Americans were “scared” to play Canada in World Cup qualifying, says Borjan
Goalkeeper Milan Borjan has played a lot of games for the Canadian national team: 60 of them to be exact.
But few can measure up to Sunday’s performance against the United States in 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifying at Hamilton’s Tim Hortons Field.
Canada came out on top by a 2-0 score, in no small part due to Borjan’s eight-save effort.
“It’s two countries right beside each other, you know, and it’s like a big derby,” Borjan said post-match of the natural rivalry between the two teams.
Borjan, who has been with the national team program since 2011, had previously beaten the USA just once: in a 2019 CONCACAF Nations League match.
Usually, though, it was disappointment for Canada in whatever competition the team played in, with Canada not beating the USA from 1990 to 2018.
“Whenever we went to the US, they had 50 or 60,000 people screaming and everything,” Borjan said of past road games.
The win was also Canada’s first over the USA in World Cup qualifying since 1980.
“Before it was like, [we’d play the USA] and they’re like, oh, we play Canada, blah, blah, blah, and this and that,” Borjan said. “We’re tired of that… not respecting us.”
Borjan believes that the times have changed, emphasized by Canada’s win yesterday, coupled with a 1-1 draw on American soil back in October in Nashville.
“But now when they come to us or we go there, they’re scared,” Borjan said. “They’re scared.”
Borjan’s comments about the shifting mindset appear to have some merit. American coach Gregg Berhalter drew criticism for his complaints about the size of the pitch, adding that the Americans “dominated” despite the loss.
The Americans entered Sunday’s match as the top-ranked team in CONCACAF and ranked 11th in the world. Canada sits 40th in the world rankings but is set to rise up once again to a likely new national record ranking while sitting first in the CONCACAF region for the 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign with four games remaining.
“We have an amazing team. And this team just don’t give up anymore,” Borjan said. “This team… this is the new Canada. This is new soccer [in] Canada, and we are just gonna keep pushing and fighting for the new generations.”
With no games scheduled against each other in the near future in any competition, there’s no certainty as to when the next US-Canada matchup will be. But it’s a surefire bet Borjan’s confidence will be on display whenever he gets the chance to take on his southern neighbours.
“Whenever we play them, it’s something special and we do our best just to make our country proud and not be humiliated [like] before,” Borjan said.
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