Soccer in Canada | Canada Hosting the 2026 World Cup

[elly63]

[JHikka]

Tajon Buchanan has been sold by New England for $7M + 10% sell-on fee to Club Brugge. Will finish the year with New England which makes his CMNT callups easier.

[elly63]

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[elly63]

Canada Soccer announces FIFA World Cup Qualifiers squad for September matches
canadasoccer.com August 26 2021

Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team will look to continue their momentum and bring their play to another level when they open the Concacaf Final Round of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in September with two matches at home in Toronto and one away in Nashville. The Canada squad for these three matches features an exciting group of players who are prepared to push Canada to the next level after reaching the Concacaf Final Round for the first time in nearly 25 years.

“These men know they have a great opportunity to play in front of our fans for the first time in nearly two years, but more importantly the chance to get our campaign off to a great start in the next round of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers,” said John Herdman, Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team Head Coach. “There’s been a lot of competition for places in this selection, so assembling this squad posed some nice problems for a coach.”

Tickets for Canada’s two home matches at BMO Field in Toronto are available via Ticketmaster.ca, with the first match on Thursday 2 September against Honduras and the next match on Wednesday 8 September against El Salvador. In advance of the highly anticipated matches, tickets for the two games are selling quickly, with limited inventory across several price points. Fans in attendance will be required to follow BMO Field COVID-19 protocols and guidelines, with more information available via BMOField.com.

Canada v Honduras | 2 September – 20.00 local kick off | Tickets
Canada v El Salvador | 8 September – 19.30 local kick off | Tickets

“The fans will make the difference and they always do,” said Herdman. “BMO Field in Toronto has been our fortress and with the fans support, we intend to keep it that way.”

Canada’s two home matches on 2 and 8 September will be broadcast live in Canada on OneSoccer. Kickoff times for the three matches are: 20.00 local / 20.00 ET / 17.00 PT on 2 September against Honduras; 19.00 local / 20.00 ET / 17.00 PT on 5 September against USA; 19.30 local / 19.30 ET / 16.30 PT on 8 September against El Salvador.

CANADA SQUAD
Canada’s September squad will feature a trio of recent Canadian Players of the Year: six-time winner Atiba Hutchinson, two-time winner Alphonso Davies, and one-time winner Jonathan David. Veteran Hutchinson is taking part in his fifth cycle of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers while youngsters Davies and David are both taking part in their first cycle of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.

Davies and David are in fact the two youngest players in the Canada squad at 20 and 21. Davies of FC Bayern München in Germany is a Bundesliga and UEFA Champions League winner while David of Lille OSC in France in a Ligue 1 winner. Davies and David are two of five Canadians aged 23 or younger in the September squad alongside Tajon Buchanan of New England Revolution, Alistair Johnston of Nashville SC, and Liam Fraser of Columbus SC. Buchanan, the 2020 Canadian Youth International Player of the Year and 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup Young Player Award winner, will join Club Brugge in January after a club-record transfer from his MLS club to Belgium.

Hutchinson, who has started his ninth season at Beşiktaş JK in Turkey, ranks second in Canada’s record books with 85 career Men’s National Team international “A” appearances, just five back of all-time leader Julian de Guzman. Midfielder Hutchinson is one of five players with 40 or more appearances in the September squad alongside Samuel Piette of CF Montréal (57), goalkeeper Milan Borjan of Red Star Belgrade (53), Jonathan Osorio of Toronto FC (42), and Beşiktaş teammate Cyle Larin (40).

Other key experienced players presently with European clubs are Junior Hoilett of Reading FC in England, Steven Vitória of Moreirense FC in Portugal, and David Wotherspoon of St. Johnstone FC in Scotland. Younger stars in Europe and Asia are Samuel Adekugbe of Hatayspor FC in Turkey, Stephen Eustáquio of FC Paços de Ferreira in Portugal, Doneil Henry of Suwon Samsung Bluewings in Korea Republic, and Scott Kennedy of SSV Jahn Regensburg in Germany.

Joining Buchanan, Fraser, Johnston, Osorio and Piette from Major League Soccer clubs are Lucas Cavallini and Maxime Crépeau from Vancouver Whitecaps FC, Mark-Anthony Kaye from Colorado Rapids, Richie Laryea from Toronto FC, and Kamal Miller and James Pantemis from CF Montréal.

CANADA SOCCER’S MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM PROGRAM
Canada has built plenty of momentum in a landmark year for the Men’s National Team Program that will feature a record 19 international matches including FIFA World Cup Qualifiers and the Concacaf Gold Cup. Canada have already played 11 of those 19 matches, posting a record of 9-0-2 with six clean sheets and a record 42 goals scored. Canada also set a record with eight consecutive wins and reached the Concacaf Gold Cup Semifinals for the first time since 2007.

Canada will play eight of their 14 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in the Concacaf Final Round from September through November 2021: three matches in September, three matches in October, and two matches in November). In 2022, Canada will play three more matches in January/February and three more matches in March. Along with Honduras, USA and El Salvador, Canada’s other opponents in the Concacaf Final Round are Costa Rica, Jamaica, Mexico and Panama.

To reach the Concacaf Final Round, Canada won their First Round group against Aruba, Bermuda, Cayman Islands and Suriname, then eliminated Haiti in a head-to-head Second Round series. This marks the first time since 1997 that Canada have reached the Concacaf Final Round of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.

Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team are two-time Concacaf champions, previously winning the 1985 Concacaf Championship and 2000 Concacaf Gold Cup. This year marks Canada’s 15th participation at the Concacaf Gold Cup since 1991. Along with their first-place finish in 2000, Canada reached the Semifinals in 2002, 2007, and 2021. Across the past five years from 2017 to 2021, Canada are one of only four nations that have finished top-six across all three Concacaf major tournaments: fifth place in Concacaf Nations League A and sixth place at both the 2017 and 2019 Concacaf Gold Cups.

CANADA
GK- Milan Borjan | SRB / FK Crvena zvezda (Red Star Belgrade)
GK- Maxime Crépeau | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC
GK- James Pantemis | CAN / CF Montréal
CB- Doneil Henry | KOR / Suwon Samsung Bluewings
CB- Scott Kennedy | GER / SSV Jahn Regensburg
CB- Kamal Miller | CAN / CF Montréal
CB- Steven Vitória | POR / Moreirense FC
FB- Samuel Adekugbe | TUR / Hatayspor FC
FB- Alphonso Davies | GER / FC Bayern München
FB- Alistair Johnston | USA / Nashville SC
FB- Richie Laryea | CAN / Toronto FC
M- Stephen Eustáquio | POR / FC Paços de Ferreira
M- Liam Fraser | CAN / Toronto FC
M- Atiba Hutchinson | TUR / Beşiktaş JK
M- Mark-Anthony Kaye | USA / Colorado Rapids
M- Jonathan Osorio | CAN / Toronto FC
M- Samuel Piette | CAN / CF Montréal
M- David Wotherspoon | SCO / St. Johnstone FC
F- Tajon Buchanan | USA / New England Revolution
F- Lucas Cavallini | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC
F- Jonathan David | FRA / Lille OSC
F- David Junior Hoilett | ENG / Reading FC
F- Cyle Larin | TUR / Beşiktaş JK

[elly63]

[elly63]

Going with questionably our best players, hearing about Honduras fans there, hope Toronto doesn't eff it up.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by elly63

hope Toronto doesn't eff it up.

should have been more concerned about the players on the field

[elly63]

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[blueandgoldguy]

poor execution in that game by Canada. Plenty of missed opportunities. And this is against Honduras. They need to be better if they want to qualify legitimately for the World Cup.

[elly63]

Originally Posted by elly63

hope Toronto doesn't eff it up.

Originally Posted by JHikka

should have been more concerned about the players on the field

Just sayin'. Glad it looks like the November qualifiers will be in Edmonton (Costa Rica, Mexico)

[Jammon]

Originally Posted by elly63

Just sayin'. Glad it looks like the November qualifiers will be in Edmonton (Costa Rica, Mexico)

Yep. I'm so tired of the Toronto focus. Soccer Canada really needs to do a better job of circulating games to other cities. Canada is small- there is no reason why smaller cities can't host as well. Once upon a time, Winnipeg hosted qualifiers- I remember going to a qualifying game against Cuba and it was loud and sold out.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by Jammon

Yep. I'm so tired of the Toronto focus. Soccer Canada really needs to do a better job of circulating games to other cities. Canada is small- there is no reason why smaller cities can't host as well. Once upon a time, Winnipeg hosted qualifiers- I remember going to a qualifying game against Cuba and it was loud and sold out.

Couple things:

• BMO has natural grass which is the preferred choice for CONCACAF, CMNT, and FIFA as a whole. What other Canadian stadiums have natural grass?
• The key to World Cup qualifiers should be to ensure the best possible setting for Canada to succeed. This means being easily accessible for flights to-and-from Europe where CMNT players will be arriving from. Requiring additional flights to smaller Canadian centres creates a more difficult scenario and timeline for both Canadian players and for visiting CONCACAF nations. Where will CMNT players stay? Where will visiting players stay? Where will both teams train prior to the match? What logistics are in place for the teams in the days leading up to the match? All of these are much easier the larger the city the teams play in.
• Consistency in logistics is also key for CSA and CMNT. Hosting in the same setting means that procedures can be easily repeated, including COVID protocols these days. For CSA, event-hosting, coordination of amenities, and everything else can be repeated and perfected upon if hosting in the same location. Toronto is a familiar city for CSA and, as much as people hate it, BMO is the default national stadium for CMNT.
• Stadium availability.
  

I know everyone loves to hate Toronto and everyone wants to see CMNT play in St. John's and Iqaluit, but at the end of the day there's only a certain number of stadiums that are actually suitable to host CMNT matches and which qualify for everything listed above given the timelines of 2022 qualification. The only cities hosting this cycle are likely going to be Toronto, Vancouver, and Edmonton - which, shockingly, are also likely to be our World Cup hosting cities in 2026.

Instead of messing around worrying about whether Prince George is hosting a game our focus should be on the field where things matter more. It's incredibly tiring to see the best ever CMNT side wash away Central American teams and having people still more focused on where the game is played or how many people are in the seats. That shouldn't be the focus.

[trueviking]

Originally Posted by Jammon

Yep. I'm so tired of the Toronto focus. Soccer Canada really needs to do a better job of circulating games to other cities. Canada is small- there is no reason why smaller cities can't host as well. Once upon a time, Winnipeg hosted qualifiers- I remember going to a qualifying game against Cuba and it was loud and sold out.

Canada only has two proper soccer stadiums. Montreal and Toronto. Montreal is even worse at filling the stadium with Canadian fans.

Edmonton gave up its right to host games when they installed plastic. There is no reason to go there to play in a 50 year old stadium without grass.

Flying our players across the continent to Edmonton or even Vancouver in the short window they have is a bad move.

Stay in Toronto. It’s about winning, nothing else. Play off season friendlies in remote places if they want.

[elly63]

Honduras is probably the best team aside from Mexico and US, and there's a long way to go. All the other results luckily favoured Canada as well

[thenoflyzone]

1-1 tie against the US. Not bad for an away game with 36,000+ fans.

We played well. I liked the way we quickly rebounded after the US scored first. Had some decent chances to score a couple more goals. So did the US though. Hopefully Davies isn't hurt too bad and will be able to play against El Salvador on Sept 8.

Panama, with a win, moves to second spot. We are still holding steady at 3rd spot. Mexico, with their second win, are well ahead at the top.

[AuxTown]

So happy the decided the televise the games for the Octagonal. It's hard to explain how excited I am to watch Canadian soccer that means something internationally. I've played and watched soccer for 35 years but this is by far Canada's best team in a generation (?? ever ??). Two draws to start the tourney is fine but it's time now to start collecting some 3-pointers against the weaker teams. I think I need to get a jersey now!

[thenoflyzone]

Originally Posted by AuxTown

So happy the decided the televise the games for the Octagonal. It's hard to explain how excited I am to watch Canadian soccer that means something internationally. I've played and watched soccer for 35 years but this is by far Canada's best team in a generation (?? ever ??). Two draws to start the tourney is fine but it's time now to start collecting some 3-pointers against the weaker teams. I think I need to get a jersey now!

Definitely.

The draw against the US is a very good result, all things considered. They are ranked 10th in the world, and we played in their house. Considering we were down a goal, a 1-1 draw is fantastic.

Honduras, on the other hand, we should have beat. We are a better team than they are. In fact, we are -and should be - better than all these Central American teams. If we can beat Costa Rica 2-0 at the gold cup, we can and should beat all the rest of these Central American nations.

Let's see how we fair against El Salvador. They had nil-nil draws against both the US and Honduras.

[thenoflyzone]

Davies out for tomorrow's game. He's headed back to Germany for treatment.

https://www.tsn.ca/alphonso-davies-t...jury-1.1690666

[elly63]

[VANRIDERFAN]

2 nil Canada at half time!