5 reasons why the CanMNT needs to qualify for Copa América
In less than 3 weeks, the CanMNT will know if they’ll be playing in the 2024 Copa América or if they’ll watch the tournament from home, as they get set to take on Trinidad & Tobago in a one-game Copa América playoff in Frisco, Texas on March 23rd.
After missing out on their first chance to qualify last November, when they fell to Jamaica in the quarter-finals of the Concacaf Nations League, it’s an important chance at redemption for this Canadian side, who have worn the frustration of that loss for months leading into this game.
With so much on the line, this promises to be quite the matchup, too. Especially now that it’s known that the winner of this game will slot right into Group A at the Copa América, in which they’d play the defending World Cup and Copa América champions Argentina, Peru and Chile in the group stage, that added to the importance of a game like this from a Canadian perspective, given their need to play more of these sort of games ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
That’s just one of many reasons why Canada will want to participate in this tournament, too, with the level of competition being just one of many aspects that could prove to benefit Canada in the near and long term future, both on and off the pitch.
Because of that, here’s a further look at some of those aspects, serving as a reminder of why Canada will want to take care of business when they take the field at Toyota Stadium later this month, as they get set to tackle one of their biggest games in recent memory.
This #CopaAmérica draw is perfect for the #CanMNT, *if* they beat 🇹🇹
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) December 8, 2023
They get a needed but extremely tough test vs Argentina, who is in fantastic form, but have a chance vs Peru/Chile even though those will also be 2 tough games. Gives them a chance of KOs
Best-case scenario
The level of competition:
To begin, it’s important to remember the biggest reason why Canada needs to play in this tournament, and that’s the level of competition.
For a Canadian team that hasn’t gotten the chance to test itself much against non-Concacaf top teams, they’ve got a huge chance to do that this tournament, as they’d be guaranteed a game against the current world #1, Argentina, and could potentially play teams like #5 Brazil, #11 Uruguay and #14 Colombia, even if the odds of those other matchups happening are long.
Plus, most importantly, they don’t just get to play them in any situation, either, but in a tournament that means a lot for South American teams, who will always put their hearts on the line when it comes to winning the Copa América.
It’d be one thing to play those sorts of teams in a friendly, but to play them in one of the biggest competitive tournaments other than a World Cup is huge, as that’ll be a completely different test for Canada to deal with.
And that’s the biggest reason why they need to qualify for this tournament. While they should be able to book friendlies against high-profile teams before the 2026 World Cup, such as the recent match they announced for June 6th of this year against #6 ranked Netherlands, those games won’t compare to playing some of the top teams in South America in a meaningful tournament.
Especially considering that this Canadian team won’t get many other competitive tests between now and 2026, other than the 2024-2025 Concacaf Nations League and the 2025 Gold Cup, as they miss out on World Cup qualifiers due to their status as co-hosts, that adds to the allure of playing in these sort of games.
As seen at the 2022 World Cup, where Canada qualified for the first time in 36 years, they found out the difference between playing top teams in competitive settings, going without a win against Belgium, Croatia and Morocco, who all currently sit in the top 15 of the FIFA Rankings.
So as they get set for 2026, taking what they learned at that 2022 World Cup into this Copa América could be beneficial, giving them a rehearsal ahead of 2026, where they’ll look to win some games and make the knockout stages for the first time.
If they’re to do that, any experience they can gain against top teams will matter, with this Copa América serving as a perfect opportunity to emulate that sort of knockout tournament.
Their ongoing search for a new head coach:
It’s no secret that Canada’s looking for a change behind the bench, as they’ve remained without a permanent head coach since John Herdman’s departure last summer.
Interim head coach Mauro Biello remains in charge for now, but given that Canada Soccer has announced on multiple occasions that a search for a permanent manager is ongoing (with Biello remaining a candidate), reaffirming that recently following the hiring of new General Secretary and CEO Kevin Blue, it feels like it’s inevitable a new name gets brought in.
Update: Canada Soccer Men’s National Team Head Coach search 🍁
— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) March 1, 2024
But the big question has been simple - who might that be? Especially for a Canadian team that has been in all sorts of turmoil off the field, which has hurt their ability to compete at the highest level on it, it’s made some wonder what kind of candidates they could even attract for this sort of role.
Yet, given that names like Thierry Henry’s have been thrown out as candidates, it’s clear that there are going to be some intriguing candidates who could end up surfacing despite that. And it makes sense - there aren’t many jobs where someone could get a guaranteed spot at a World Cup while having top players like Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David to work with.
And adding a guaranteed Copa América appearance this summer will only add credence to this role, which could further open the doors for more top managers to want to consider taking the job.
Because of that, it’s imperative that Canada now assures themselves of qualification to this summer’s tournament, allowing them to pitch to coaches the possibility of leading this team to the tournament and the World Cup.
As it stands, they should be in a decent position to attract some intriguing names without the Copa América, but qualifying can only help bring in more, and at the moment Canada can’t afford to leave any stone unturned as they look for the perfect manager to take this team forward over the next few years.
Despite some of their post-World Cup woes, this is a team that has the potential to be one of the best in Concacaf and flirt with much more globally, and they must attract the right manager to do just that, which this summer could help them do.
Jumpstarting potential transfers:
If Canada is to reach those heights, however, one big thing they’ll need, on top of a good manager and playing competitive games, is for more of their players to push to the top leagues.
They’ve seen a big wave of them over the last five years, and now have players like Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich), Jonathan David (Lille), Tajon Buchanan (Inter Milan), Cyle Larin (Mallorca), Stephen Eustáquio (Porto), Alistair Johnston (Celtic) and Theo Corbeanu (Granada CF) playing in clubs in the top five leagues or at Champions League clubs in smaller leagues, which is huge.
But while they’ll be pleased with that development, they’ll want to keep pushing for more.
Of course, some of that will depend on the players, who will have to put in the work to gain those opportunities elsewhere, as those on the list above did.
At the same time, it can only help to have a boost. For example, look at Buchanan - off the back of a strong performance at the 2022 World Cup, the then Club Brugge man attracted all sorts of suitors in Serie A, and dealt with that interest over the next year before making his move to Inter this past winter.
The #CanMNT player who has benefited the most from the World Cup so far is Tajon Buchanan. He has been linked with Napoli, Juventus, AC Milan & Inter Milan. Those are all massive clubs and I’d be thrilled if he got a transfer to one of them!🇨🇦 Where would you like to see him go?
— Josh Deming (@tv_jjd) December 15, 2022
Could have he made that move otherwise? Likely, as he developed into a key piece for Brugge in the two years he was there.
Yet, it also helped him massively to shine at the World Cup, giving him the platform to show that he could be deserving of that sort of move. And he wasn’t the only one, either, as Alistair Johnston (Celtic) and Ismaël Koné (Watford) both made similar moves from CF Montréal after that World Cup, too.
Because of that, one can only imagine what a Copa América could do for some of the players on this Canadian team, as this tournament remains one of the most scouted competitions in the world given some of the talent that can be on display.
From those already within Europe who could still take another step such as Eustáquio, Koné, Johnston and more, to those in MLS who are looking to push into top teams, such as Ali Ahmed, Moïse Bombito, Nathan Saliba and more, there will be several pieces who could use a strong Copa América to help vault them to those new heights.
They might not need this tournament to get these moves themselves, but it will only help their stocks to have this opportunity.
That will help Canada down the road, as those sorts of things will help this side massively ahead of 2026, building up their depth and pushing the overall level of the team.
The recruitment of dual nationals:
But that’s not the only way this Canadian team can improve their side, as another key avenue remains - the recruitment of dual-nationals.
Something they’ve seen the benefit of firsthand, such as when they secured Eustáquio’s commitment at the beginning of 2019, they know what bringing in those sorts of names can do for a program.
Because of that, it’s imperative that they reach the Copa América, as they could do some heavy lifting in terms of securing some key dual nationals at that tournament.
There, they could offer prospective dual-nationals the ability to play huge games, which both give them experience while cap-tying them to the program.
For example, he’s a long shot, given that he’s seemed to lean towards playing for Italy and is also eligible for the United States and Nigeria, but one can only imagine it would be enticing to be given a chance to play in a Copa América and a guaranteed 2026 World Cup for a Luca Koleosho, just to give an idea.
And even beyond him, there are several other examples of names who could be tempted, from the likes of Luc De Fougerolles, Daniel Jebbison, Justin Smith and many more who are still yet to be discovered.
#CanMNT priority/dream dual-national recruits:
— Canadian Soccer Talk (@CANFutbolTalk) December 4, 2023
1. Luc De Fougerolles (🇨🇦/🏴)
2. Luca Koleosho (🇮🇹/🇺🇸/🇨🇦/🇳🇬)
3. Daniel Jebbison (🏴/🇨🇦/🇯🇲)
4. Niko Sigur (🇭🇷/🇨🇦)
5. Enes Sali ( 🇷🇴/🇨🇦)
What other 🇨🇦 eligible players are on your radar? These are the first that come to mind for me.
It’s not as big of a rush at the moment, as other than Koleosho and De Fougerolles, there aren’t many knocking on the first team door right away, with Jebbison and Smith still a while from being at that level, but if this tournament even gets one of Koleosho or De Fougerolles to commit, that’s a huge long-term win.
And as we know, there’s always a strong chance that a new dual-national could emerge over the last few months, as an unheralded youngster could make a breakthrough at a top club, or a quality player could prove to be Canadian.
Raising the profile of the program:
Lastly, it’s important to recognize the commercial opportunity that being at a tournament can provide.
For example, much like at a World Cup, where Canada Soccer was able to attract several high-profile sponsors, a tournament like this offers a similar opportunity, which could help things at the executive level for the federation.
Plus, there’s the reality that the prize money at a tournament like this can be quite lucrative, which could be huge if Canada can even make a run to the quarter-finals or something of the sort. 
Also, this sort of tournament can increase Canada’s profile, helping them schedule more high-level friendlies ahead of the World Cup. As seen with their recently scheduled friendly with the Netherlands, their profile is starting to grow as a 2026 World Cup co-host, but it will only help them book more by qualifying for a Copa América, especially if they can then go and show well there this summer.
There are only benefits to Canada increasing their profile, too, as that could help them find their new coach, and aid them in attracting dual-nationals, all while helping them financially.
Yet, that just shows the value of a tournament like this. Of course, there’s the fact that it’s one of the toughest and most competitive in the world, but that reputation has made it a big financial entity, one that Canada would be wise to get a piece of.
