Every four years there are clusters of outbreaks when Canadians with ties to other countries see their teams on the pitch in soccer’s greatest spectacle, but this is different.
Long before he became head coach of the UNBC Timberwolves men’s soccer team, a 15-year-old Steve Simonson was riveted to his TV screen watching the ’86 World Cup in the basement of his parents’ home in Ottawa. Backed by Bayern Munich star forward Alphonso Davies, Lille Olympique Sporting Club striker Jonathan David, FC Porto midfielder Stephen Eustaquio and Hatayspor FC fullback Samuel Adekugbe, Canada is fielding a team of 15 internationals on its 26-player roster.
“I believe we’ve had one of the biggest moves of any country in the world in our ranking increase - we’re trending in such a right direction and we’ve won CONCACAF and beat some big teams,” said Simonson, 51, this season’s U SPORTS coach of the year. “It’s incredibly hard – soccer in Europe is what hockey is to Canada and until we get to that mentality we’ll probably still be lagging somewhat,” said the 67-year-old Stewart. “But that doesn’t mean we stop trying and this group we’ve put together have made it. I think that’s because most of them are playing in Europe at a high level. It’s game time you need to get better and they’re getting that.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: CTVNews - 🏆 1. / 99 Read more »
Source: calgarysun - 🏆 63. / 52 Read more »
Source: ottawasuncom - 🏆 4. / 92 Read more »
Source: TheTorontoSun - 🏆 23. / 68 Read more »
Source: TorontoStar - 🏆 60. / 55 Read more »
Source: ctvottawa - 🏆 29. / 67 Read more »