Canada hopes a pool of experienced players on the world stage translates to World Cup success

Canada's extraordinary improvement in international soccer over the last decade is unmistakable. Whether that will translate into World Cup success is another matter.

With coach Jesse Marsch leading the team this summer, the Canadians are set to embark on their third-ever World Cup — this time as co-hosts with the United States and Mexico. Ranked No. 30 in the world, Canada has scored only one World Cup goal in its history and has never won a match at the tournament.

But Canada's outlook has steadily improved with a more experienced player pool that includes Alphonso Davies, Tajon Buchanan, Cyle Larin and Jonathan David, who have all broken into prominent European teams in recent years.

The development of talent and the effort to raise the team's profile became a priority in 2018, when Canada finished the year ranked No. 78 and faced the prospect of being a World Cup host.

“This is a team that is very fast and powerful and talented," Marsch said, “and I think it’s a team that has an incredible work ethic and commitment to each other, and they exemplify that every time they’re on the pitch — not like sometimes when they’re on the pitch, not like some games when they’re on the pitch — every moment that this team plays on the pitch they give everything they have, and they give everything they have to each other and to the badge and to the country.”

Canada was blanked in all three of its matches at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. The team made it back 36 years later, reaching the tournament in Qatar after proving its mettle by finishing ahead of Mexico and the United States in the CONCACAF qualifying standings.

The Canadians, playing under John Herdman four years ago in Qatar, again failed to emerge from the group stage but Davies scored the nation’s first World Cup goal in a 4-1 loss to Croatia.

Marsch took over in 2024 and Canada Soccer CEO and general secretary Kevin Blue described it as the “most important time in the domestic history of our sport.”

Canada went 6-1-5 last year and so far this year has played to a 2-2 draw with Iceland and a 0-0 tie with Tunisia. The team has two more friendlies before the World Cup, against Uzbekistan and Ireland, on home soil in early June.

Canada is in Group B at the World Cup with Bosnia-Herzegovina, Qatar and Switzerland. The World Cup opens on June 11 and the Canadians will play their first match the next day in Toronto against Bosnia-Herzegovina, which qualified after beating four-time champion Italy in a shootout.

“We can’t just turn the switch on June 11, right?” Marsch said. “This whole process, this whole last year, has been a process of maximizing exactly what we want to be, and as we get closer, we need to continue to tighten the screws a little bit without feeling stress or panic, just focus and concentration to make sure that we are at our absolute best.”

Davies, who plays for German powerhouse Bayern Munich, is the captain and one of the top players in the squad along with David, who plays for Italian club Juventus, and Larin, who is with English team Southampton. Buchanan plays in Spain for Villarreal.

If Canada finishes atop it's World Cup group, the team will remain in Vancouver for the knockout round. Win that match and the Canadians will stay in Vancouver for the round of 16.

“I’ve told the team this, obviously, we want to get everybody healthy, but I’d be comfortable playing the matches tomorrow, because I know they know how we play, who we are, what our mentality is, what our identity is. They understand their roles, they understand the tactics, they understand the principles," Marsch said. "So it’s a really nice feeling to have as a coach, to know that we have players that are intelligent and gifted and understand who we are and what we are, and are able to execute it.”