Canadian soccer predictions: David signs in England, Whitecaps win treble

These are incredibly exciting times with the World Cup kicking off in just 14 months, so one can be forgiven for getting carried away. With that in mind, let’s have some fun and try to predict what lies ahead for Canadian men’s soccer. 

The following five predictions are some hopes (and perhaps even some fears) from the mind of your humble writer, who — like you — is simply a fan of the sport in Canada.

Whitecaps will be crowned Concacaf Champions en route to a treble-winning season

Watch the ‘Caps this season and suddenly this doesn’t seem so far-fetched. Already into the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinals against Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami, Vancouver has navigated its way past PUMAS and Monterrey, while also surging to the top of the MLS standings. It has been no fluke. In fact, new head coach Jesper Sorensen has done all this while dealing with some significant injuries to his roster, including his best player — Ryan Gauld — being sidelined since early March.  Vancouver’s fanbase deserve success. Don’t forget that the club is for sale, while also announcing this week potential plans to build a new stadium. Confused? Yes, we all are, so let’s just focus on the product on the pitch and that has been outstanding. Another Canadian Championship this year, too? Of course, who’s going to beat them?

A new-and-improved CBA will be signed between Canada Soccer and the players

I know, I have written that a deal is close before. Full disclosure: both sides have told me on several occasions that they are close, but clearly they have not been quite as close as suggested. There are undoubtedly some personality clashes between those who run Canada Soccer, Canadian Soccer Business and the major characters on the players’ side. That is to be expected, but when all is said and done, any differences will be put aside and we can all move forward. From what I can gather, most points of difference have been ironed out, however, whatever remains as the reason for the delay to the deal being finalized might sit with a minority of personalities, not the majority. All sides know they need to get their house in order with World Cup 2026 approaching, so let’s look ahead with optimism, presume that cooler heads will prevail and we can put this behind us once and for all.

Jonathan David ends up in the Premier League …  with West Ham.

This is hardly a scoop. With his contact at Lille expiring this summer, Jonathan David has been linked with a number of top European clubs. According to some reports, Inter Milan is the most recent suitor and that would be a great fit for the 25-year-old. However, the Hammers have also reportedly made contact. From a purely selfish standpoint, I would love to see David in England. The matches are easily accessible for us here in Canada and the coverage is already part of our daily soccer discourse. And while a move to a bigger club has been touted, West Ham simply makes sense on many levels. It is a team set for an overhaul under manager Graham Potter this summer, with some aging veterans set to depart. Potter prefers an attacking, aggressive press — much like Canada under Jesse Marsch — and with respect to David, a move to East London would come with more opportunity than joining one of the contenders. That’s not to say he wouldn’t look great in the red of Liverpool, for example, where he’d get to play Champions League football — something West Ham can’t offer next season — but earning regular minutes at a place like Anfield would be a huge challenge.

Quebec is awarded a CPL franchise

The question is where, not if? The CPL is desperate to bring its brand to La Belle Province, with Halifax Wanderers playing York United FC in Quebec City on May 31st as part of the league’s ‘On Tour’ series. It is intriguing to see Quebec City get the match rather than the Montreal area.  There has been speculation that CS Saint-Laurent would be a natural fit as a ninth CPL franchise. Perhaps the thinking is that Montreal already has CF Montreal in MLS, so why fight for the fanbase when a move to Quebec City would offer up a captive audience. Regardless, let’s assume an announcement is coming, with expansion being No. 1 on the CPL’s hit list for the near future.

John Herdman and Bev Priestman will be gainfully employed by year’s end

Can we all agree that the noise surrounding these two in 2024 was probably a tad overblown?  That losing their jobs and the damage done to their reputations was probably ample punishment? I certainly don’t believe that they should be barred from ever coaching again, and I fully anticipate both getting hired at some point in 2025. I’d suggest a job in Canada is out of the question for now, but I can see Herdman in MLS at some point, and Priestman either back home in England or perhaps in New Zealand. Of course, that is not condoning the actions these two infamous miscreants were allegedly guilty of, but perhaps we all need to get off our soap boxes once and for all.