canada’s world cup team navigated multiple injuries during their run
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doha, qatar - november 27: stephen eustaquio of canada receives medical attention during the fifa world cup qatar 2022 group f match between croatia and canada at khalifa international stadium on november 27, 2022 in doha, qatar. (photo by alex grimm/getty images)
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canadian midfielder stephen eustaquio was left off the world cup pitch for thursday’s 2-1 loss against morocco.
eustaquio missed canada’s final game of the fifa world cup due to a hamstring injury he sustained in the previous sunday’s match against croatia.
as one of canada’s top players alongside alphonso davies and jonathan david, eustaquio was a substantive loss to the lineup. he was the only member of the team to not join training prior to the final game.
“when you talked about turning points, i think [eustaquio’s injury] was a big moment for us,” canadian head coach john herdman said after the loss against croatia.
the injury left a hole in canada’s lineup that no other player was quite able to fill.
eustaquio unable to play in canada’s last world cup game
specifics haven’t been released on what exactly happened to eustaquio’s leg, although it’s possible he flared up from an injury from a few weeks ago.
eustaquio nearly missed the opening of the tournament due to muscle soreness that developed only a week before kickoff.
“it’s another calculation. it’s an algorithm we’re trying to process now of is he hitting his markers?” herdman said ahead of the world cup opener. “it really is mathematics — of what he can tolerate now through these next three training days to show that he’s ready to start.
if there’s not a starting position, i’m sure he’ll be coming off the bench. but there’s no guarantees stephen eustaquio will start against belgium at this point.”
eustaquio was able to play more than 120 minutes total during his time at the world cup and was on the field for the lone goal against croatia.
a world cup’s worth of injuries
canada’s time in qatar both started and ended with injuries.
superstar left-back alphonso davies, who scored canada’s first ever men’s fifa world cup goal, was close to missing the tournament all together after injuring his own hamstring while playing for bayern munich in the german bundesliga just a few weeks before the world cup started.
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“the medical team assessed him and it wasn’t great news to be fair, the timing of his return was going to take anything up to 14 days,” herdman said. fortunately, davies was able to recover in time for the first world cup match against belgium.
canadian goalkeeper milan borjan also added that he had “felt something in his abdomen” following a 2-1 win over japan the week before the world cup.
eustaquio looks towards nations league
the 25-year-old from leamington, ontario plays for fc porto, part of the primeira liga in portugal. he scored against atletico madrid during a champions league matchup only weeks before the kickoff of the world cup.
“we will keep pushing because it’s our responsibility to do that when we put on this jersey,” eustaquio wrote on instagram. “this team fought for firsts and will continue to do so. that’s what lights our hearts on fire. nations league is around the corner. thank you canada.”
the concacaf nations league is a tournament in which countries from the same continent play one another. the 2022-23 tournament started in june 2022 and will last until june 2023, with the next set of games slated for march.
chris arnold is a toronto-based writer.
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