On Sunday, at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ont., the men’s team netted a 2-0 win over the U.S., Canada’s first World Cup victory over the United States since 1980.
The match allowed Canada to maintain its top-spot position. With four games remaining in the qualifying round, here’s everything you need to know about the Canadian men’s soccer team, including who the key players are and what it’ll take for the team to make it to the World Cup.
(Hint: Now is the perfect time to jump on the #CanMNT bandwagon.)
How close is Canada to qualifying for the 2022 World Cup?
Canada is currently ranked in first place in the CONCACAF regional qualifier. For this World Cup, the top three teams automatically qualify for Qatar.
On the road to the World Cup, Canada still has four more games to play, including this Wednesday’s match in El Salvador. Then, Canada will play three more games in March: An away game in Costa Rica on March 24, at home against Jamaica on March 27, and away to Panama on March 30.
Barring some kind of catastrophic meltdown in these last four games, they are almost certainly going to qualify, Daniel Squizzato, Canadian soccer writer and enthusiast, told The Globe and Mail.
Mr. Squizzato explained that the qualification process in CONCACAF (the regional zone in which Canada competes) is usually decided in a final round comprised of six teams, known as the “Hexagonal.” (You may hear your soccer friends refer to it as “the Hex.”)
Each team plays each other team twice, once at home and once away. The top three teams qualify for the World Cup, and the fourth-placed team goes to a playoff, Mr. Squizzato said.
Right now, Canada has played 10 of its 14 games in the Octagonal round and is undefeated: six wins and four draws.
“It’s a very tight race in the standings,” Mr. Squizzato said. Canada has 22 points, the U.S. is at 18, Mexico is also sitting with 18 points, and Panama sits in fourth spot, with 17 points. Mr. Squizzato cautioned that the most important thing is to stay ahead of Panama, since the top three automatically qualify.
“None of the remaining games will be easy. But given the form Canada is in [five straight wins], it is much more likely that they will qualify than not,” Mr. Squizzato said.
So far, Qatar, Germany, Denmark, Brazil, France, Belgium, Croatia, Spain, Serbia, England, Switzerland, Netherlands, Argentina and Iran have already qualified for the tournament.
CONCACAF is the regional zone that includes North America, Central America and the Caribbean. Each regional zone gets a certain number of qualification spots for each World Cup.
For this World Cup, Mr. Squizzato said, CONCACAF has 3.5 spots, meaning three teams from the region will directly qualify, and one will have a chance to qualify via a playoff with a team from another confederation.
How does the Canadian men’s soccer team rank on the world stage?
Canada is currently ranked 40th in the world, the highest it’s ever been. After wins over Honduras and the U.S. in the past week, that will go even higher next month, Mr. Squizzato says, adding for context that the U.S. is ranked 11th, Mexico is 14th. A total of 32 teams make it to the World Cup.
When was the last time the Canadian men’s soccer team qualified for the World Cup?
The only time Canada qualified for the World Cup was for the 1986 edition, held in Mexico. People remember the Canadians didn’t score a goal. They forget they lost only 1-0 to an eventual semi-finalist, France, writes Cathal Kelly.
World Cup: Leon, Mexico: June 1, 1986. Canada’s Paul James fights for the ball while France’s Jean Tigana, right, keeps him away during the second half of the Canada vs France World Cup soccer match. France beat Canada 1 – 0. Credit: Charles Platiau / Reuters.Charles Platiau/REUTERS
“Since then,” Mr. Squizzato said, “it’s been one disappointment after another.”
The only time Canada made it to the Hexagonal round was in the run-up to the 1998 World Cup. It finished in last. Generally speaking, Canada has slipped up against middle-level teams like Honduras and El Salvador. Games against the big two of the U.S. and Mexico have always assumed to be losses.
In 2012, the program reached its nadir. Needing only a draw against Honduras to advance to the next round of World Cup qualifying, Canada came completely apart in an 8-1 loss. “I know [the fans] will never forgive me,” manager Stephen Hart said afterward. “But on behalf of my players, forgive them.”
Canada went on a 16-game winless streak from October 2012 to May, 2014. Included in that was a14-month stretch during which Canada scored only one goal. By this time, Canada had finally nailed down a coach – former Real Madrid manager Benito Floro. After a couple of draws at the tail end of this dismal run, Floro said, “For us, it isn’t important to be looking at the results right now. That will take time.”
Who are the top players on the Canadian men’s national team?
Alphonso Davies
The star of the team is 21-year-old Alphonso Davies from Edmonton. He plays left-back or winger for the Canadian team and Bayern Munich. In 2017, he became the youngest player to appear for the Canadian men’s national team. He’s been unable to play Canada’s last two World Cup qualifiers, and will miss Wednesday’s trip to El Salvador, after developing signs of mild myocarditis after a bout of COVID-19.
Jonathan David
When Canada has needed goals in World Cup qualifying, 22-year-old forward Jonathan David has stepped up. In this final round, David has scored four goals, bringing his overall tally to 19 goals in 25 appearances since he made his national-team debut in 2018.
Cyle Larin
The 26-year-old forward born and raised in Brampton, Ont. is now the Canadian men’s team’s top goal scorer of all-time with 23 goals in 46 appearances. He cemented his star status with the winning goal in the Canada-U.S. game on Jan. 30, just as he did against Mexico in Edmonton snow last November.
Milan Borjan
Veteran goalkeeper Milan Borjan, 34, boasts 28 clean sheets in 60 appearances, including his stellar goalkeeping in the Canada-U.S. game in his hometown of Hamilton. Borjan, along with England’s Reading FC forward Deanne Rose, was named Canada Soccer’s Players of the Month for January.
When and where is the World Cup?
The World Cup will be held in Qatar from Nov. 21 to Dec. 18, 2022. The tournament’s eight stadiums, seven of which were built specifically for the World Cup, are all within a 50-kilometre radius of Doha, Qatar’s capital and most populous city. The country has also built a new airport, roads, public transit systems and hotels in preparation.
Since Qatar was announced as the host country in 2010, the country has fended off corruption investigations and faced criticisms over its treatment of the migrant workers who built the tournament’s infrastructure.
An Associated Press investigation found that Qatar had employed a former CIA officer to help spy on soccer officials as part of its efforts to win the bid for the World Cup. A FIFA-commissioned probe into Qatar’s methods to win the bid concluded that there was “no evidence of any improper activity by the bid team.”
Meanwhile, an analysis by The Guardian found that 6,500 migrant workers in Qatar, mostly from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, have died in the past 10 years. Qatar has not provided full details or data on the deaths of the workers. In the last year Qatar has introduced new labour reforms, including the introduction of the minimum wage and new rules to protect workers from the country’s intense summer heat.
With files from Cathal Kelly, Paul Attfield, The Canadian Press, The Associated Press
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
