Everything you need to know about Team Canada at the FIFA World Cup

With Les Rouges announcing the 26-man squad for tournament, here’s everything you need to know about the Canada's men’s national team.

Published Jun 10, 2026  •  Last updated 20 minutes ago  •  5 minute read

Alphonso Davies of FC Bayern Munich runs during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD6 match between FC Bayern München and Sporting Clube de Portugal at Football Arena Munich on December 9, 2025 in Munich, Germany. Photo by Adam Pretty /Getty Images Europe

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Canada is back in the FIFA World Cup and this time we’re not just competing — we’re co-hosts, too.

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But make no mistake, as interesting as it will be to put on matches featuring the world’s best players and teams, we’re all rooting for our boys in red to break a few visitors’ hearts on the field.

With Les Rouges announcing their 26-man squad for the tournament on May 29, here’s everything you need to know about the Canadian men’s national team.

What is Canada’s history at the World Cup?

This will be Canada’s second straight World Cup entry after having failed to qualify for the previous eight tournaments.

After going scoreless and pointless in Mexico 1986, Canada got its first-ever World Cup goal at Qatar 2022, scored by none other than Alphonso Davies. In a weird bit of trivia, Canada’s second World Cup goal wasn’t even scored by a Canadian — it was an own goal by Morocco defender Nayef Aguerd.

Unfortunately, Canada is still looking for a couple of noteworthy firsts this time around: A first win and a first point. Les Rouges has lost all six World Cup games it has played, so the hope is that playing on home soil can change their fortunes.

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How did Canada qualify?

The best part about throwing the party is that you don’t have to worry about being invited.

While the other 45 nations invited this summer’s tournament had to go through a qualifying process that takes years, Canada, Mexico and the U.S. all received automatic bids as the co-hosts.

Who will Canada face at the World Cup?

Les Rouges were drawn into Group B along with Bosnia-Herzegovina, Qatar and Switzerland, and will play all three of its group stage games in Canada, with the opener in Toronto and the next two in Vancouver.

Because of this, Canada actually will rack up quite a few air miles during the opening stage of the tournament, travelling more than 6,700 km to and from their base camp in B.C.

Canada’s first game is set for Friday, June 12 at 3 p.m. in Toronto against Bosnia and Herzegovina before heading to Vancouver to take on Qatar on June 18 at 6 p.m. and then wrapping things up against the Swiss on June 24 at 3 p.m.

From there, things get interesting. While the winner of the group gets a nice break by getting to play their Round of 32 game in Vancouver on July 2 against a third-place team, the second-place finisher will head to Los Angeles to face the winner of Group A on June 28.

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Finishing in third gives no guarantee of advancing and there are many permutations of where that team will end up in the bracket.

Who are some of Canada’s key players?

Davies is one of the best fullbacks in the world and Canada’s greatest men’s soccer player ever.

He has some big injury concerns – more on that later – but when healthy, the Bayern Munich star is an absolute force down the left side of the pitch.

At just 25 years old, Davies already boasts seven Bundesliga championship medals, a UEFA Champions League title and was named to FIFA’s team of the year in 2020.

But while Davies usually gets the headlines, it’s Jonathan David who might be the most important for Canada this summer. The striker is Canada’s all-time leading international goal scorer, but is coming off a subpar season by his standards after moving to Juventus. David scored just six goals in 34 matches for the Italian giants after having scored 87 goals in 178 matches across five seasons with Lille.

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Ismael Kone emerged as a key player for Sassuolo in his first season with the Italian club, starting appearing in all but three games this past season. He earned rave reviews for his play against AC Milan last month and should help provide a solid backbone in Canada’s midfield next to Stephen Eustaquio.

Alistair Johnston missed the majority of the season with a severe hamstring injury, but was able to return to the field in April. The right back started several key games for Scottish champions Celtic down the stretch and should be 100% for the World Cup.

So, what’s going on with Alphonso Davies?

This is by far the biggest question surrounding the Canadian men’s national team ahead of the World Cup.

Davies is the team’s biggest star and arguably the greatest Canadian soccer player ever. But the 25-year-old winger suffered a left hamstring injury earlier this month and is fighting to be fit for this summer’s tournament.

Davies is unlikely to be fit for Canada’s opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 12, but may be able to play a role in the following two group stage games and beyond – if Canada advances.

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Does Canada have any other key injury concerns?

Moise Bombito, a key defender for Canada, will be a last-minute decision as he is still recovering from a broken tibia back in October. He played just 30 minutes during the team’s friendly against Uzbekistan, but hasn’t been ruled out by manager Jesse Marsch yet.

Alfie Jones, another centre back, had yet to play in 2026 after undergoing ankle surgery in January before being named to the team. There were reports that he was close to returning for Middlesbrough’s promotion playoff against Hull City, but Jones didn’t make the squad for that match. He did manage to appear as a sub during the Uzbekistan match, though.

Midfielder Ali Ahmed was subbed off during Norwich’s season finale on May 2 but should be available while Toronto FC wingback Richie Laryea should be at full health after suffering a hamstring injury in April.

Marcelo Flores was initially named to the squad, but suffered a torn ACL during a match with club team Tigres UANL and was replaced on Canada’s roster by Jayden Nelson.

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The 26-man Canadian roster

Goalkeepers: Dayne St. Clair, Max Crepeau, Owen Goodman.

Defenders: Alistair Johnston, Derek Cornelius, Richie Laryea, Niko Sigur, Joel Waterman, Luc De Fougerolles, Moise Bombito, Alphonso Davies, Alfie Jones.

Midfield: Stephen Eustaquio, Ismael Kone, Tajon Buchanon, Mathieu Choiniere, Ali Ahmed, Nathan Saliba, Liam Millar, Jacob Shaffelburg, Jonathan Osorio, Jayden Nelson.

Strikers: Jonathan David, Kyle Larin, Tani Oluwaseyi, Promise David.

So, how good will Canada do?

With home-field advantage and a group that seems rather pedestrian group, Canada shouldn’t have too much trouble advancing to the knockout stage – the question is just if they win Group B or come in second, likely to Switzerland.

From there, it’s all about matchups but we wouldn’t be too surprised to see these Canucks potentially reach the Round of 16 or even the quarterfinals if things break right.

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