Canada's Max Crépeau doing his part as goalkeepers coming up big in World Cup

The World Cup doesn’t offer many moments of serenity. When it does, there is something especially sweet about them. They feel like gifts, a chance to remember what it took to get here, and to dream about what might come next.

At Canada’s training camp Tuesday, the goalkeepers broke away, as they usually do. It was a gorgeous day in Vancouver. The grass was freshly lined. Max Crépeau, Dayne St. Clair, and Owen Goodman, all dressed in bright blue, began to warm each other up.

On a second pitch, where the rest of the team began their session, it was louder, more chaotic. It was Ismael Koné’s birthday, his 24th, and he ran a gauntlet of celebration. The happiness carried over into first kickabouts. A little more than 48 hours before Thursday’s must-win against Qatar, the excitement felt unrestrained.

The goalkeepers continued their quieter work. Paolo Ceccarelli, their coach, gave them snippets of instruction and easy encouragement. He leathered a warm-up volley at St. Clair and acknowledged that its pace might have outstripped the mood.

“You want a little less on that?” he asked.

“A little less,” St. Clair said. 

Ceccarelli geared down, and the four of them, a band apart, settled into the rhythms of their routines: thump, thump, thump. 

In the early days of this tournament, goalkeepers have found themselves the subject of hotter attention, the 18-yard box a proving ground more than a sanctuary.

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Qatar held Switzerland to a surprise draw in their Saturday opener thanks largely to the heroics of Mahmoud Abunada, a 26-year-old making just his seventh international appearance.

He gave