AS one of the three co-hosts of next summer’s World Cup finals, Canada will not, unlike Scotland, have any need to go through the qualification process to book their place.
The Canucks will be involved in the tournament for the first time since Mexico ’86 and only the second occasion in their entire history.
Yet, Alistair Johnston, the Celtic right-back who won his 53rd cap in their CONCACAF Nations League third place play-off win over the United States in California on Sunday, will not be letting up any when he turns out for his country in the months ahead.
If anything, he intends to redouble his efforts.
Johnston appreciates that he is, despite still being just 26, now one of the elder statesmen in the Canada set-up and understands that he has to do everything that he can to help his homeland make a major impact on their long-awaited World Cup return.
But the defender - who will, barring illness or injury, return to action for Celtic in their William Hill Premiership match against Hearts at Parkhead on Saturday – stressed that he welcomes having extra responsibility on his shoulders as he returned from the international break.
And he expressed hope that having a senior role will help the Scottish champions, who are bidding to complete a world record ninth domestic treble in the remaining games of the 2024/25 campaign, going forward.
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“Every single match now is massive when you know that our country is obviously going to be participating in the World Cup,” he said. “It seems like a long way away, but realistically it is less than a year and a half to go.
"So all of these matches matter. And we want to make sure that we're heading into that in the highest of highs with all the momentum behind us as a nation. So it's an important time for us.”
Johnston continued, “I think you start to just kind of go on the natural progression where you come in. You're the young guy, you're just really happy to be there, you're taking it all in.
“All of a sudden, you get some more caps under your belt and before you know it you're looking and you're like, ‘Oh, this is a new player, how old is he? Oh, he was born in 2007?’ You're thinking, ‘Okay, wait, I'm old now’.
“You realise that people are now looking up to you. I've got 53 caps for example. I remember when I first came in I was looking at the guys who had over 50 caps and saying, ‘Wow, that's a Canada legend in a way’.
“And I really enjoy that role. I really enjoy being part of a leadership group that has a strong voice with our coaching staff and with the entire player pool of how we want to run things over there.
“Since Jesse Marsch came in, he's been great with us. He's really empowered a couple of us guys who are still younger to a degree but are very experienced at international level. It's something that I've really enjoyed and I think that I've brought that back to Celtic as well. I try to help Cal (McGregor) and the other older guys in any way possible.
“But I do feel like I've probably taken on a more important role within the international team. It's an unbelievable time to be given that opportunity, that kind of license to take a bigger role, because we're going into a home World Cup.
“I'm lucky enough that my career even aligns with that. So yes, a really exciting time to be a Canadian footballer. Yes, I'm just kind of living the dream.”
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Johnston, who helped Canada to get the better of a United States side which contained his Celtic team mate Cameron Carter-Vickers at the weekend, also feels fortunate he has been able to play Champions League league phase and knockout round football this season.
The man who was the outstanding performer on the pitch in the last 16 match against Bayern Munich in Germany believes that pitting himself against the outstanding teams and players on the planet will enable him to perform at his very best when the World Cup finally rolls around.
“Since our national teams had so much success over the past 18 months to two years, we're attracting bigger games, we're attracting bigger matches. I just think last summer we went in and we played the Dutch in the Netherlands. You go and you play France and all of a sudden you look at the players you're going up against.
“But getting that experience, playing the Champions League, playing against Kingsley Coman, Leroy Sané, Serge Gnabry, has been invaluable. You're playing against some of the best wingers that have graced a football pitch over the past decade.
“As a full-back, getting those experiences is fantastic. You see what those players are like and you test yourself against. All right, how do I match up against these top, top players?
"What can I improve on and do I belong at this level? I think that's something that I've definitely learned from, these past experiences. I think it's helping not only my career here at Celtic, but also the national team level where I feel really comfortable.”
Johnston added: “We played Argentina twice last summer. I was playing on the same pitches as Lionel Messi. You can see what that level is, that top, top level. It does, as a competitor, push you on and inspire you to want to play at the highest level in every single moment.
“And that's luckily what we get here at Celtic, especially in the Champions League and national team, in those big major tournaments. It's been a really cool growth. It's been really cool to see my own growth but also see the growth of my national team over these past couple of years."
