Alistair Johnston’s rapid assent takes him from FIFA World Cup to Celtic FC

DOHA, Qatar — It was a long road for Alistair Johnston to the Canadian national team, even though his recent assent has been rapid.

Johnston, 24, likely packed a big suitcase to come to the 2022 FIFA World Cup here with Canada, because he had another destination after the tournament, heading to Scotland to play with Celtic FC. The Scottish Premier League club broke the anticipated news Saturday, welcoming Johnston to the club.

A Vancouver product, Johnston was not even on the national team radar two years ago, and went on to become an important member of the team through qualifying and playing all three games here at the World Cup.

“Not everyone is lucky enough to have the Alphonso Davies way where they’re a mega talent and breaking on to the MLS scene at a young age,” Johnston said. “A lot of guys on this team took that difficult route, it was a very unconventional path for a lot of guys, but that’s one of the coolest parts about it.

“For myself, and Joel Waterman that were playing Canadian university soccer, and we look at NCAA and all the guys playing and those guys who graduated when they were 21 and just started playing professional then. We have a tone of guys on our team who weren’t playing professional until they got in their 20s, just because that was the path they took.”

Johnston’s journey began at Vaughn SC in Ontario, before attending St. John’s University in New York. From there, he transferred to Wake Forest University. In the summer, he would return to Canada and played in League1 Ontario with the Vaughan Azzurri.

Johnston was selected 11th overall by Nashville FC in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft, and after one season in Tennessee, was called up to play with Canadian men’s national team by head coach John Herdman, where it did not take him long to become the team’s starting right fullback.

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“It goes to show, if you look at the other countries that are here and the different pathways that everyone else took, it’s a little bit different for everyone, but it’s really exciting; it just shows that there is not just one special way to get out there,” Johnston said. “If you dedicate yourself to the sport and truly love it and show you have a passion for it, all it takes is for one person to say ‘yes,’ when everybody else is saying ‘no.’

“John (Herdman) and his staff have given guys opportunities that potentially would not have gotten opportunities and he has that ability to fill guys with confidence to play potentially better than they ever thought they could. That’s part of the coolest part of my route, that it was very different, and hopefully, it gives light to other guys, who can say, ‘Why not me?’”

Johnston has played 33 games for his country in the last two years, scoring a goal. He came close to scoring Canada’s first ever goal at a World Cup when he unleashed a shot from the corner of the penalty area in the fist half against Belgium, which goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois batted away.

Outside of the penalty missed by Alphonso Davies, it was one of the best opportunities Canada had in the game.

Canada went on to lose 1-0 to Belgium, despite outplaying them and registering a World Cup record 21 attempts on target without a goal. Canada then went on to lose 4-1 to Croatia in its second game, eliminating them from advancing to the next round with one game to play.

Canada concluded the tournament Thursday, with a 2-1 loss to Morocco, a game Atiba Hutchinson came within an inch of tying the game after his header crashed down on the goal line off the underside of the crossbar. Johnston was one of the first on the scene, but was unable to direct the rebound on goal.

“We pushed hard in that second half and we kept going, and I think everyone can be proud of that performance,” Johnston said. “Obviously, the results aren’t what we wanted, but at the same time, we showed we do belong here and can play with the best teams in the world.

“Now, there is going to be further development and that hunger of younger players coming through. There are going to be some older guys here that won’t be on that roster for 2026 and I know there is going to be some big competition for spots in tournaments coming up to get us ready. It was a good step.”

Growing up in Ontario after moving from Vancouver, Johnston’s generation did not have a Canadian men’s team to cheer for at the World Cup. He, along with 24 other members of the men’s national team were not born the previous time Canada competed at the World Cup in 1986 in Mexico.

This time, he was part of the inspiration for young Canadian players, who too grew up dreaming of playing in a World Cup. Students across the country were allowed to watch Canada play while in school, such was the historic nature of the appearance in Qatar.

“I think the closest it resembled was the 2010 Olympic hockey final; I remember that we got to watch in the schools and that was a pretty special day and to think they got to do that three times, is pretty special,” Johnston said. “It just goes to show how big soccer is, and how big the game is in Canada. We’re such a diverse country and that passion is there for the sports and we just need to keep fuelling it by continuing to play in World Cups; the women’s program is doing that as well and playing at this level only feeds into that and continues to drive the sport.

“We just need to keep letting those kids believe that there is a pathway to play at this stage and play against players like Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard, Hakim Ziyech and Achraf Hakimi at the World Cup.”

Email: dvandiest@postmedia.com

On Twitter: @DerekVanDiest