If Canadian soccer fans are honest with themselves, they’ll probably feel a little disappointed by the national team’s performance in Qatar at the end of last year. Don’t get it twisted, the fact they were there at all is progress and it’s genuinely impressive that they finished ahead of much better-resourced countries in the CONCACAF pool. Few people will have wasted a Mobilebet bonus code backing them to escape a group which also contained Belgium and Croatia, although the fact the group ended up being won by Morocco might have shocked them more. But then Morocco was their own story at this tournament.
In 2026, more will be expected of the Maple Leafs. They’ll be co-hosting the whole thing with the USA and Mexico, so there will be no need to exhaust themselves from qualifying. The next few years can be spent preparing for a tournament they know they’ll be a part of, not speculatively targeting qualification. And they went to Qatar with a fairly young squad. In 2026, these younger players will have four more years of playing at an increasingly high level to fall back on, so the occasional naivety that bedevilled them in Qatar should be less of a factor. So what should fans expect from the next World Cup?
Herdman should get time to develop things
Nobody will have been more disappointed with three defeats from three games than Jon Herdman – although in retrospect, the fact that two of those losses came against teams that eventually reached the semi-finals shouldn’t be ignored. This Canadian squad will look a lot like the one that shows up for the finals in 2026 and will be augmented by younger players who are just breaking through right now. It’s entirely reasonable that the games that happen in the next three years should be seen as a chance to give match experience to those younger names, and to test out tactical approaches which will enable the team to play a cleverer game next time out.
Pay attention to the 2026 tournament format
The working theory as to how the 48-team World Cup in 2026 will shape up is currently that there will be 16 groups of three teams each, but that isn’t finalized. If it were to end up being the case, then two teams would qualify for the knockout stages from each group, which would give Canada as hosts an incredible chance to get beyond the group stage for the first time. A change to the format, however, would change how the team needed to approach games. A single win, potentially against a lower-ranked team, would be enough in a three-team pool. Expand the groups to four teams each, and we might also need to at least draw with a more battle-hardened side.
Encourage wanderlust in younger players
It was plainly evident in Qatar that there were players like Alphonso Davies who had solid European experience, and others who did not. Since playing in the World Cup, right back Alistair Johnson has moved from MLS side Montreal to Scottish giants Celtic. While there he will experience Champions League football, as Davies, Cyle Larin and Tajon Buchanan have. This will undoubtedly make him a more rounded player. With any luck, some of the younger players coming through at MLS and Canadian Premier League sides will gain similar experience between now and 2026; that can only help their performance.
