After a 36-year hiatus, Canada will return to the world stage of professional football as they prepare to make their second appearance at the World Cup.
The Canadians finished first in the Octagon with 28 points, surprising many of the experienced CONCACAF nations along the way.
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Over the past year the Canadian men's programme has grown by leaps and bounds, currently ranked 41st in the world according to FIFA.
Here, Sports Mole assesses the hopes of John Herdman's side on their first outing on the biggest stage since 1986.
GROUP
Les Rouges have been handed a challenging group featuring the third and second-placed finishers from the previous World Cup in Belgium and Croatia, along with Morocco, who are ranked 19 places above Canada at the moment.
The Canucks will unquestionably be the minnows in a pool of sharks when this competition begins, just as they were when they advanced into the final stage of CONCACAF qualifying for the first time since the 1998 campaign.
Many see this as an opportunity for Canada to gain some valuable experience before co-hosting this tournament with Mexico and the USA in four years' time.
Anyone who follows this team, however, will know that they are not coming to Qatar to learn, but they are here to win, and the belief that they can upset anyone they face is evident within this group.
FIXTURES
November 23: Belgium vs. Canada (7pm, Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan)
November 27: Croatia vs. Canada (4pm, Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan)
December 1: Canada vs. Morocco (3pm, Al Thumama Stadium, Doha)
HOW THEY QUALIFIED
Canada's road to Qatar began in March of 2021, with Herdman's men needing to top a group featuring Bermuda, Suriname, Aruba and the Cayman Islands.
The Canucks had no trouble advancing beyond that stage, winning all four games convincingly and allowing just a single goal along the way.
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In the next round, they exorcised their past demons by avenging a loss to Haiti at the 2019 Gold Cup, defeating the Haitians in a two-leg affair 4-0 on aggregate, as Canada advanced to the final stage of qualifying for the first time in over two decades.
They started their campaign in the Octagon slowly, having to come back to draw against Honduras, the USA and Mexico in three of their first four games, but also becoming just the 10th team to come away with a result at Estadio Azteca.
A comeback 4-1 victory over Panama on matchday six seemed to light a spark in the Canucks, who had a 100% record in qualifying from October 2021 until March of this year, defeating CONCACAF giants Mexico and the United States over that stretch.
Canada officially booked their place in Qatar thanks to a 4-0 win over Jamaica in Toronto on March 27, finishing the campaign with 23 goals scored, while conceding only seven.
RECENT FORM
Since the qualification campaign came to a close, we have seen a mixture of good and bad results from this team, defeating Curacao 4-0 at the CONCACAF Nations League and then losing 2-1 to Honduras.
After cancelling a series of friendlies in June because of a protest over a compensation dispute with the Canadian Soccer Association, Les Rouges scheduled numerous warm-up matches ahead of the World Cup, beating Qatar 2-0, losing to Uruguay by that same score and coming back to draw 2-2 with Bahrain.
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With the heavy demand of a European season taking its toll on some key players, we did not see many of their regulars in the lineup against Bahrain as a precaution heading into the finals.
The Canucks were named the most improved side by FIFA in 2021, going unbeaten in their first 11 matches in the Octagon, which was highlighted by a first victory against the Mexicans in over 20 years, ending last year as the 40th-ranked team in the world after beginning 2021 in 72nd place.
SQUAD
26 players, 1 dream 🇨🇦#CANMNT x @CIBC #WeCAN pic.twitter.com/cjN1TnqPXf
— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) November 13, 2022
Goalkeepers: Milan Borjan (Red Star Belgrade), Dayne St. Clair (Minnesota United), James Pantemis (CF Montreal)
Defenders: Alistair Johnston (CF Montreal), Sam Adekugbe (Hatayspor), Kamal Miller (CF Montreal), Steven Vitoria (Chaves), Richie Laryea (Toronto), Derek Cornelius (Panetolikos), Joel Waterman (CF Montreal)
Midfielders: Samuel Piette (CF Montreal), Stephen Eustaquio (Porto), Liam Fraser (Deinze), Atiba Hutchinson (Besiktas), Mark-Anthony Kaye (Toronto), Ismael Kone (CF Montreal), Jonathan Osorio (Toronto), David Wotherspoon (St Johnstone)
Forwards: Lucas Cavallini (Vancouver Whitecaps), Junior Hoilett (Reading), Tajon Buchanan (Club Brugge), Ike Ugbo (Troyes), Cyle Larin (Club Brugge), Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich), Jonathan David (Lille), Liam Millar (Basel)
STAR PLAYER - ALPHONSO DAVIES
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The incredible journey of the Bayern Munich wing-back began in a refugee camp in Ghana before he and his family relocated to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Davies was a raw talent when he signed a first-team contract with the Vancouver Whitecaps in 2016, but he quickly caught the attention of the Bundesliga giants, who developed him into a left-back with tremendous speed and an ability to close quickly on opposing attackers, while also providing a lot of width in transition.
Today, he is regarded as one of the best players in his position, finishing third in the voting for the 2020 Golden Boy award behind Erling Braut Haaland and Ansu Fati and becoming the first Canadian international to capture the Champions League that same year.
While he missed all of Canada's qualification fixtures in 2022, he made a tremendous impact for this team in the Octagon, scoring the winner against Panama with a brilliant solo effort, a moment which went viral and seemed to give their campaign a shot in the arm.
Despite still only being 22, Davies has been named Canadian Men's Player of the Year on three occasions, while also winning the Lou Marsh Award as the best athlete in Canada in 2020.
MANAGER - JOHN HERDMAN
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The native of Consett, County Durham was tasked with rebuilding the men's programme in 2018, just as he had done with the female squad following the 2011 Women's World Cup.
Herdman had previously helped the Canadian women capture consecutive Olympic bronze medals in 2012 and 2016 before transitioning over to the men's side.
When he took over this team he was also named the men's national director responsible for all age groups from the Under-14s upwards.
Many Canadian youngsters are now on the radar of the top European clubs since Herdman transitioned to the men's programme.
Those names include Lille striker Jonathan David, Tajon Buchanan and Cyle Larin, who feature with Belgian champions Club Brugge, and midfielder Stephen Eustaquio, who was named the Primera Liga Midfielder of the Month with Porto in September.
A devastating second-half collapse in the 2019 Gold Cup quarter-finals, when they squandered a 2-0 lead to Haiti, ultimately losing 3-2, seemed to serve as a rallying cry for Herdman and this group.
His Canadians went on to defeat the USA 2-0 at the CONCACAF Nations League, the first victory for the men against the Yanks since 1985, while they also upset Mexico and defeated Honduras 2-0 in San Pedro over a decade after suffering a humiliating 8-1 defeat to La H.
Since taking charge of this team, Herdman has relied heavily on vertical, diagonal passing from his players in an effort to stretch their opponents' defensive line.
It is this approach which has allowed his wide players to receive the ball facing the opposition's goal with lots of open space, an effective strategy given the youth, speed and talent that he has at his disposal.
WORLD CUP RECORD
Best finish: Group stage (1986)
The lone Canadian experience at the World Cup was not the most memorable as they were drawn into a group with the reigning European champions France, along with the Soviet Union and Hungary.
Their 1986 squad was made up primarily of indoor soccer players, with a few individuals who did not have a club team at the time.
A water-metre technician named George Pakos scored one of the biggest goals in their decisive victory against Honduras as they punched their ticket to Mexico.
Manager Tony Waiters stated years later that the last thing he wanted heading into the competition was for his team to be embarrassed, and that passive approach was evident in their three fixtures.
Canada's opening match against France was probably the biggest highlight for them at Mexico '86, as they held the 1982 semi-finalists goalless for 79 minutes before Jean-Pierre Papin scored the only goal to give Les Bleus a 1-0 victory.
Unlike a Disney movie, there was no inspiring underdog story for the Canadians in Mexico, as they lost their next two matches by a 2-0 scoreline, finishing the competition with zero goals and zero points.
PREDICTION
Canada are playing with house money and given how they fared in their only other appearance at this tournament, simply scoring a goal would signify progress.
That being said, this current generation is significantly different from the '86 squad, as they have some outstanding individuals who feature prominently in Europe and have hoisted numerous trophies in the biggest club competitions.
Throughout qualifying, particularly in the third round, they were a side built to catch teams in transition and penalise them for pace.
They sustained plenty of pressure against the Mexicans and Americans but were aided by the splendid goalkeeping of Milan Borjan and a youthful group of attackers, who punished their opponents on the counter.
Beating teams like Mexico and the US are exemplary achievements but having to face Belgium and Croatia will be asking a lot of this Canadian team.
For a side that likes to hang back and withstand pressure, it will not be easy to contain the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Luka Modric - two of the best midfielders in the world today, who are masters at picking out their attacking players for goalscoring opportunities.
An upset is certainly not out of the question, but realistically we believe the Canadians are not ready to take that big of a leap just yet, so we project them to win their final group encounter against Morocco, which should give them something to build upon when co-hosting this tournament in 2026.
VERDICT: Third in Group F
Joel Lefevre
