Every March, it happens. The boys get called up, the camp buzz kicks in, and suddenly we’re all absolutely certain this is the year Canada goes deep.

We’re not here to kill your vibe but on a recent episode of Footy Prime, Sharms, Dubs, Craiger, Wonger, and JC had a proper honest conversation about where this squad actually stands heading into the March international window, and it’s worth unpacking.

It’s Not Just Us: Every Fan Base Does This

As Sharms said out loud:

“You know what though? And this is every fan base does this. No matter who you support, this time of year, we begin really, really overrating our players.”

Canada fan. Italian fan. England fan. Doesn’t matter. The international window rolls around and suddenly everyone on the roster is a world-beater. It’s part of the fun of being a football fan, and there’s nothing wrong with it. But if we’re going to have a real conversation about where this team is at, we have to look it in the eye first.

How Many of Our Guys Are Actually Playing at the Top Level?

Strip back the hype and actually look at the squad.

“There are very few players playing top level, elite level football,” Sharms points out.

Jonathan David, Alphonso Davies, Tajon Buchanan, Ismaël Koné, Tani Oluwaseyi,

What about the rest?

Ali Ahmed is doing well at Norwich and the lads love him.

“We all love Ali Ahmed. For me, he is nailed on starter but Norwich is still a league championship side, although they’re making a real move towards the playoffs at the moment,” said Sharms.

Cyle Larin’s situation at Southampton is interesting, with the club potentially in the Prem next year in the playoff spots but that’s not locked in yet.

And MLS?

“It’s not considered top four. Not top five, right? It’s getting, it’s moving up. It’s a good league but it’s not there yet.”

Do League Rankings Even Matter Anymore?

This is where things get spicy. Because Dubs made a point that’s worth chewing on: maybe we’re using the wrong measuring stick altogether.

“I think that we need to get away from evaluating players purely based on Opta Power Rankings or top five leagues in the world. Look at the club, look at the coaching, look at the system they’re playing, and look at how this team looks when they’re together and playing for Canada with that kid on, and what that looks like.”

Take Aribim Pepple. Who cares where he’s scoring goals? He’s scoring goals. If a guy is bagging goals week in, week out, does it matter if it’s third tier in England?

“If you can do well in Canada or like in an international setup then come on in I want you on my team.”

The pushback to that is just as fair. We don’t know yet if players like that can step up to the intensity of international football against elite opposition.

We’re going to find that out, right? That’s literally what these games are for.

The Collective Is Bigger Than the Individuals

This might be the most important thing to take away heading into these friendlies.

Look at the examples: Morocco, semi-finalists at the last World Cup.

“African Cup of Nations champions” interjected Craiger.

South Korea, semi-finalists all those years ago on home soil.

These weren’t squads loaded with players from the top five leagues. They were squads that bought into something and performed.

That’s what the March window needs to be about.

“What I want out of this 10 days together is kind of like a doubling down of this identity that whether it’s first half, second half, whether its using Tunisia as kind of a blueprint for what you’re going to do versus Qatar or using Iceland as kind of a litmus test for how you perform against a European team,” explained Dubs.

The goal is simple: “You look like Canada and you look convincing.”

Decent, Good, or Very Good? Nobody Actually Knows Yet

So where does that leave us?

“It’s a decent team. Maybe it’s a good team. Maybe it’s a very good team. The collective is bigger than the individuals perhaps, but yet to be proven,” says Sharms.

Copa America showed glimpses that this collective can punch above its weight.

BetMGM has Canada at 25th in the World Cup odds. For a team heading into a 48-team tournament largely on home soil, that’s not a slap in the face. But there are also more question marks than just the end results if you actually look at performances game by game rather than just the scorelines.

And honestly? That’s what makes it fun.

“Not one person I know is worried about this World Cup,” Sharms clarifies.

That’s Canada football right now. The expectations are high enough to matter, and something else enough that every win feels like a statement. These March friendlies are a chance to start answering some of those open questions.
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Let’s see what the boys do with it.