For Canada, this Gold Cup has lost its lustre | CBC Sports

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The biggest event in soccer this year is the Women’s World Cup, which kicks off in just over three weeks in Australia and New Zealand. In the meantime, there’s a sizable men’s tournament happening in this part of the globe. The CONCACAF Gold Cup — the continental championship for North and Central America and the Caribbean — is underway now, primarily in the United States.

The Gold Cup holds a special place in Canadian soccer history. Its precursor, the CONCACAF Championship, once served as the region’s qualifying tournament for the World Cup. Canada won it in 1985 to earn its first World Cup appearance the following year. The next generation’s defining moment came at the 2000 Gold Cup, where Canada surprised everyone by lifting the trophy for the first (and still only) time with a 2-0 victory over Colombia in the final in L.A.

Canada’s chances of reaching its first Gold Cup final since that incredible run seemed pretty strong after the men’s team topped CONCACAF’s World Cup qualifying tournament en route to its first World Cup appearance since 1986 last year in Qatar. But that effort, along with Canada’s run to the CONCACAF Nations League title match in Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago, ended up sapping the team’s Gold Cup hopes.

Coach John Herdman announced shortly after his team’s loss to the United States in the Nations League final that most of his best players will not be available for the Gold Cup. They need time to recover from a long European club season with a World Cup dropped into the middle and the Nations League Finals tacked onto the end. Alphonso Davies, Jonathan David, Cyle Larin, Tajon Buchanan, Alistair Johnston, Ismael Kone and, just yesterday, Stephen Eustaquio were taken off the roster. Longtime captain Atiba Hutchinson is also missing after retiring following the Nations League final. Several U.S. players are skipping the Gold Cup too, including star midfielder Christian Pulisic.

WATCH | De Rosario joins CBC Sports’ Soccer North to discuss Nations League final:

‘Herdman should’ve played Atiba’: Former Canadian international Dwayne De Rosario | Soccer North

Host Andi Petrillo talks with former Canadian international Dwayne De Rosario on Soccer North about Atiba Hutchinson’s retirement and the disappointing performance Canada had against the USA in the CONCACAF Nations League final.

Herdman will still have goalkeeper Milan Borjan, midfielder Jonathan Osorio and a few others you’ll know from the World Cup team. But the coach said he’ll use the Gold Cup to get some of his “young lads” a bit of international experience as Canada approaches qualifying for the upcoming Copa America.

The intensely competitive South American championship, featuring World Cup champion Argentina and perennial power Brazil, is being hosted by the United States next summer and six CONCACAF teams will be invited. Those will be decided in the 2023-24 Nations League, which kicks off in September. Canada has a bye to November’s quarterfinals, where a win will earn them a spot in the Copa America.

Qualifying for the Copa America is vital for the Canadian men because the tournament is a rare chance for them to compete against quality opponents ahead of the 2026 World Cup, which Canada is co-hosting.

Canada Soccer, currently engaged in labour disputes with both the men’s and women’s national teams, says it’s so broke right now that it may not be able to schedule international friendlies for either squad this fall, making tournament play more important than ever. The women can attest to what happens when the tuneup matches are left to Canada Soccer. They were afforded just one friendly this calendar year in preparation for the World Cup: a match in France back in April.

Despite their depleted roster, the Canadian men shouldn’t have much trouble reaching the knockout stage of the Gold Cup. The world’s 47th-ranked team opens group play tonight at 7 p.m. ET in Toronto vs. Guadeloupe, which does not have a world ranking because it is not a member of FIFA. Canada then travels to Houston to complete its group-stage slate vs. No. 116 Guatemala on Saturday and No. 165 Cuba next Tuesday.

The top two teams from each of the four groups advance to the quarterfinals on July 8 and 9 in Arlington, Tex., and Cincinnati. The semis are on July 12 in Las Vegas and San Diego. The final goes July 16 at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium, the hyper-modern venue that hosted the Super Bowl in 2022. Read more about Canada’s outlook heading into the Gold Cup here.