled in its most recent friendly (a 1-0 loss to El Salvador earlier this month), Arfield said he still sees a promising future ahead for the Canadian program.
It started with the team's run to the Gold Cup quarterfinals, he said.
"To get everybody believing in the country was the first thing that we wanted to do," Arfield said. "The Gold Cup was fantastic for us, but [we're] certainly going in the right direction now and it's exciting times for the young players coming through as well."