OPINION: Canada’s young team could surprise the world

Oct 21, 2022 | OP-ED

In Mexico, 36 years ago, Canada competed in its first-ever World Cup. They finished with no points in the group stage and didn’t score a single goal. They crashed out of last place out of the 24 team competition.

Looking at the modern Canadian team, this winter’s World Cup should realistically have a better outcome.

However, this won’t be a walk in the park.

This competition will have 32 nations in eight groups and in Canada’s group Belgium, Croatia and Morocco, form a miniature group of death.

Belgium is ranked second in the FIFA rankings, and Croatia was in the World Cup final in 2018. Those two nations will be the toughest opponents of that group.

Anything can happen in sports, but the fans shouldn’t be too disappointed if Canada can’t take down the mighty Belgium. An ideal result against Croatia would be a draw while a win against Morocco is a must if they want a chance to qualify for the knockout stages.

If Canada finishes second in their group, they will most likely face either heavyweights Spain or Germany in the first round of the knockout stages. The two nations regularly find themselves at the quarter-finals, if not further.

It’s safe to say that there’s a mountain to climb ahead, but qualifying for this World Cup within itself after all this time is a huge step in Canadian soccer.

A major difference between this team and the team 36 years ago is talent. The ’86 team in Mexico had a handful of players who didn’t even play professionally.

This edition of the national team has a Champions League winner in Alphonso Davies, currently playing for German giants Bayern Munich and is largely considered one of the best left-backs in the sport.

Also on that team is Lille’s prolific goal-scorer Jonathan David, whose nine goals in 11 games this season placed him tied with PSG’s superstar Neymar as top scorer in Ligue 1.

Solidifying the midfield is Leamington, Ont., native Stephen Eustáquio who currently plies his trade at FC Porto, currently in second place in Portugal’s top league.

This Canadian team has many other players in Europe’s top leagues, including veteran midfielder Atiba Hutchinson, captain of the Turkish league club Beşiktaş, and forward Tajon Buchanan, who plays for the Belgian First Division A side Club Brugge. That is unlike the team from more than three decades ago.

Popular sports betting site Bet365 has Canada at +20,000 odds to win the World Cup. Everyone will be expecting Canada to come in as underdogs, but I think a lot of people will be surprised by this team.

To play in Qatar, Canada competed in the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) qualifying group.

They finished comfortably on top over Mexico and the U.S., who are usually staples to qualify for every World Cup. Canada finished unbeaten in qualifying for an impressive 17 games.

So, when people say that Canada has no chance of competing with the “big nations” in this upcoming competition, I think they’ll be shocked.