Ex-Inter Miami coach Phil Neville joins Canada national team staff for Nations League
Phil Neville was hired Friday to temporarily join the staff of the Canadian men’s national team, a week after being fired as head coach of Inter Miami.
Neville and Richard Shaw were brought in by Canada head coach John Herdman to help advise the coaching staff and work with players ahead of the CONCACAF Nations League semifinal against Panama on June 15. They will likely stay on through the Gold Cup this summer.
“Both Phil and Richard bring with them winning experience at the highest levels and have worked with some of the Premier League’s top managers during their careers,” Herdman said. “They’ll work as positional and unit coaches with the aim of helping us to win our first trophy in over two decades.”
Herdman told Canadian media: “Obviously Phil’s just come out of work with Miami so it’s been pretty last minute in terms of being able to access him. So that’s an ongoing conversation with Phil. At this stage it’s an opportunity to come in, just get a different experience, take himself out of the head coach pressures and just enjoy a different environment.”
He said it could lead to a full-time position heading into the 2026 World Cup.
“For both coaches, it’ll be an opportunity, one, for us to look at them and see how they fit with our culture, the environment and what they can offer as we plan for 2026,” Herdman said. “It will be just a great opportunity just to tap into Phil’s brain. I’ve heard a lot of great things about Phil being a terrific man-manager and learning a lot from (former Manchester United manager) Alex Ferguson. So I’m hoping Phil can transfer a lot of that to our coaching staff as well as our player group.
“And I know from his perspective he’s excited to come and see the Canadian team. He was very impressed with what he saw at the World Cup in terms of the performances and how brave they were, the style of play. So he’s really interested to see how we go about our business. So it should be a win-win.”
Canada reached its second World Cup in 2022 and first since 1986 but lost in the group stage. The winner of the Canada vs. Panama game plays the winner of USA vs Mexico in the final.