1-ON-1: Canada coach John Herdman previews Qatar, Uruguay

Personally I see Davies best as an Attacking Left-Half / Midfielder and allowed to ROAM like a ROVER, especially DEFENSIVELY! No doubt he is a great play-maker and a decent goal scorer, but against STRONG TEAMS like Belgium and Croatia…and in the much anticipated WARM-UP game against URUGUAY, get the "FULL FONZI in EFFECT", as he can be the difference between winning and LOSING! Di Stefano had a very high regard for Adolfo Pedernera, a stalwart defensive midfielder for THE MACHINE of Argentina in the 1940's. Using ICE HOCKEY TERMS, Di Stefano was the "Howie Morenz" of SOCCER! A 2 way DYNAMO at the HEART of REAL MADRID in it's 5 Championship heyday of the late 50's. I'm hoping he is 100% FIT and "runs AMOK" and DISRUPTS the opposing teams to send Canada into WINS and at worst TIES (Canada should beat Morocco, but even TIES against Belgium and Croatia will feel like WINS as Canada is the underdog Dark Horse of the group, but might upset the apple cart too and could beat even those strong teams if their TEAM play is top notch!

These are the first and only meaningful matches Canada will play in the lead up to the WC. It will be really, really concerning if the results are poor. There's a chance this team is already irretrievably far behind in it's preparations and will be embarrassed at the WC. Even the small details, like being one of only two nations not to get a new jersey for the tournament, indicate that this program hasn't taken the occasion seriously. They are really fortunate that there's a talented core of players and a fantastic coach, because the program itself is an embarrassment.

Uruguay ❤⚽