Why USMNT fans should be rooting for Canada to make the Hex and be good
Canada have a chance to make the final round of World Cup qualifying for the first time in 20 years. It would be a monumentus breakthrough for a country that has made gigantic strides over the last decade and finally looks set to become part of CONCACAF's upper echelon. For soccer fans north of the border, it's excited (if nerve-racking), but that excitement shouldn't be limited to the Great White North.
It's an exciting prospect for the United States, too, because the U.S. men's national team really needs a good and competitive Canada.
For years now, CONCACAF has been a two-team region. It's been all about the U.S. and Mexico. Even in 2014 World Cup qualifying, when Mexico slipped to fourth, there was never any question that they were a regional power. They mattered just as much as they always did -- maybe even more. And while that's all well and good for El Tri, a team that has been atop the region for nearly a century now in a country whose appetite for the sport will never wane, but the same isn't true for the U.S.
American soccer is very much a work in progress. You can debate where in the nation's sports pecking order it stands, but it's certainly not No. 1 or even No. 2. It has to fight for attention and for kids to play the sport, then stick to it. That requires must-see matches and compelling narratives, like rivalries, and the national team moves the needle unlike anything else.
Barring the U.S. jumping to CONMEBOL (unlikely) or CONCACAF and CONMEBOL merging (even less likely), the national team is dependent on CONCACAF getting better to provide them regular matches that both test the team and grow the fan base. Unfortunately, a lot of the teams in the confederation are hamstrung by a small population, a lack of resources, incompetent leadership or all three.
Canada have had some funding problems, and the Canadian Soccer Association's leadership is uninspiring on good days, but those are hardly roadblocks. There is enough money in the sport north of the border and the business is only getting bigger, while its leadership is improving and becoming more diversified. It also has a large and growing population. Maybe it's not as big as the U.S. and Mexico, but it's plenty big enough to sustain a good national team.
The sport is also thriving unlike ever before. It's becoming part of Canadian culture and with three MLS teams thriving, both at the gate and with the academies, it will only improve.
With a good Canada team, the U.S. could have four matches every Hex that draw eyeballs and interest, not to mention provide the Americans with a stiff challenge. That's double what they get now. It could also be a boost to a Gold Cup that has too often felt like a month-long wait for the U.S. and Mexico to square off in the final (at least until the Americans stumbled against Jamaica last year).
Instead of the USMNT story being made up predominantly of tales of fans making the pilgrimages to Mexico City and Columbus, Ohio, they will also talk about going to see the U.S. play Canada. Of crossing the other border and roaming the streets of Vancouver or Toronto. Of packing an American stadium to make for a deafening cacophony in a vital World Cup qualifier against the Canucks. Of that crucial Gold Cup semifinal that produced goals they will never forget, in between the shoving matches and flying tackles.
That won't happen overnight. Even if Canada make the Hex, they won't be as good as the U.S. They won't be a rival right away and they won't challenge CONCACAF's two-team power structure. Not yet. But they can one day and making the Hex is a very important first step toward that.
Canada still have work to do in the semifinal round of qualifying. They're headed to San Pedro Sula, Honduras, where four years ago they lost 8-1 with spot in the Hex on the line. To say they'll make the final round is still premature, but they're close. They're playing better than they did four years ago. They look ready to take the next step.
If they can, they will be in the Hex. They'll come to the U.S. for a qualifier with a World Cup spot on the line. The Americans will go north for a match. Both will be played in front of big, loud crowds, with fans of both teams making the trip to the other's country for it. It could be the first sparks of a rivalry. A much-needed rivalry for CONCACAF and for the U.S., one similar to the one that the women's team has.
This could be the start of something special for Canada and, with it, for the U.S. And it's something the Americans need. They just might be Canada's biggest fans now. You know, except for those Canadians they might call rivals one day soon.
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