Canada will participate in their second consecutive FIFA World Cup, and for the first time, as co-hosts, with this responsibility being shared alongside the United States and Mexico.
Given their recent form, especially when considering their performance in the most recent Copa America, expectations have risen sharply around Canada, with few national sides climbing as rapidly in the FIFA World Rankings in recent years, reinforcing their emergence as a new threat on the international stage.
World Cup History
The 2026 World Cup will be the third men’s World Cup in the Canucks history. Their first appearance came in the 1986 tournament, which was hosted in Mexico, where they qualified after going unbeaten against both Costa Rica and Honduras in the final round of qualifiers.
Despite this, they would finish their first campaign in FIFA’s centrepiece bottom of their group that contained European champions France, without scoring a goal.
Canada was close to qualifying for the 1994 World Cup, getting to the inter-confederation playoffs, but lost out to Australia in the semi-finals on penalties.
After 1998, the next time they would reach the final round of CONCACAF qualifiers was 2022, where despite starting their campaign in the second round, they defied all odds qualifying for the Qatar World Cup under the management of John Herdman, with current Southampton player Cyle Larin being the top goalscorer in the continent.
Once again, unfortunately for Canada, they finished bottom of their group, which contained two teams that reached the semi-finals, missing a penalty in their opening match against Belgium in which they were the better side. Though, the Canucks scored their first two goals at the FIFA World Cup, and would hope to push on from this campaign.
Recent Form
Since the 2022 World Cup, Canada has been on an incredible run, especially since the appointment of Jesse Marsch.
This has led to the second-largest country by total area, which went from 120th to 30th in the FIFA World rankings in just eight years.
After qualifying for the expanded version of the Copa América, allowing for direct qualification for North American nations, Canada became the only North American side to get through the group stage alongside Panama, after a win against Peru and a goalless draw against Chile.
From here, Marsch’s side beat Venezuela in the quarter finals before going on to lose 2-0 in the semi final to World champions and Copa América holders, with the Canucks creating major chances which they failed to convert.
Since the Copa América in 2024, Canada has played 21 matches, only losing twice, with this run including wins against the United States twice, Ukraine, Wales, and a goalless draw away to France.
Manager – Jesse Marsch
At the centre of Canada’s revolution is Jesse Marsch, renowned for his high-energy, pressing and attractive philosophy, who was appointed after talks about the vacant United States job broke down in May of 2024.
Regarding the latter, what is interesting about the appointment of the American is that it followed a highly publicised breakdown of his stance on becoming manager of his home country, where he quotes that there were strong indications he was going to get the role before the organisation, before they reappointed the manager they had sacked the week prior, with Marsch saying that he “wasn’t treated very well in the managerial process”, stating that due to his devastation on the issue, he would have no interest in the United States role.
This name will be familiar to many, especially given his recent spell in the Premier League with Leeds United, after he was brought in by the club’s Director of Football, Victor Orta, in a bid to maintain their Premier League status, which he achieved in his first season in dramatic fashion on the final matchweek of the season.
Marsch, who was born in Wisconsin, started his career in football as a player being drafted from his University side, Princeton Tigers, to D.C. United before being signed by Chicago Fire in their inaugural MLS campaign.
Here, Marsch made over 200 appearances before moving into coaching, where he took charge of the expansion franchise Montreal Impact for one season before becoming the manager of New York Red Bulls, winning the MLS Supporters’ Shield in his maiden season, resulting in Marsch being named manager of the year. He would leave the side after three and a half seasons, becoming the most successful manager in the club’s history.
His next position would be as an assistant to RB Leipzig manager Ralf Rangnick for the 2018–19 season, before becoming manager of RB Salzburg the following season, where he would win both the Austrian Bundesliga and Austrian Cup in his two seasons at the club.
Marsch would go on to manage RB Leipzig and Leeds United, though in both spells his time at the club would be cut short.
Key Player – Jonathan David
Canada has so many incredible talents that have come through the ranks over the past few years. This includes players such as Villarreal’s Tajon Buchanan, former Arsenal academy player Marcelo Flores, and Moïse Bombito, for whom Marsch has said it is “unacceptable that a player like Bombito is not discovered sooner”.
Other more experienced stars include Cyle Larin and arguably the best Canadian player, Alphonso Davies, yet one player that will have to prove pivotal should Canada reach new heights on home soil will be Jonathan David.
Since his summer transfer to Juventus last summer, David has not transitioned to life in Serie A as quickly as he would have hoped. Yet, with two goals in his last two matches for the national team, he shows that his attacking outlet has helped in the development of expectations for the Canucks.
After trials with FC Salzburg and Stuttgart, David joined Gent in 2018, scoring on his debut, earning a spot in the Canadian Under-21 side months later.
In August of 2020, David signed for Ligue 1 side Lille for a reported fee of €30 million, making him the most expensive Canadian transfer to date. This proved to be a pivotal signing for the French side, as after scoring in a 2-1 away win over Angers, Lille were crowned Ligue 1 champions for the first time since 2011. In his time at the club, the Canadian registered 232 appearances, where he found the back of the net on 109 occasions, including 24 league goals in the 22/23 season.
Matches
Canada, who were drawn from Pot 1 due to their status as co-hosts, was placed into Group B alongside Switzerland, Qatar and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
There was slight concern amongst Canadians when Wayne Gretzky drew out the winners of UEFA Playoff Path A, which consisted of four-time World champions in Italy, especially when the latter would have been seeded in Pot 1 should they have qualified directly.
Yet, after the Azzurri failing to qualify for the third consecutive World Cup, Bosnia and Herzegovina will be the opening match for Jesse Marsch’s side in Toronto.
What is most interesting about this draw from a Canadian perspective is their unfamiliarity with the sides they will encounter. The Canucks have never played a professional match against Bosnia and Herzegovina since the latter gained its independence in 1992.
Moreover, Canada has only faced both Switzerland and Qatar once, with the latter coming more recently in a friendly prior to the 2022 World Cup, where the Canucks won 2-0, thanks to early goals from David and Larin.
Canada beat Switzerland 3-1, with the only occurrence of this matchup being played back in 2002.
Canada vs Bosnia – Toronto – Friday 12th June (20:00)
Canada vs Qatar – Vancouver – Thursday 18th June (23:00)
Switzerland vs Canada – Vancouver – Wednesday 24th June (20:00)
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