History, players, successes, goals – all important information

The Canadian national team was in Qatar for only the second time at a World Cup finals. Everything you want to know about Canadians.

Ottawa – The Canadian national team has so far only managed to qualify for one international tournament. But the team is young and hungry: the Canadians have qualified for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar as the best team of the North and Central American entrants. But what is known about the Canadian national team?

Canadian national team: creation and development

Soccer has been played in Canada since 1877. Many unofficial matches were played between Canadian, American and British teams before the Canadian Football Association was founded in 1912. With the founding of the association, the Canadian national team was also created. Their first international match was played only twelve years later and they narrowly lost to their Australian rivals 3-2.

Although Canada has been a member of FIFA since 1913, the team first participated in World Cup qualifying in 1958. The team took another break until 1966, but has played in all qualifications since then. Unlike women’s soccer, where the Canadian national team is one of the best teams in the world, the men’s team has not yet been able to celebrate any success. So far, they have only managed to qualify for the World Cup finals once.

The Canadian national team celebrated two successes on its continent. The Canadians were able to win the title twice in the CONCACAF Cup and the North and Central American Championship.

Canada national team: the successful year 1985/86

The Canadian national team has participated in every qualifying stage for the World Cup since 1970. The team often failed in the first two rounds. In 1982 and 1998, the Canadians narrowly missed out on making the World Cup, missing out on the deciding final round in each case.

1985 was the most successful period in Canadian soccer history. The Canadian national team qualified for the finals of the North and Central American Championship. The team emerged first in the group stage and advanced to the final round. There, the Canadian team left Costa Rica and Honduras behind them and went on to win the CONCACAF Championship undefeated.

The competition also served as a qualifying tournament for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico and enabled the Canadian national team to participate in the final round of a World Cup for the first time in its country’s history. In a group that included Hungary, France, and the Soviet Union, the team exited after three defeats without scoring any goals.

Canadian National Team: Winner of the Gold Cup and participation in the 2022 World Cup

The Canadian national team celebrated another success in 2000 when it won the successor tournament to the CONCACAF Championship, called the Gold Cup. After two wins and one defeat in the group stage, the Canadian professionals met the Mexican national team. After a long 1-0 deficit, Canada equalized shortly before the end and scored the decisive golden goal shortly after. After defeating what was supposed to be their toughest opponent, the Canadians won in the semifinals over Trinidad/Tobago and in the final over Colombia.

However, the Gold Cup no longer serves as qualification for the next World Cup. In the regular qualifiers, Canada was eliminated in the intermediate round.

The Canadian national team was able to qualify for the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar for the first time since 1986, and for the second time ever. The team finished the third round of qualifying as the best team ahead of Mexico, the United States and Costa Rica.