Jonathan David’s bewitching dribble was magic dust for Canada & Arsenal

For years, football in Canada had the same status as basketball in England – a sport with high participation that was widely seen as a national joke.

English basketball has a dedicated following, but attracts little coverage from the major British media outlets as the idea of competing against titans of the sport like the USA seems immensely far-fetched.

Football in Canada had a similar image problem. The national team had only qualified for one World Cup – losing all three group matches without scoring at Mexico 86 – and suffered an 8-1 hammering by Honduras in 2012.

It hardly registered on the same Richter scale as ice hockey or Canadian football. Until now.

Blessed with the genuine world-class talent of Alphonso Davies, and a cast of capable support members, Canada have romped through CONCACAF qualifying and have become the first North and Central American country to reach this year’s finals in Qatar.

A star-studded US team have been unable to beat Canada over two matches. Mexico suffered the same fate, falling to defeat in the Edmonton ‘Iceteca’ last November. Both trail in Les Rogues‘ wake.

And Canada trampled over a flaccid Jamaica to secure the 4-0 victory that ended their 36-year Mundial exile.

English coach John Herdman, who led the Canadian women’s team to successive Olympic bronze medals in 2012 and 2016, has guided the men’s side to Qatar in his first qualifying campaign in charge.

“We just qualified for the World Cup, this is a legit football country,” said Herdman, who last worked in England as an academy coach at Sunderland more than 20 years ago.

“When I first took over and I said, ‘We’re going to qualify for the World Cup’, I don’t think they believed us. I’m happy for them because all of these fans have