Canada forward Jacob Shaffelburg, right, battles for the ball with Suriname keeper Etienne Vaessen in Toronto, on Nov. 19.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
It’s hard to win trophies in international soccer.
Just ask England, which has been waiting since 1966 to replicate the success of the Bobby Moore era. Or Belgium, which is the only team to have reached No. 1 in the FIFA ranking without having won a World Cup or a continental trophy.
But that matters not to the Canada men’s national team, which now has its sights firmly set on silverware after qualifying for the next year’s Nations League final four after a 3-0 victory over Suriname on Tuesday for a 4-0 aggregate win in its quarter-final.
“It matters a lot,” said midfielder Stephen Eustaquio. “I think at the end of the day, a player’s career is defined by the trophies he’s won. And I think for this project, for the plan, we have to really make a good World Cup in 2026; I think it has to start with trophies and March is a very good opportunity for us to get one.”
No stranger to winning things at club level with Porto, Eustaquio has come close with Canada, falling in the Nations League final against the United States last year. But close isn’t close enough for the team that will be one of the co-hosts of the World Cup in 18 months’ time.
“I think that is the missing piece for us to really be able to call ourselves the team that we think we are,” Richie Laryea said of the possibility of winning a trophy, after playing the entire 90 minutes against Suriname.
Goals from Jonathan David – his 31st for Canada, putting him one clear of teammate Cyle Larin for the men’s national-team record – and two for Jacob Shaffelburg were enough to see off a team ranked 101 places below 35th-ranked Canada on Tuesday evening in Toronto.
The performance – a marked improvement from the nervy 1-0 win in the Suriname capital of Paramaribo last Friday – showed what the Canadian men can do when they find their groove. Even without captain Alphonso Davies, who stayed back with Bayern Munich as a precautionary measure due to fatigue, Canada’s starting lineup, which featured three changes from Friday, clicked from the opening kickoff.
The speed of this lineup – showcased in particular by Shaffelburg’s opening goal, when he sprinted clear of the Suriname backline to score – was purring, and should cause some sleepless nights for the opponents Canada will face next March at SoFi Stadium in suburban Los Angeles. Canada will take on Mexico, who overcame Honduras on Tuesday night, in the semi-final. The U.S. plays Panama in the other side of the bracket.
“It’s dangerous,” was how Laryea described Canada’s lineup. “Being a fullback, I’d hate to play against some of the guys that we have on our team right now.”
Tuesday’s win also ensured that Canada qualified for next summer’s Gold Cup, a trophy it has won just once in its history, 24 years ago.
Doubtless haunted by memories of last year’s BMO Field implosion against Jamaica – Canada squandered a 2-1 first-leg advantage by losing 3-2 and being eliminated on the away-goals rule – head coach Jesse Marsch’s men set about their task with a brisk confidence this time around.
Although just 13,239 were on hand in Toronto on a damp, cold November evening to see it – not exactly the sign of a city about to be struck with World Cup fever in under two years – the team was set on its way by a 23rd-minute goal from David.
The Lille striker, who has made a habit of scoring against European giants such as Juventus and Real Madrid this season, found the back of the net once again – his fourth goal in his last six games for Canada.
The goal further underlined the importance of David to the men’s team’s renaissance since Marsch took over in May. The team has scored 12 goals in 13 games in that time, with David involved in eight of them (five goals and three assists).
“I think it’s a good run of form,” David said. “I think I’m confident right now, things are clicking, so I’m trying to take the most out of it.”
As long as he’s fit, Canada is a threat in every game it plays.
“Talent wise, he’s one of the best Canadian players ever produced,” Eustaquio said. “He’s a very smart player. I love playing with him. And at the end of the day, we need players like him to really make it far at the World Cup.”