How will Canada fare at the 2022 World Cup? Join @SamRCox_ as he looks at the Maple Leafs in his everything you need to know guide ahead of this winter's competition...
Canada History at the World Cup
Canada have only qualified for the World Cup on one previous occasion, losing all three of their group matches without scoring in 1986.
Their tournament began with a 1-0 loss to France, which was followed by 2-0 losses to Hungary and the Soviet Union.
While this World Cup cycle has seen a major breakthrough for the Canadian men’s team with fresh talent coming through, they have had near-misses in World Cup qualification in previous years.
Watch Alphonso Davies AMAZING reaction as Canada qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1986! 🇨🇦pic.twitter.com/flDGSdrUUM
— Sky Sports (@SkySports) March 28, 2022
On this occasion, however, they were the class of CONCACAF, topping the third-round of qualification with eight wins and four draws from 16 matches.
Their progress has been evident over the last few years. After three consecutive Gold Cup group stage exits between 2011 and 2015, they reached the last eight in 2017 and 2019 before going one better and reaching the semis in 2021.
It was a heart-breaking defeat, with Mexico scoring the winner deep into injury time, but the tournament experience will stand this squad in good stead for Qatar.
Canada Nickname
Known as The Reds or The Maple Leafs, the Canadian nicknames are straight-forward.
The former is a nod to the red in their first choice strip, and the latter is due to the Maple Leaf in the centre of the Canadian flag.
World Cup 2022 Group
Canada were drawn alongside live betting World Cup dark horses Belgium, 2018 finalists Croatia and 22nd-ranked Morocco.
The Canadians begin their World Cup campaign in Al Rayyan for their first two fixtures before switching to Doha for their clash with Morocco at the start of December.
Canada Fixtures:
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Canada vs Belgium – 23rd November 2022
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Canada vs Croatia – 27th November 2022
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Canada vs Morocco – 1st December 2022
Canada Kit World Cup 2022
For some bizarre, frustrating reason, Canada will not be getting new kits for the 2022 World Cup. The red home jersey has a fun font, plus a slight pattern on the sleeves, but it is largely ordinary.
Canada will be the only nation at the 2022 World Cup not sporting a brand new kit 🤔
— GOAL News (@GoalNews) September 24, 2022
The white away is as dull as it gets. While we weren’t expecting anything garish, a completely plain white shirt is lazy.
Who is The Canada Manager?
County Durham native John Herdman is Canada’s head coach for the 2022 World Cup.
Previously manager of the New Zealand and Canadian women’s teams, Herdman has led the Reds to their highest ever placing in the world rankings and became the first ever coach to take a nation’s men’s and women’s teams to a World Cup.
Best Canada Player
Jonathan David is an ascendant star, and Junior Hoilett is a familiar name for Championship predictions followers, but Alphonso Davies is clearly Canada’s best player.
Fulfilling a different role for the Maple Leafs than he does with Bayern, Davies has a projected market value of almost £70 million.
Alphonso Davies was forced off injured after taking a boot to the face from Jude Bellingham. The #CANMNT star is reportedly on the way to the hospital to check for a suspected concussion. pic.twitter.com/K5uR3ge8aO
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 8, 2022
Canada Odds at 2022 World Cup
Canada are World Cup betting outsiders in Group F, priced at 10/1 to win the section.
They are 9/1 to beat Belgium and out at 33/10 to take all three points when they face Croatia. Just six teams have longer odds to reach the quarter finals – making it out of the group would be a massive success.
Bet on Canada at the 2022 World Cup with 888sport today!
