For Atiba Hutchinson: Canada look to crown captain with Nations League title 

If all goes according to plan, this might be Atiba Hutchinson’s last dance.

The Canadian men’s national team will do everything in their power to ensure that it finishes with a trophy.

Hutchinson, who will be out of contract at Turkish powerhouse Besiktas at the end of June, told _The Athletic_ there’s a “good chance” this month’s Concacaf Nations League Finals will be his swansong. Les Rouges also have the Concacaf Gold Cup in late June and early July, though Hutchinson made his intentions clear.

“It’s a crazy feeling,” Hutchinson said. “It’s cool that I’m here with an opportunity to win a trophy, but at the same time, it’s been a long career that I had representing Canada.”

The 40-year-old has seen it all during his distinguished career. At the club level, most of it was a resounding success. Hutchinson has won multiple league titles in Denmark and Turkey, along with a Dutch Cup with PSV Eindhoven, among other honors.

Internationally, it was a seemingly never-ending cycle of disappointments, which had Hutchinson questioning whether it was time to give up the national team for good. 

Thankfully for everyone involved, Hutchinson kept accepting the call, time and time again, leading to a program-record 103 appearances so far. Now, six months after playing in his first-ever World Cup at age 39, Hutchinson can potentially add one final trophy to his cabinet.

“I’ve had a lot of great memories,” Hutchinson said. “I’ve had some down times as well, but it’s been a career that I’ve been very happy with.”

Panama opportunity

It could be the most satisfying triumph of them all.

Panama are the penultimate hurdle standing in Hutchinson’s and Canada’s path to a first final in 23 years. Both sides meet on Thursday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas (7 pm ET | OneSoccer in Canada; Paramount+ in US), amounting to their third matchup in 18 months.

The first meeting in October 2021 will be fondly remembered for _that_ Alphonso Davies goal. In hindsight, it was the moment that catapulted Canada towards a historic World Cup qualifying campaign, ending a 36-year drought from the sport’s biggest tournament. 

The journey didn’t finish on a high, though, thanks to Panama’s 1-0 win at home on the final matchday of the Concacaf Octagonal. Rotation and, perhaps, a bit of fatigue contributed to a lackluster showing up front.

This time should be different. For starters, Davies is available, albeit after a long injury layoff at Bayern Munich. The same can be said for fellow key players Tajon Buchanan, Alistair Johnston and Jonathan Osorio. 

Buchanan and Johnston did play a handful of minutes to close out their respective seasons, plus Osorio logged 89 minutes for Toronto FC last Saturday. But this group is in very different stages of their seasons. The European players have been inactive for anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, depending on their injury statuses. Most MLS-based names, like defender Kamal Miller (Inter Miami CF), have plenty of match fitness, but they are few and far between.

Thankfully for Canada, the recent individual success of several players has them motivated to clinch that elusive trophy. The winner of Thursday’s fixture would advance to face the US or Mexico on Sunday, while the loser heads to a third-place consolation match.

“It becomes a drug and you want more of it,” said Canada coach John Herdman. “These players, after winning big leagues or big trophies, they just understand that there’s a different focus in this period of time.”

Now that the players are in camp and potentially 180 minutes away from their next fix, it’s all they can think about.

“I've already sensed it in the conversations I've had,” said Herdman. “There are players that are so dialed in. They want that trophy. Even in a place like Vegas where there's a lot of distractions, you get that sense that they're honed in to do what it's going to take.”

Add in the Hutchinson factor, and Canada have plenty of motivation to finish one chapter and start writing another on the road to co-hosting the 2026 World Cup.

“We need more trust and big moments if we're going to compete at a home World Cup with the vision of winning it,” Herdman stated. “We can't talk about winning big matches at a World Cup at home if we're not willing to win big matches tomorrow, so our future is [Thursday].”