Canada’s men’s soccer team qualifies for the World Cup for the first time since 1986

Canada’s men’s soccer team has qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1986. This is only the second time the team has ever qualified.

Canada’s glorious run to the World Cup has given Canadian soccer fans hope for the future. Canadian soccer hasn’t been near the same level as European soccer in a long time, but Canada has slowly improved.

Making it to the World Cup is a huge accomplishment, but that isn’t the full story. One of the reasons Canada was able to qualify was because Canadian soccer has improved. Also, Canada has more players playing across Europe to learn their style of play. 

The Canadian women’s soccer team has set a high bar, winning the bronze medal both in 2012 and 2016 and also winning the gold medal in the 2020 Summer Olympics. In 2015 the woman reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup. 

Now that the men’s team has qualified for the World Cup for the first time, there is hope that they too could become a contender.

The men’s team is currently ranked 38th in the world. 

Whereas the women’s team is currently led by star Christine Sinclair, the Men’s team has lacked having a star to lean on. But in the past year or so Canada has been led by Jonathan David and Alphonso Davies who have drastically changed the team’s attitude and poise. David and Davies believed they could qualify and it showed in their play and results, picking up 130.32 points in the FIFA rating system over the past 12 months winning the “most improved side” for 2021.

However, Canada’s group stage opponents are no easy task. The team will be facing formidable opponents Belgium, Croatia, and Morocco. Canada’s young squad will be tested and will have to show their true strength throughout their World Cup run. 

Canada’s previous World Cup team went 0-3 and was unable to score a goal in any of those matches, getting dominated in possession in all games and even getting a red card against Hungary. For this year’s World Cup, Canada’s odds to win the group is +900 and to win the World Cup is +15200, suggesting that odds makers consider the knockout stages essentially out of reach for them. 

Belgium Manager Roberto Martinez calls Canada “a hidden threat” at the World Cup. Canada’s young roster has proven throughout the year to be a force to be reckoned with. And not to be underestimated as they won the Confederation of North, Central america and Caribbean Association Football, also known as the Concacaf and only lost 2 of 14 games. 

The rest of the world better pay attention as Canada looks for their historic season to continue.