Canada Soccer have announced the official squad that will represent the nation at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™. Led by Head Coach John Herdman, Canada’s brotherhood of 26 players have united the country from coast to coast on their quest for Qatar and are set to inspire a nation on the world’s biggest stage.
Canada’s World Cup roster includes four players who have played for the Vancouver Whitecaps FC first team: Sam Adekugbe, Lucas Cavallini, Derek Cornelius, and Alphonso Davies.
Adekugbe spent seven years with Whitecaps FC, including five years with the first team. The native of Calgary, Alberta originally joined the Whitecaps FC BMO Academy in September 2011 and was signed to an MLS Homegrown contract in August 2013. He went on to make 16 starts and 23 appearances in all competitions before transferring to Norwegian club Vålerenga in January 2018. Adekugbe was a member of the 2015 Canadian Championship winning team.
Cavallini has been with the ‘Caps since 2019. Over his three seasons, the native of Toronto, Ontario has scored 18 goals and recorded three assists while starting 50 of his 67 appearances in all competitions. During the 2022 season he helped the ‘Caps win their second Canadian Championship.
Cornelius joined Whitecaps FC in 2019. The native of Ajax, Ontario made 29 starts in 36 appearances and scored one goal in all competitions over three seasons and has been on loan to Greek side Panetolikos FC since July of 2021.
Davies joined the Whitecaps FC BMO Academy in August 2015 at the age of 14. He signed with Whitecaps FC 2 (WFC2) in 2016, and inked an MLS Homegrown contract at the age of 15 during the 2016 MLS season, and was named an MLS All-Star in 2018. The native of Edmonton, Alberta went on to start 47 of his 81 appearances with the first team in all competitions, scoring 12 goals and recording 14 assists. After the 2018 season, he transferred to German powerhouse FC Bayern Munich.
Following a 20-match run that qualified the men’s national team to the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 36 years, Canada will now continue their pioneering journey when they take to the pitch for their opening match on Wednesday November, 23 at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium
After an opening match against Belgium, Canada will face Croatia four days later on Sunday, November 27 at Khalifa International Stadium and then Morocco another four days later on Thursday 1 December at Al Thumama Stadium to close out the group phase. In Canada, the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ will be broadcast live across both TSN and RDS from November, 20 through December, 18 with the knockout phase starting Saturday, December 3. Complete coverage of Canada Soccer’s FIFA World Cup journey will be published at CanadaSoccer.com and across our digital channels.
To support and inspire Canada Soccer’s men’s national team, the #WeCAN campaign encourages Canadians to post a video featuring the words ‘We Can’ along with at least one reason why they believe in Canada’s quest at Qatar 2022. At the same time, fans are encouraged to follow Canada Soccer’s digital channels on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube to find extended coverage featuring the hashtag #CANMNT.
CANADA SOCCER’S MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM
Canada Soccer’s men’s national team are the reigning Kings of Concacaf, having finished first overall in the Concacaf Final Round of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers from September 2021 to March 2022. It marked the third time that Canada Soccer’s men’s national Team won a Concacaf title, having previously won the 1985 Concacaf Championship and the 2000 Concacaf Gold Cup.
Across FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, Canada posted 14 wins, four draws and just two losses over three rounds as they became the first nation from the region to qualify for Qatar with a 4:0 home win on 27 March 2022 in Toronto. Canada scored a Men’s National Team record 54 goals across the cycle while Cyle Larin set the Canadian record for goals (13), Alphonso Davies set the Canadian record for assists (eight), and Milan Borjan set the Canadian record for clean sheets (nine). Of note, both Larin (13) and Jonathan David (nine) were the top-two goalscorers across all Concacaf nations in 2021-22 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.
Throughout the qualifying campaign, Canada set numerous team and individual records, also setting a Concacaf record for the longest undefeated streak in a FIFA World Cup Qualifiers campaign. Canada set their own Men’s National Team records for consecutive wins (eight) and longest home undefeated streak (14 matches). In all, 39 different players represented Canada across FIFA World Cup Qualifiers from March 2021 through March 2022.
