Canada is the first North American nation to select a spot in the Qatar World Cup after thirty-six years of its last appearance. Canada topped the qualifying round behind Mexico, the United States, and Costa Rica from the North American football confederation (CONCACAF).
Let us look at the FIFA World Cup 2022 Canada national team players, head coach, captain, and the history of Canadian football.
Canada Soccer| Football Brief History
Canada and the United States generally refer to football as soccer. Football is the most popular sport for Canadian teams in terms of Participation in major tournaments. The Canadian Premier League and Major League Soccer are the nation’s two professional soccer leagues.
source: Between the sticks
The development of soccer began in the 18th century in Canada. Canada earned the gold medal in the 1904 Summer Olympics, held in the United States. They played their first international match against Australia in June 1924. It was already associated with FIFA, but in 1928, it withdrew due to a dispute with other FIFA members.
Canada rejoined FIFA in 1946 and started playing qualification for the North American football championship and Soccer World Cup. However, Canada did not pass qualification in North American Football (CONCACAF) championship until 1977.
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They ended their debut tournament in the fourth position. Similarly, it repeated the same fixtures in the next CONCACAF tournament. Finally, in 1985, the Canadian national team won the championship for the first time, leading to the FIFA World Cup in 1986. As of 2022, Canada has appeared 18 times in the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Canada at the FIFA World Cup
Canada has a poor score in terms of FIFA World Cup football or Soccer World Cup. It has made only two appearances in four decades. Canadian team selected for the 1986 Argentina World Cup after winning the 1985 CONCACAF Gold Cup. However, it lost all three group matches with the Soviet Union, France, and Hungary and out of the tournament.
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Since then, Canada did not pass the soccer World Cup qualification round until 2022. In the Qatar World Cup qualifier, Canada topped the chart of the third round with 28 marks behind Mexico and the United States. Canada will also participate in the 2026 World Cup football as one of the hosts, along with Mexico and the United States.
Canada Qatar World Cup 2022 Squad| Preparation
Canada’s national team will be one of the teams from North American nations in the twenty-second edition of the soccer FIFA World Cup. Further, Canada will be in Group F, along with Belgium, Morocco, and Croatia, in the Qatar World Cup. It will play against Belgium on 23 November 2022 at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan.
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In 2018, the Canadian soccer team hired English coach John Herdman as their head coach. Since then, he has led the team and made the 2022 World Cup selection. Likewise, Atiba Hutchinson is the current team captain who plays professional soccer for the Turkish club Besiktas. Canada has yet to announce its national team. Still, these potential players will be in the Canadian squad in Qatar World Cup.
| Borjan, Milan | Goalkeeper |
| Crépeau, Maxime | Goalkeeper |
| Johnston, Alistair | Right Back |
| Adekugbe, Sam | Left Back |
| Laryea, Richie | Right Back |
| Miller, Kamal | Centre Back |
| Vitória, Steven | Centre Back |
| Kennedy, Scott | Centre Back |
| Henry, Doneil | Centre Back |
| Brault-Guillard, Zachary | Right Back |
| Hutchinson, Atiba | Defensive Midfielder |
| Eustáquio, Stephen | Defensive Midfielder |
| Osorio, Jonathan | Right Midfielder |
| Kaye, Mark-Anthony | Right Midfielder |
| Davies, Alphonso | Left Midfielder |
| Koné, Ismaël | Centre Midfielder |
| Piette, Samuel | Defensive Midfielder |
| Fraser, Liam | Defensive Midfielder |
| David, Jonathan | Centre Forward |
| Buchanan, Tajon | Right Winger |
| Larin, Cyle | Centre Forward |
| Hoilett, Junior | Left Winger |
| Ugbo, Iké | Centre Forward |
| Cavallini, Lucas | Centre Forward |
| Millar, Liam | Left Winger |
