Push Admin

Football: Canada proud after World Cup adventure ends in defeat

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Players of Canada react after the FIFA World Cup 2022 group F soccer match between Canada and Morocco at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha, Qatar, on 01 December 2022. EPA-EFE/Mohamed Messara" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/sports/12/01/20221201-canada.jpg"/><figcaption>Players of Canada react after the FIFA World Cup 2022 group F soccer match between Canada and Morocco at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha, Qatar, on 01 December 2022. EPA-EFE/Mohamed Messara</figcaption></figure></div>DOHA - Canada coach John Herdman said his team would depart the World Cup with heads held high after their tournament ended in a third straight defeat against Morocco on Thursday.The Canadians returned to the World Cup for the first time since the 1986 finals in Mexico after dominating CONCACAF region qualifiers.But they were unable to reproduce that winning form in Group F, where they suffered defeats to Belgium and Croatia before Thursday&#x27;s 2-1 loss to Morocco.English coach Herdman however said the team was proud of its achievements in the finals in Qatar.&quot;It&#x27;s been the first time in a long time we&#x27;ve been here,&quot; Herdman said. &quot;We&#x27;d have liked to have been here longer but we&#x27;ve enjoyed the ride. &quot;We&#x27;re a young team, we&#x27;re developing. It&#x27;s been a hell of an experience.&quot;Already eliminated before Thursday&#x27;s game, Canada&#x27;s hopes of signing off with a victory were jolted after Morocco went 1-0 up after four minutes before making it 2-0 after 23 minutes.&quot;The first goal rattled us,&quot; Herdman admitted. &quot;It was a tough moment to take. They came out blood boiling. You really felt their intensity.&quot;A tactical tweak steadied the ship for Canada thereafter, and they pulled a goal back just before halftime.However, they were unable to find an equalizer in the second half.&quot;We were on the ropes but we came back, we adapted, we showed resilience,&quot; Herdman said.&quot;We were bending but we didn&#x27;t break. We pushed through.&quot;Reflecting on Canada&#x27;s tournament, Herdman said the team had performed well.Canada missed a penalty in a 1-0 opening loss to Belgium and took the lead against Croatia before eventually losing.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/12/01/22/canelo-alvarez-sorry-over-messi-world-cup-jersey-rant">Canelo Alvarez sorry over Messi World Cup jersey rant</a></li></ul>A second-half header from Atiba Hutchinson crashed off the underside of the bar and denied Canada an equalizer against Morocco.&quot;As a football country we can be definitely proud of the performances,&quot; Herdman said.&quot;We showed up in every game. We were front-footed and fearless. That was a big part of the DNA we wanted to show.&quot;This isn&#x27;t Canada walking away with our heads down. We leave with our heads held high.&quot;Herdman meanwhile declined an invitation to celebrate the conclusion of Canada&#x27;s World Cup with a bottle of beer, preferring to seek solace in his family.&quot;I&#x27;m going go home and hug my kids, maybe find a camel and go and ride in the desert for a couple of days and get my head straight,&quot; he said. &quot;I&#x27;ll leave the alcohol alone, I don&#x27;t need that.&quot;

The Canadians returned to the World Cup for the first time since the 1986 finals in Mexico after dominating CONCACAF region qualifiers.