The 2022 World Cup Teams – Canada (Group F)
For Canada, the 2022 World Cup will be only the second ever World Cup participation. The North Americans have only ever qualified for a World Cup in 1986. At that time, they were eliminated early after three defeats in the preliminary round against France, Hungary and the USSR.
However, Canada has been much more successful at continental level, winning the Concacaf Gold Cup in 2000. In 2021, the team reached the semifinals.
The road to qualification
In the group stage, Canada won all four games against opponents Suriname, Bermuda, Arruba and Cayman Islands, scoring a total of 27 goals and qualifying for the playoffs to the main round. There, they gave Haiti no chance at all.
The top five teams in the world rankings had already qualified automatically for the main round. Canada remained unbeaten until their early qualification and only lost one game each to Costa Rica and Panama in the final rounds, when participation was already assured.
In the end, Canada finished first in their qualifying group, ahead of Mexico and the USA.
The stars
Alphonso Davies of FC Bayern Munich is considered one of the best left-backs in the world and is also one of the most valuable players in his age group. But Davies has also shown how strong he can be as a left winger, where he is preferred by Canada. He recently became the first Canadian to be named Concacaf Player of the Year. Also in the spotlight is center forward Jonathan David of OSC Lille, who is being hotly courted throughout Europe. These two players clearly stand out in the team. The 39-year-old veteran Atiba Hutchinson from Besiktas Istanbul also brings stability and experience to the central midfield.
The coach
John Herdman has been the coach of the Canadian team since 2018. The Briton had no soccer career of his own and started on the coaching staff of Sunderland FC at a young age. Herman then became coach of the New Zealand women’s national soccer team in 2006 at the age of just 29. After five years, he moved to the Canadian women’s team and worked with them successfully for seven years – after which he switched from the women to the men. In 43 games, he averaged 2.19 points for Canada.
Herdman plays a tactically variable game, often with a 4-4-2, but it is likely that the glaring outsider will resort to a more defensive tactic. Canada played with a 5-4-1 against the USA and Mexico, for example.
Best lineup
Milan Borjan (Red Star Belgrade) – Richie Lariyea (Nottingham Forrest), Kamal Miller (CF Montreal), Scott Kennedy (Jahn Regensburg), Sam Adekugbe (Hatayspor) – Stephen Eustaquio (FC Porto), Atiba Hutchinson (Besiktas Istanbul) – Tajon Buchanan (FC Brugge), Alphonso Davies (FC Bayern Munich) – Jonathan David (OSC Lille), Ike Ugbu (KRC Genk)
World Cup 2022
In their second participation in a World Cup, the Canadians have a tough group: Belgium, the world number two, Croatia, the reigning runners-up, and Morocco, the multiple African champions, are the opponents.
Canada is considered an absolute underdog in the tournament – but they will certainly do better in their games than the public fears. But ultimately, the Canadian team lacks the necessary class at many positions. Just Davies and David alone can’t help Canada against seemingly overmatched group opponents.
Nothing other than another early exit in the preliminary round can be expected from Canada, their ambition will be not to lose all their games like they did in 1986 – a point win would already be a huge success.
Odds
- No qualification for the round of 16 – 1.25
- Qualification for the round of 16 – 3,75
- Qualification for the quarterfinals – 10,00
- Qualification for the semifinals – 21,00
- World Cup title – 151,00
We list here the betting odds offered by Bet365. These are snapshots that are subject to constant change. In addition, all odds are without guarantee.
Other teams in the World Cup Group F:
