When World Cup-bound former Chelsea youngster Ike Ugbo was a kid growing up in Canada mentions of anything to do with their national team and major tournaments were hard to find.
‘Football wasn’t so big in Canada then,’ remembered striker Ugbo, now at French Ligue 1 club Troyes. ‘And there wasn’t really any talk about Canada’s players.
‘Little things that we see in England – when there is a World Cup near you know there is a World Cup coming around – that didn’t happen’.
World Cup-bound Ike Ugbo played for Chelsea’s academy after moving to England aged nine
Canada’s profile and prominence has changed significantly now with Ugbo part of the squad under English coach John Herdman and that includes Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies and Lille’s Jonatan David who have put the country on the international football map again.
In March, Canada made history by qualifying for this year’s…
