One of three host nations at this tournament, the weight of expectation is high for Canada as they look to win their first World Cup match in their third appearance.
They head to the tournament with some excellent individuals, and a squad full of players who play their club football in strong European leagues.
James Sharman of the Footy Prime Podcast and former Canada international Amy Walsh joined our Make Football Great Again podcast to provide the insight into this Canada squad.
“The expectations are extremely high, especially being a home world cup, perhaps unfairly high,” Sharman said.
While hosting the tournament is exciting for Canadians; especially with all three of the Canucks group games taking place on home soil, ticket prices have left a bitter taste in the mouth for some.
“It’s unpalatable and it’s grotesque,” James added.
“They (Fifa) are preventing Canada from growing the game by preventing fans from accessing these games,” former Canada international Walsh said
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At the time of writing, some tickets remain unsold for Canada’s opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto, with the four-figure sum for entry putting off many supporters.
The 2022 World Cup was disappointing for Canada, in their first appearance since 1986. Despite qualifying as the best Concacaf team, they crashed out bottom of the group, only scoring a solitary goal in Qatar in a 4-1 defeat by Croatia. The scorer of that goal was Bayern’s Alphonso Davies.
View 2 ImagesAlphonso Davies of Canada in training(Image: Horacio Zamora/Eyepix Group/Shutterstock)
Davies is the youngest captain at the World Cup and will be Canada’s star man, if he is available. But he faces a race to be fit for the tournament, as he struggles with injury issues.
At just 25, Davies already has 58 caps for his country, but Canada fans are yet to see the best of him for the national team. That is despite Davies having been one of the world’s best left-backs for several years now.
If Davies is unavailable, Tajon Buchanan and Jonathan David will have to step up for the Maple Leaf’s as the main men.
David has struggled in his debut campaign for Juventus but is still Canada’s main man up front.
“He is so important because I don’t know who else is going to score goals,” Sharman said.
Buchanan scored seven goals from the wing for Villarreal this season, as the Yellow Submarine finished third in La Liga.
“He plays with a real tenacity and a real edge that the fans love.
“We do have strength in the wide areas, that’s where a lot of the threat is going to come from.” Walsh said.
As well as Buchanan and potentially Davies, Celtic right-back Alastair Johnston will also play a key role. He returned for Martin O’Neill’s side at the end of April, to play a key role as the Hoops pipped Hearts to the title on the final day.
Johnston’s confidence is infectious, and he has been tipped as both a future Canada and Celtic captain by many.
“The microphone is always in front of Alastair, and he could be a star at this World Cup,” Sharman said.
The overloads in wide areas are a feature of the system Canada have implemented under former Leeds United manager Jesse Marsch. The American has been in charge since May 2024 and has won exactly half of his 30 games in charge.
While many Canadians were unsure about the prospect of an American head coach when Marsch was appointed, he endeared himself to Canada fans when he told US President Donald Trump to, “lay off the ridiculous rhetoric about Canada being the 51st state.”
“People are thrilled with what he’s been able to do,” Walsh said about Marsch.
He has also convinced several dual nationals to pledge their allegiance to Canada, with recent recruits including Middlesbrough’s Alfie Jones and Barnsley loanee goalkeeper Owen Goodman.
“He wants guys to be proud of their Canadian heritage wherever they grew up,” Walsh said. This is in stark contrast to Owen Hargreaves and Jonathan De Guzman in a bygone era; players born in Canada who chose to represent other nations.
Alongside Jones, several of Canada’s squad play their club football in the Championship. Liam Millar has just earned promotion with Hull City, while Cyle Larin and Ali Ahmed impressed for Southampton and Norwich following January moves.
In Group B with Bosnia, Switzerland and Qatar, Canada stand a good chance of progressing. They are one of the top seeded teams, as a host nation, so were always likely to receive a favourable draw. However, they are ranked 11 places below Switzerland in the Fifa rankings.
“We need to temper expectations a little bit and add that dose of reality,” Walsh said, with some Canadians perhaps placing unrealistic expectations on the team.
However, Walsh does also believe it would be “abject failure” if Canada were to fail to progress to the Round of 32.
To do so, it will need to be third World Cup lucky for Canada, in their quest to finally win a match at the tournament.