Whether in press conferences, on broadcasts, or anywhere in between, Valour FC head coach Phillip Dos Santos has been asked a lot of questions over the years, but one in a recent interview with CanPL.ca seemed to have him stumped more than any: If Canada and Portugal were to meet in the World Cup, who would he cheer for?
"Oh man, that's a tough one, I hope they don't meet," Dos Santos said with a smile, before requesting that he be asked the question again if it ever became a reality and he had more time to think about it.
There's one year to imagine the possibility of the two countries he loves so much meeting on the grandest stage of all, right here at home. The World Cup is set to kick off on June 11, 2026. Canada's first game will be the next day on June 12 at BMO Field, and groups will be drawn in December of this year.
For Dos Santos, born in Montreal but raised in Aveiro, Portugal, the World Cup represents a chance for the world to come together -- and with the men's tournament coming to Canada for the first time, a real opportunity to launch the sport to new heights.
"Every football lover knows how big of a celebration it is, right? I think that it's exciting to have it in our hometowns, and be close to it and part of it," he said. "We all know how important it could be for the country and the growth of the sport as well. So that's exciting."
That would be especially true if Canada can make some noise at the tournament and pick up a first-ever win at the World Cup and advance out of the group stage. That has never been an expectation for the Canadian men's national team quite like it is for a country with a rich history in the sport like Portugal, but something Canadians are hoping to be building towards, starting next summer.
Just this week, Portugal lifted the UEFA Nations League trophy for the second time in its short existence, and in 2016 the nation won the crown jewel of their trophy cabinet, the European Championship. Dos Santos called this week's victory "candy for the eyes", as Portugal beat Spain in a shootout.
"To be able to celebrate your country winning something, that's always the cherry on top," Dos Santos added. "I think that we saw probably the two best teams in the world right now competing. The technical level, the quality was just incredibly high and just watching a game like that and seeing how it goes all the way to the end and being decided the way it was, it was a candy for everyone that loves the sport. Of course, Portugal winning, for me, was special because there's always that passion and love for the country where I was raised.
"It gives me a bit of bragging rights here at the office as well, with a few of my European friends."
Aveiro, where Dos Santos grew up, is close to the city of Porto. FC Porto therefore became his beloved club, and he recalls going to games regularly at the old Antas stadium with his dad, before the current Estádio do Dragão. He later did coaching internship at the club, and played his youth and some senior football in Portugal, before returning to Canada in his 20s.
"I think that Portugal brought me a lot of what I am today as a manager, how I live football, how I experience football, how I communicate football," Dos Santos said.
Dos Santos also takes pride from watching Stephen Eustáquio play for Porto and the Canadian national team. Eustáquio, the vice-captain of the national team under Alphonso Davies, has been one of Canada's key players for years, and will continue to be into next summer and beyond.
Like Dos Santos, Eustáquio was born in Canada to Portuguese parents before growing up in Portugal, and like Dos Santos his older brother is also very involved with the sport.
Dos Santos' older brother Marc is currently an assistant coach at Los Angeles FC and was formerly the head coach of the Vancouver Whitecaps, Ottawa Fury and San Francisco Deltas among other stops -- with Phillip the assistant coach at the latter three. Eustáquio's older brother Mauro represented Canada at the youth level during a career on both sides of the Atlantic, and is now the head coach of York United in the CPL.
Dos Santos, who worked with both brothers at the youth national team level, sees a lot of similarities between them.
"Stephen and Mauro, they remind me a lot of who I am, where they have a similar upbringing," he said. "I remember seeing Stephen for the first time at a youth national team camp. I think he was with the U17s, they had looked at him as a right back. I was there with the U20s and I had heard of him through Mauro, Mauro was with us with the under 20s at the time when I was the assistant of Nick Dasovic. To see him later on play for clubs like Cruz Azul and Paços Ferreira, and then making the jump to Porto, it was always a career that I followed, so it's exciting to see a player like that not only thriving with the Canadian national team, but also with a club like FC Porto when the technical level is so high.
"For Stephen to be in a club like that and be a player that they count on a lot means a lot, it means that not only does he have the quality to play, but he has an enormous mindset and a fantastic personality, because it's very difficult to get in first, but then to survive."
As the Canadian Premier League gets set to celebrate one year to go this weekend, Dos Santos reflected on what makes Canada, and the league on a smaller scale so special -- it being a melting pot for people from all around the world. All CPL players and coaches will wear custom pre-match shirts honouring their heritage, and dozens of nations will be represented.
Among them will be Valour's midfield trio of Bruno Figueiredo, Diogo Ressurreição and Xavi Venâncio -- like Dos Santos, all proudly repping the Portuguese red and green.
"That’s Canada, right? That's why the country is very unique," Dos Santos said with a pride that many Canadians share.
"I think that's where the world is going too, it's globalized, and I think that when you have the ability to adapt in a world that's growing so fast, it's important. I look at Canada, it's almost difficult to find a Canadian that doesn't have a narrative or a blood of some other culture or country.
"So that's the beauty of the country, and that's what makes it so unique and so special."