Long-time friends Johnston and Miller form key defensive duo for Canada

On a team that describes itself as a “brotherhood,” the bond between Alistair Johnston and Kamal Miller might be one of Canada’s most significant relationships.

The two Major League Soccer defenders met as boys playing Ontario minor soccer, eventually building a years-long friendship and flourishing defensive partnership.

Ahead of World Cup qualifying, pundits felt Canada's defence was its weakness but Johnston and Miller helped change that narrative. From the first round to the final stage, the pair started together in nine of Canada’s 20 qualifying matches. The international teammates also became CF Montreal’s defensive pillars after Johnston was traded from Nashville to Montreal in December of 2021.

Canada finished atop of Concacaf World Cup qualifying, scoring the most goals and conceding the fewest. And in the country’s final, pre-World Cup camp in Europe in mid-September, Miller and Johnston bookended veteran central defender Steven Vitoria in friendlies against Qatar and Uruguay.

Now, Johnston, 24, and Miller, 25, are expected to start Canada’s World Cup matches against Belgium, Croatia, and Morocco, where they’ll draw confidence and focus from each other.

“I see [Miller] get pushed or someone pushes me, I know that he’s gonna back me up right away,” said Johnston. “He’ll be one of the first ones in there.”

“To see both of us being the main guys at the back for Canada and putting the country on the map is special for sure,” said Miller.

Before the international, MLS, and World Cup spotlights, Johnston and Miller were boys playing together on soccer fields in Vaughan, Ont. One reason their friendship grew was that their personalities and dreams complemented each other: Johnston was looking for a teammate to look up to, and Miller was looking to lead.

“I just remember watching [Vaughan minor soccer] play and thinking, ‘Wow, if I could be anything like Kamal,’ especially being a defender myself,” said Johnston. “If I could be anything like [Miller], I’m gonna be in a good place.”

Miller grew up in Malvern, a neighbourhood in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough. As a young boy, Miller was aware of the neighbourhood’s social-economic challenges and how it affected young people in his life. Early on, Miller told his father he didn’t want to be “someone else’s statistic.”

“There were so many boys I went to high school with and played with growing up who were probably more talented than me, but veered off and maybe took a different path,” said Miller. “I just knew I always wanted to stay focused and make it to the top of my city.”

As Miller progressed from Ontario minor soccer to playing at Syracuse University, he saw Johnston following his footsteps to the NCAA – first with St. John’s then Wake Forest. Miller was selected 27th overall by Orlando City in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft. Johnston was selected 11th overall by Nashville a year later.

“When I went pro first and then he came the year after, it just felt like we were neck and neck the whole time,” Miller said.

Johnston earned his spot in Nashville quickly but watched Miller struggle for two years to find a consistent spot in Orlando City's lineup. However, Johnston also saw his friend exhibit qualities he admired.

“Since [Miller] was a kid, how he grew up, he never really took no for an answer,” said Johnston. “He said, ‘Okay, you don’t like how I play? I’m gonna work harder.’ He always had that mentality no matter what. He’s gonna make a name for himself and that was something I always respected.”

When the two were brought together in Montreal, it wasn’t simply a reunion. Miller’s and Johnston’s families have long been close – so close that Miller calls Johnston the “brother I never had” and says Johnston is his mother’s favourite player.

Miller thinks playing together with Canada and CF Montreal helped he and Johnston realize their individual and collective gifts.

“I forget what game it was, but I think the moment that locked it in the most was before one kickoff,” says Miller. “We just looked at each other we both said, ‘We belong on this pitch.’”

“I have a really good gauge on what he needs as a player and I think he’s got a really good gauge on that with me as well,” said Johnston.

Throughout qualifying, both defenders routinely shut down the best attackers from the Caribbean, and Central and North America.

If head coach John Herdman decides to start Miller and Johnston together at the World Cup, they will measure themselves against world-class talent like Belgium’s Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne and Croatia’s Mateo Kovačić and Luka Modrić.

Johnston is ready for the challenge, because he knows when the national anthems are played, he’ll have his friend beside him. Miller knows he and Johnston have always been stronger and better together.  

“[It’s] the fact that we were on these journeys for so long together and we were able to put it all together. I look across and that’s the guy I’ve been playing with for years now, way before this was even an idea in our head that we could potentially play for the national team,” Miller said. “Even if one of us made it, I think it would’ve been a dream come true.”

“There’s no drug like it, I’ll tell you what,” Johnston said of standing beside Miller and the rest of his Canadian teammates.

“So then to think about doing that on the world stage with all of Canada watching, all of Canada behind us, our families in the stands, hopefully, and hopefully a great performance to follow after that, it’s gonna be an unbelievably special moment. One that I definitely will never forget.”