Two Team Canada stars playing in Hamilton Sunday were developed by Forge FC leaders
Sunday's Canada/USA game is not only critical to men's World Cup qualifying, it brings to Tim Hortons Field the teams in the eight-country regional pool which play the most exciting and entertaining styles of soccer.
And two of Canada's most dynamic players have close ties to Hamilton soccer, through Bobby and Costa Smyrniotis, the head coach and general manager, respectively, of Forge FC.
Forward Cyle Larin and midfielder/back Richie Laryea both got their soccer starts as kids at Sigma FC Academy, owned by the Smyrniotis brothers, and played most of their age-class soccer there. And both played for Sigma in the semi-pro League 1 before embarking on full pro careers
Richie was 10 and Cyle was 11 when they came to us and they both went through the whole system, right through going to college and getting drafted (both by Orlando City of the MLS)," Bobby Smyrniotis says. We've got a very good relationship with the two of them, and have talked together a lot through their professional journey."
With both goals in November's pivotal 2-1 victory over Mexico, Larin tied Dwayne De Rosario for the all-time men's national team lead at 22 goals.
I've always felt positive that Cyle would score everywhere," Smyrniotis says. He's going to get the ball in the back of the net. He's had it since he was young: knowing where to be on the field, and having a high conversion rate. He's not looking for the perfect shot, perfect scenario, he knows when he's striking toward the goal."
Smyrniotis says Laryea, who will be important in the absence of all-world Alphonso Davies, was absolutely brilliant from the first time I met him. When he was 11 he was part of the first Sigma team assembled to travel to Spain. As a teenager he was smaller than everyone but his technical ability was above everyone else. I was always confident he'd be a fantastic pro."
Emerging national team winger Tajon Buchanan also played League 1 for Smyrniotis in 2018.
The law of demand and limited supply
How valuable is a ticket to Sunday's game here, especially after stadium capacity was halved to 12,000 spectators? It depends if it fetches the asking price. Early Thursday afternoon, the cheapest ticket available on resale site stubhub.ca was $121 and the most expensive, for the best club seat on the west side, was being offered at $1,678. That's nearly 10 times the face-value price of $175 (plus tax). When tickets originally went on sale in December the price range was $35 to $175, according to the Canada Soccer website.
Veteran, and high, praise for Herdman
Milan Borjan, who's been Canada's No. 1 goalie for a decade and makes his return to Hamilton Sunday, says head coach John Herdman has something special in him. From the first day he got here (to the men's team in 2018) he made me believe in the whole program. I was so excited and told him I've got his back, all the way. John changed a lot, brought in young players. He likes to keep everything sharp and he brought a different style to us.
When the coach believes, the players start believing it too. Maybe we didn't have that before; somebody who gave us so much trust and belief. With him it's just another level. Canada, every year, is getting better."
National team merch, locally
Even those who haven't got tickets to Sunday's Canada/USA game here can support the national soccer program.
The Ticats/Forge FC shop is carrying Team Canada jerseys, T-shirts, sweatshirts, pins, scarves and hats. The shop is located on the southeast corner of Tim Hortons Field and is open Wednesdays to Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and this Sunday, from 11 a.m. The kiosks inside the stadium will also be selling the merchandise on game day.
Where to watch onscreen
All of Canada's remaining World Cup qualifying games will be broadcast on Sportsnet and streamed on OneSoccer. Thursday's game against Honduras at the Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano in San Pedro Sula begins at 8:05 p.m.; Sunday's game vs. the USA at Tim Hortons Field is at 3:05 p.m.; and this three-game qualifying window concludes next Wednesday Feb. 2 at 9 p.m. with Canada playing El Salvador at Estadio Cascatlan in San Salvador.
Steve Milton is a Hamilton-based sports columnist at The Spectator. Reach him via email: smilton@thespec.com