Ali Ahmed’s whirlwind Championship introduction at Norwich City has got the fit-again Canadian international World Cup-ready.
Ahmed is set to be involved for his country’s opener against Bosnia on Friday after recovering from a hamstring injury on the final day of the club season at Hull.
The 25-year-old winger made an instant impact in green and yellow following his mid-winter switch from Vancouver Whitecaps.
Ahmed was touted with strong interest from Germany before a Carrow Road transfer, after a warning from national boss, Jesse Marsch, to fulfil his potential he had to develop his game.
“Him not calling me up his first camp and then telling me at the (2024) Copa America that I lacked playing with pace and power was good for me,” he said. “I needed that, and it's the truth. It was the truth.
“The pace of play, the power of play, the speed of the ball. Everything is just sharp and fast (in England). It's everything he's been emphasizing to us.
“A combination of belief in myself and the people around me really, really helped me in those moments not to give up.”
Ahmed expects to have 12 to 18 friends in attendance for Canada’s opener in his Toronto hometown. The co-hosts will also play a group game in Vancouver, and Ahmed is hoping that global exposure can help boost the domestic game.
“There's not a lot of people that can say they played in a World Cup, let alone a home World Cup in a stadium that you grew up in, you grew up attending, watching matches,” he said, quoted by sportsnet. “It's a special place for every Toronto player that grows up playing football. And now you get to represent your whole country on that field in a World Cup.
“It's not a lot of words that can really describe the moment, and the magnitude of the moment,
“The (Whitecaps) club in the past few years has turned a corner. Fans are showing up and excited about games, excited about the players and everything that the Whitecaps bring.
“You get 25,000 at BC Place every Saturday. It's beautiful, man. We need it to progress the game in Canada as well.”
Ahmed fits the template of what Marsch has tried to build with Canada.
"We're aggressors," he said, interviewed by CBC Sports. "We like to play with speed and power, we like to make the opponent feel uncomfortable. We like to play in transition, so that is what you will see. It will be a fun team.
"I think our fan base has got used to how we want to play, the personalities of the players, they can see we enjoy what we are doing.
"They know what to expect. It is an exciting team to root for and important to use the strengths of our players to develop that style. We want to attract people to the way we play and grow the sport as a brand.
"I've been calling this the 'People's Team' and we want to make sure that everyone in Canada feels a strong connection to this team and feels the energy of what we are creating."
