Arctic weather gripped BMO Field in Toronto on the night the Canada men’s national team qualified for their first World Cup since1986. It felt almost apt that a nation known for its ice hockey prowess and as a home to winter sports confirmed itself as an association football force in such conditions.
It added to the feeling that, more than ever, this sport belongs in Canada and Canada belongs in this sport. The players and staff bounded onto the pitch following that night’s 4-0 win against Jamaica, huddled around each other in groups across the field. The supporters that had been active all game, partly to spur their team on and partly to keep warm, roundly cheered the victors.
Those tight huddles and joyous celebrations lasted for some time and eventually morphed into one large party across the stadium, and indeed the entire country. Reaching this point had not been easy for Canada, whose vast, sprawling northern nation had spent years in the soccer wilderness.
Canada finished dead last at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, failing to score a goal in group-stage matches against France, Hungary and the Soviet Union. Despite finishing bottom