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In the hours before Maxime Crepeau stared down Lionel Messi and Argentina, the Canada goalkeeper’s mind drifted far away from the immense challenge the World Cup champions presented.
There were tactical plans to review on how best to implement new Canada head coach Jesse Marsch’s press. There were typical warm-ups to do. And there were necessary messages as a team that had to be communicated throughout the locker room.
But none of those teammates had overcome the kind of hurdles recently that Crepeau did. And so he needed to appreciate the fact he was starting in a wildly important game for Canada — finally — in a way none of the other players could understand.
“My wife and I shared a moment before the game,” Crepeau said quietly. “We’ve come a long, long way.”
Crepeau was a lock for Canada’s 2022 World Cup roster for months before they even qualified. There was no doubt he was going on the plane to Qatar as Canada’s backup goalkeeper, even if, at the time, a case could be made that he offered more athleticism and quality than longtime Canada No 1 Milan Borjan.
That is until Crepeau raced out to cut off Philadelphia Union striker Cory Burke in the 2022…
