Canada is automatically included as a co-host for the 2026 World Cup. However, three years before the peak, Canada’s national team coach resigned to coach Toronto FC.
John Herdman has resigned as coach of Canada’s national soccer team, the association said. Instead of leading selection for the 2026 World Cup on home soil, the 48-year-old will take over Major League Soccer’s Toronto FC from October 1.
Herdman became the head coach of the men’s team in 2018, having previously coached Canada’s women’s soccer team for seven years. As co-hosts, the Canadians, along with Bayern professional Alfonso Davis, like the United States and Mexico, automatically qualify for the 2026 World Cup, which will increase the field of participants from 32 to 48 nations.
In June, Herdmann requested increased financial resources from the domestic association with a view to the 2026 World Cup. “We have to find a financial solution. We brought a World Cup to our country, but we are not serious about winning it,” he said after the USA’s 2-0 CONCACAF Nations League final defeat.
Herdmann led the men’s team to the World Cup in 2022 for the first time since 1986, but Canada lost all three opening-round games at the tournament in Qatar. “The goal was always to leave soccer in a better position, and I think that goal has been achieved for Canada,” Herdman was quoted as saying in the statement. His previous assistant coach, Mauro Piello, takes over the national team on an interim basis.
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