A Tale of Two Countries: Canada and Scotland
More evidence that the Canadian senior men’s team is struggling. The new FIFA rankings are out and Canada has slipped another 6 spaces to #87, tied with Albania, Guatemala, and the U.A.E..
Compare that with Scotland, which moves up 6 spots to crack the top 20 – the highest ever ranking for Scotland. Pretty impressive, especially when you consider that 18 short months ago, Canada was ahead of Scotland in the rankings. In July 2005, Canada was ranked #84, Scotland was ranked #85. In the 18 months since, the Scot’s have surged while Canada has faltered.
It could be the caliber of the competition. Last year, Canada played 5 international friendlies, winning 2 (Jamaica 1-0, Austria 2-0) losing 2 (Hungary 1-0 and Jamaica 2-1), and drawing nil-nil against the US.
Contrast that to the type of year the Scots had with 8 internationals, beating Lithuania, the Faroe Islands, Bulgaria, drawing with the US, Austria and Japan, and losing to the Ukraine. Add to that the huge win that the Scots had against World Cup finalists France, beating them 1-0 in Euro qualifying and you’ve got a pretty decent year for Scotland.
I am not saying this to question Scotland’s top 20 finish – I think they deserve to be there. Walter Smith did an incredible job, and Alex MacLeish is poised to continue that run. Rather, I look to the Scots as inspiration for Canada. If, in the span of less than 2 years, they can climb up from the basement into the top 20, perhaps Canada can?
Certainly, soccer is much more a part of the Scottish cultural landscape than in Canada, and the Scots have a fine league system that competes with the best in Europe, but still to have such a reverse in fortune in such a short period of time, the Scots are definitely doing things right. Canada would do well to model themselves after the Scots. And, if you consider Canadian history and the influence of the Scots on Canada, it would seem like a natural thing to do.
