The Canada men's national soccer team (French: Équipe du Canada de soccer masculin)[2][3][4] represents Canada in men's international soccer, which is governed by the Canadian Soccer Association (French: Association canadienne de soccer), the governing body for soccer in Canada founded in 1912. It has been an affiliate member of FIFA since 1912 and a founding affiliate member of CONCACAF since 1961.[5] Regionally, it is an affiliate member of NAFU in the North American Zone.
Soccer was being played in Canada with the Dominion Football Association (1877) and Western Football Association (1880) acting as precursors to the modern-day Canadian Soccer Association.[9] In 1885, the WFA sent a team to New Jersey to take on a side put forth by the American Football Association, the then-unofficial governing body of the sport in the United States. On November 28, 1885, in an unofficial friendly, Canada defeated the United States 1–0 at Clark Field in the East Newark neighborhood of Kearny, New Jersey.[10][11][12] The American team won 3–2 in a return match one year later.[13] In 1888, a team represented the WFA in a tour of the British Isles, earning a record of nine wins, five draws, and nine losses.[14] The squad comprised 16 Canadian-born players with the only exception being tour organizer David Forsyth, who had immigrated to Canada one year after his birth.[15]
In 1904 Galt F.C. represented the WFA at the Olympic Games in St. Louis, Missouri.[16] As just one of three teams competing, Galt defeated two American clubs, Christian Brothers College (7–0) and St. Rose (4–0) to win the tournament.[17] The Toronto Mail and Empire of November 18, 1904, reports that "Immediately after the game, the Galt aggregation, numbering about 50 persons, retired to the office of James W. Sullivan, chief of the Department of Physical Culture, where they received their prize. After a short talk by Mr. James E. Conlon of the Physical Culture Department, Mayor Mundy, of the City of Galt, presented each player on the winning team with a beautiful gold medal."[17] The medals are clearly engraved with the name of the company in St. Louis that made them.
In 1905, a British team of touring amateurs nicknamed the "Pilgrims" toured Canada,[18] with their match against Galt billed as the "championship of the world".[19] The match was played in front of 3500 fans in Galt, now part of Cambridge, Ontario, and ended in a 3–3 draw.[19] Earlier the Pilgrims had been beaten 2–1 by Berlin Rangers, in the city now known as Kitchener.[18]
The team that toured Australia in 1924
The Canadian national team toured Australia in 1924, playing a series of "test" friendlies against their hosts, including their first official match, a 3–2 friendly defeat to the Australian national team in Brisbane, Queensland on June 7, 1924.[20] Canada also played Australia at the Jubilee Oval, Adelaide on Saturday July 12, 1924, and defeated them by 4 goals to 1.[21] In 1925, Canada played their old rivals, the United States, in Montreal, winning 1–0 on Ed McLaine's goal.[22] In a return match in November 1925 in Brooklyn, New York, Canada was defeated 1–6.[23] One year later, Canada lost 2–6 to the Americans in the same city[24] before playing four internationals in a 1927 tour of New Zealand.[15]
The New Zealand tour included a total of 22 games, of which Canada won 19 with only 2 defeats. Most of the games were against local combined teams although Canada also played New Zealand in four occasions (scores: 2–2, 2–1, 0–1, 4–1).[25]
1928 to 1987
Canadian soccer team in Mexico City on July 5, 1957
Following the lead of British soccer associations, Canada withdrew from FIFA in 1928 over a dispute regarding broken time payments to amateur players.[26] They rejoined the confederation in 1946 and took part in World Cup qualifying in the North American Football Confederation (NAFC) (a precursor to CONCACAF) for the first time in 1957,[27] the first time they had played as a national team in 30 years. Under the guidance of head coach Don Petrie, Canada defeated the United States in Toronto 5–1 in their opening game, but lost two games in Mexico (failing to play a home game due to financial reasons) 0–2 and 0–3 before defeating the U.S. 3–2 in St. Louis. Mexico advanced as group winners, meaning that Canada missed out on the World Cup in Sweden.[15]
Canada withdrew from World Cup qualifying for 1962 and did not enter a team for 1966.[28] They did compete in soccer however at the 1967 Pan American Games,[28] their first time to do so in the sixth edition of the games, which they hosted in Winnipeg. Canada finished fourth place,[28] helped somewhat by defending champion Brazil's absence.
Canada again failed at the first hurdle in qualifying for the 1974 FIFA World Cup.[28] Under German head coach Eckhard Krautzun, they finished second in a home and away qualifying group for the 1973 CONCACAF Championship (to Mexico). For the 1975 Pan Am Games, Canada, along with most of the larger Pan Am countries, sent their Olympic team, which was amateur (and senior aged), to compete. After narrowly qualifying out of the first round, the Canucks were soundly defeated by Costa Rica, Cuba, and Mexico, conceding a total of 14 goals while scoring none.[31] At the Summer Olympics at home the following year, under head coach Colin Morris, the amateur Canadian side failed to get out of the first round, losing both of their games.[32][33] This despite the brilliant play of Jimmy Douglas, who scored a goal against a Dynamo Kyiv-dominated Soviet Union side and another goal against North Korea, Canada's only two goals in the tournament.[34][35]
In their North American qualifying group for the 1977 CONCACAF Championship, with both group winners and runners-up now advancing, Canada, again under head coach Krautzun, qualified as runners-up after defeating the Americans 3–0 in a neutral site one-match play-off, played in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.[36] In the championship, played in Monterrey and Mexico City, Mexico won all five of their matches with a +15 goal difference to win the tournament handily.[37] Canada finished fourth.[37]
Matters were different however at the next CONCACAF championship, in 1981, played in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Canada entered the tournament raising eyebrows by winning their qualifying group over Mexico and the United States, even achieving a 1–1 draw against Mexico at the Azteca Stadium with Gerry Gray scoring from a direct free kick in the 88th-minute.[38] In the final round, the Canadians opened strongly with a 1–0 win over El Salvador,[39] with Mike Stojanovic the goal-scorer, and a 1–1 draw with Haiti, with Stojanovic scoring again. They next lost to the hosts Honduras 1–2 and then drew Mexico 1–1 with Ian Bridge scoring the equalizer via a corner kick.[40] A win in their final game against Cuba would have put them through to Spain, but they were held to a 2–2 draw, allowing El Salvador to qualify as tournament runners-up.
Between 1981 and 1985, Canada continued to develop under the guidance of English coach Tony Waiters. After a strong performance at the 1984 Summer Olympics, Waiters would see the Maple Leafs through to their first World Cup finals appearance in 1985. A 1–1 away draw to Guatemala was key in allowing them to eliminate Los Chapines in the first round group.[41] The second round was also closely contested, in part as this Canadian squad was strong defensively but had limited ability to score goals. The Canucks managed to eke out a 1–0 away win over Honduras, thanks to a George Pakos winner,[42] hold Costa Rica scoreless in San José,[43] and then in their final game, one they needed to draw to qualify, beat Los Catrachos a second time, 2–1 in St. John's, Newfoundland, with Pakos and Igor Vrablic the goal scorers.[44] The victory not only secured their first World Cup finals berth,[45] but also the crown of CONCACAF champions for the first time, although Mexico did not compete, having already qualified automatically for the World Cup as hosts.[46]
At the 1986 FIFA World Cup, Canada impressed defensively in their first game against France, only conceding a late Jean-Pierre Papin goal after Papin had missed several earlier chances.[47][48] However, Canada could not build on their stubborn performance against France, losing their next two matches to both Hungary and the Soviet Union 0–2,[49][50] finishing the group stage in last place with zero points.[51]
Four Canadian players (Chris Chueden, Hector Marinaro, David Norman and Vrablic) were involved in a match fixing betting scandal at the Merlion Cup tournament in Singapore two months after the World Cup. The four players were suspended by the Canadian Soccer Association for "bringing the game into disrepute". Norman was reinstated in 1992 after admitting his involvement in the scandal. Vrablic never played for Canada again.[52][53]
1990s
Qualification for the 1990 World Cup lasted all of two matches for Canada, a home-and-away series with Guatemala, played in October 1988. The Central Americans won the first game 1–0 in Guatemala City[54] while Canada prevailed in Vancouver 3–2.[55] Tied on goal difference, Los Chapines advanced on the away goals rule.[56]
1990 saw Canada take part in the first North American Nations Cup, hosting the three-team tournament. Mexico and Canada sent their full squads, but the United States sent a 'B' team.[57] Canada won the tournament after a 1–0 win over the United States on May 6[57] and a 2–1 win over Mexico on May 13.[57] All three Canadian goals were scored by John Catliff,[58] the tournament's top scorer.
Canada came close to qualifying for the World Cup again in 1994 under the guidance of a defender on the 1986 team, Bob Lenarduzzi.[59] They entered the tournament at the second round stage and advanced as group runners-up.[60] Canada competed strongly in the final qualifying round, drawing their first match in Tegucigalpa after a controversial penalty allowed the Hondurans to draw even, winning their next two, over El Salvador and Honduras in Vancouver, losing convincingly at Azteca Stadium, and winning 2–1 in San Salvador. They went into their final group match against Mexico, in Toronto, needing a win to win the group and thus qualify directly for the World Cup.[61] Canada went up 1–0 on a goal credited to Alex Bunbury off a free kick, but Mexico scored twice to win, 2–1.[62] The loss meant Canada finished second and advanced to an intercontinental play-off series where they needed to win two rounds to qualify for the 1994 FIFA World Cup.[61] The Reds went up against Oceania Football Confederation's champions Australia. Canada won the first leg 2–1 in Edmonton.[63] Australia led the second leg 2–1 at the end of 90 minutes, sending the tie to extra time. There was no score in the extra 30 minutes, meaning the series was decided by a penalty shootout which Australia won 4–1 to eliminate Canada from contention.[64] Australia went on to lose 2–1 on aggregate to Argentina, who advanced to the World Cup.[65]
With the World Cup to be played in the United States, Canada had the opportunity to play a number of high-profile squads in tune-up matches.[66] The highlight of this set of matches—played against Morocco, Brazil, Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands all within 13 days[66]—was Canada holding eventual World Cup champions Brazil to a 1–1 draw at Commonwealth Stadium, on a 69th-minute equalizer by Eddy Berdusco, on Canada's only real scoring chance in the game.[67]
With three countries set to qualify out of CONCACAF for the 1998 World Cup, and with Canada handily winning their second round group over El Salvador, Panama, and Cuba,[68] expectations were high for a second qualification in 12 years in the spring of 1997. The aging Canadians, however, fared miserably, losing their opening game to Mexico 0–4 and the following match to the U.S. 0–3. In their next two matches, against El Salvador and Jamaica, they could only manage two 0–0 draws in Vancouver. A 1–0 win over Costa Rica in Edmonton in their next match thanks to a goal by Berdusco gave Canada some hope at the halfway point but losses to both Jamaica and El Salvador away ended any aspirations as they finished bottom of the group with 6 points from 10 games and a −15 goal difference. Having overseen two consecutive World Cup campaigns ending in the side failing to qualify, Lenarduzzi stepped down in 1997 and was replaced by interim head coach Bruce Twamley.
2000s
Carlo Corazzin, who won the Golden Boot award during the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup
The Canadian Soccer Association turned to another German to lead the senior national team in 1998 with the signing of Holger Osieck.[69] Success came quickly with Canada winning the CONCACAF Gold Cup in February 2000.[70] After emerging from the first round on a coin-toss tiebreaker with invited side Republic of Korea, the Canucks scored a quarter-final upset win over Mexico.[71] The win set the stage for an unprecedented run to the final, where Canada defeated Colombia 2–0 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.[72] Canada swept the awards ceremony, with goalkeeper Craig Forrest winning MVP honours, Carlo Corazzin securing the Golden Boot, and Richard Hastings named Rookie of the Tournament.[73]
Expectations were again high following the winter's result, but the campaign sputtered. A positive 1–0 away result in Havana in June was followed by a listless 0–0 home draw against Cuba.[74] For the semi-final round two out of four teams advanced. Canada was eliminated from World Cup contention after finishing third in the semi-final round. Canada managed just one goal in 6 games while conceding 8 to finish third in the standings, well adrift of advancing sides Trinidad and Tobago and Mexico.
Winning the Gold Cup earned Canada a place in the 2001 Confederations Cup, where the highlight was holding Brazil to a 0–0 draw.[75] The Gold Cup victory also won them an invitation to compete in the 2001 Copa América. When security concerns prompted the cancellation of the tournament, Canada disbanded their training camp.[76] The tournament was then reinstated and held on schedule.[77] The Canadian Soccer Association announced they would not be able to participate in the reinstated tournament.[78]
Canada had another strong showing in the 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup, losing to the United States in the semi-finals in penalties, and then defeating South Korea in the third-place game, 2–1. The Gold Cup was held the following year, and Canada was eliminated in the first round on goal difference, leading to head coach Osieck resigning in September 2003 and former player Colin Miller put in charge as an interim.
2004 marked the beginning of 2006 World Cup qualification and a new era under the guidance of former Canadian skipper Frank Yallop. Things began brightly, with the Canadians dispatching of Belize handily in the preliminary round, 8–0 on aggregate, in a home-and-home series. Matters turned, however, with Canada finishing bottom in a group featuring Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Honduras. They got only 5 points from 6 matches and a −4 goal difference. Hard times continued under Yallop as the Canucks again went out at the first barrier in the Gold Cup, losing to both the U.S. and Costa Rica, while defeating Cuba. The coach stayed on through 2005 into the following summer, overseeing a series a friendlies against European sides. He resigned on June 7, 2006, finishing with a win-loss record of 8–9–3.
Things turned around under interim coach Stephen Hart's guidance. Canada opened their 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup campaign with a 2–1 win over Costa Rica. A 1–2 upset loss to upstarts Guadeloupe was followed by a 2–0 victory over Haiti, securing Canada first-place in their group. They next beat Guatemala 3–0 in their quarter-final match setting up a semi-final showdown with the host Americans. Substitute Iain Hume scored for Canada in the 76th minute to cut the United States' lead to 2–1. After the United States were reduced to ten men, Canada pressed for the equalizer but were denied when Atiba Hutchinson's stoppage-time goal was incorrectly flagged offside by linesman Ricardo Louisville and Canada was eliminated.
The team faced criticism for its poor handling of goalkeeper Greg Sutton, who suffered a concussion during a practice prior to the start of the Gold Cup. Without a doctor accompanying the team, Sutton instead saw a local physician who cleared him to practice, resulting in Sutton suffering post-concussion syndrome. Sutton was lost to his professional club Toronto FC for nearly a year.[79]
Prior to the Gold Cup on May 18, 2007, the Canadian Soccer Association announced that former national team player Dale Mitchell would take over as head coach of the senior team after the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Mitchell had previously served as an assistant coach under Coach Frank Yallop. Under Mitchell, Canada drew friendlies with Iceland and against Costa Rica, lost 0–2 to South Africa, had a 1–0 win over Martinique, and a 0–2 defeat to Estonia. Optimism grew, however, as Canada played well in a 2–3 loss to Brazil.
Despite defeating Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 7–1 on aggregate in a second-round series—they had had a bye in the first—Canada did not play at the level they had at the Gold Cup and were eliminated from qualifying for the 2010 World Cup. They conceded an equalizer shortly after scoring the opening goal in a 1–1 draw to Jamaica at BMO Field, conceded two second-half goals in quick succession in a 1–2 home loss to Honduras at Saputo Stadium, and then lost away to Mexico and Honduras. They finished last in the four-team group with just 2 points from 6 matches. On March 27, 2009, head coach Dale Mitchell was fired. The president of the Canadian Soccer Association, Dominic Maestracci, said that "the Canadian Soccer Association is committed to the future of our men's national team program. We have made this decision to move the program in a new direction."[80] Technical director Stephen Hart was renamed as interim head coach. On December 9, 2009, Hart was named as head coach.
2010s
The national soccer team of Canada in 2010
Stephen Hart's first competitive action as the full-time head coach was a poor showing at the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup, not managing to get out of the group stage. However, during the early stages qualifying for the 2014 World Cup, Canada topped their group in the second round but were eliminated in the third round of CONCACAF qualifying, finishing one point behind Honduras and Panama after losing 8–1 in Honduras on the final match day.
Canada during the national anthem prior to the qualifying match against Honduras on June 12, 2012, at BMO Field
After a series of interim coaching changes following Stephen Hart's dismissal on October 12, 2012 Benito Floro replaced Colin Miller as Canada's coach on August 1, 2013.[81] Being a coach with top-flight management experience in La Liga, he was expected to help Canada raise its competitiveness prior to 2018 World Cup qualifying. In the midst of Floro's player identification and restructuring phase, the team experienced many difficulties including a 958-minute goal-scoring drought, which was finally broken by Atiba Hutchinson in a 1–1 draw with Bulgaria on May 23, 2014. Despite showing improvement with two draws in Europe, Canada continued to shed FIFA points having gone winless for nearly two years, and sank to their lowest ever FIFA ranking of 122 in August 2014. Canada ended a 16-match winless streak on September 10, 2014, defeating Jamaica 3–1 in Toronto.[82]
The team did not score a single goal and finished last in their group in the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup after two 0–0 draws to El Salvador and Costa Rica, while also suffering a 1–0 loss against Jamaica.[84] Canada then advanced to the third round of 2018 World Cup qualifying against Belize, winning 4–1 on aggregate and advancing to the fourth round of 2018 World Cup qualifying. Canada was drawn into a group against Honduras, El Salvador and Mexico. They played their first pair of matches in the fourth round on November 13 and 17, 2015. The first match was played in Vancouver at BC Place against Honduras, resulting in a 1–0 win for Canada thanks to a deflected goal by Cyle Larin. The crowd of 20,108 set a new record for the Canadian men's team in the province of British Columbia.[85] In their next game on November 17, away at El Salvador, Canada drew with El Salvador 0-0 as Julian De Guzman broke Canada's record for most caps for the national team with his 85th cap, passing Paul Stalteri's record of 84 caps.[86] With this result in Canada's last game of 2015, they ended off the year conceding just three goals in their final 12 games and in 14 games overall, they ended off with a record of 6 wins, 6 draws, and 2 losses.
On March 25, 2016, in a World Cup qualifier against Mexico at BC Place, 54,798 people were recorded in the stadium which set a new attendance record for a Canadian national team of any sport.[87] Ultimately, however, Canada lost the game 3–0, but remained in second place in the group, keeping them in contention for World Cup qualification. On September 6, 2016, after failing to qualify for the fifth round of 2018 World Cup qualifying despite a 3–1 win over El Salvador, head coach Benito Floro was sacked on September 14, ending his reign as coach of the national team.[88]
Canada recorded a historic 2–0 win against the United States at BMO Field on October 15, 2019.
Canada announced Octavio Zambrano as the new coach of the national team on May 16, 2017,[89] replacing Michael Findlay who was the interim coach after Floro's departure.[90] He guided Canada to a quarterfinal finish at the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup, with the team getting out of the group stage for the first time since 2009.[91] However, on January 8, 2018, Zambrano was let go and was replaced with John Herdman,[92] who previously was the head coach of the Canadian women's national team.
Under Herdman, Canada qualified for the top division in the inaugural season of the CONCACAF Nations League following an undefeated qualifying campaign.[93] Competing in CONCACAF Nations League A, Canada earned a 2–0 victory over the United States at BMO Field, Canada's first win against their American rivals since 1985.[94] However, Canada would fall to a 4–1 defeat against the United States in the away leg and failed to qualify for the Nations League Finals.[95]
On March 27, 2022, Canada defeated Jamaica 4–0 on Matchday 13 to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. This ended a 36-year drought since the first and only time Canada played in the FIFA World Cup, in 1986.[103] The speed of the team's ascent was such that it was subsequently revealed that neither the federation nor kit supplier Nike had anticipated them qualifying, and as a result they would be the only team in Qatar to not receive a special kit for the occasion. Defender Sam Adekugbe remarked "I think that just shows that no one really believed in us. I don't think Canada believed."[104][105]
In Canada's first match of the tournament against Belgium on November 23, Davies failed to score an early penalty in an eventual 1–0 loss, despite Canada dictating most of the play, and failing to convert any of their 22 shots.[106][107] Four days later, Davies scored Canada's first ever goal at the World Cup, in a game against Croatia. Croatia came back to win 4–1, eliminating Canada from the tournament after two matches.[108] Canada were defeated 2–1 by Morocco in their final group match on December 1, finishing in last place in their group with zero points.[109] Post-event assessments of Canada's performance were mixed, with many saying that opportunities had been missed, while also creating possibilities for the future 2026 FIFA World Cup that Canada would co-host.[110][111][112][113][114]
Road to 2026 World Cup
Canada automatically qualified for the 2026 World Cup as co-host in February 2023. They also qualified to the 2023 CONCACAF Nations League Finals by winning Group C. A 2–0 victory over Panama on June 15, 2023, saw the national team reach its first final in 23 years, where they lost to the United States 2–0.[115][116] Following this, many of the team's established players opted not to attend the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup held later that same summer. After some difficulties in the group stage, Canada reached the quarter-final of the tournament, losing to the United States in a penalty shootout.[117] The summer championships marked the end of Herdman's tenure with Canada Soccer, with his departure coming at the end of August to manage Toronto FC of Major League Soccer, amidst media discussion of conflicts with the federation over funding and playing opportunities.[118][119][120]
Interim coach Mauro Biello was tasked with guiding the team through the quarter-finals of the 2023–24 CONCACAF Nations League A in November 2023, where victory in a two-legged aggregate match or away goals rule against Jamaica would both send them to the following spring's semi-finals and qualify them to participate in CONMEBOL's 2024 Copa América. After defeating Jamaica 2–1 in the away leg, Canada needed only a draw in the home match at BMO Field to advance. Leading halfway through, the team collapsed to lose 3–2 in the second half and 3–2 on away goals, as a result missing both the Nations League semi-final and immediate qualification to the Copa América.[121][122] The loss to Jamaica prompted considerable criticism of the team, Biello, and the federation,[123][124][125] with The Athletic opining that Canada's "humiliating loss" should be considered its worst defeat since falling 8–1 to Honduras in World Cup qualification in 2012.[124] As a result, the qualifying play-off for a final place in the Copa América was scheduled on March 23, 2024, against Trinidad and Tobago,[121][126] which they later won 2–0.[127]
In May 2024, Canada Soccer hired Jesse Marsch to serve as Herdman's permanent replacement as coach.[128] Due to ongoing financial difficulties, the money to pay Marsch was found via donations from MLS clubs CF Montreal, Toronto FC, and Vancouver Whitecaps FC and other private parties. This drew media attention due to the unusual arrangement of the naming rights to the coaching position being given as part of the arrangement, called the "MLS Canada Men's National Team Head Coach".[129][130] In advance of the Copa América, Marsch's first matches with the team were two friendlies against high-profile opponents, first a lopsided 4–0 loss to the Netherlands,[131] and then a goalless draw with second-ranked France that was generally considered a major success.[132][133] Canada began Group A play at the Copa against world No. 1-ranked Argentina, a 2–0 loss that nevertheless was generally considered a credible showing.[134][135] They defeated Peru 1–0, with David scoring the team's first goal of the Marsch era to earn the country's first victory over a CONMEBOL team since the 2000 Gold Cup final.[136][137] A draw with Chile saw Canada finish second in the group and advance to the knockout stage,[138][139] where they defeated Venezuela 4–3 on penalties after a 1–1 draw in regulation time to reach a semi-final rematch with Argentina.[135] After another 2–0 loss to the Argentines, Canada played Uruguay in the third-place match. They led 2–1 for the final ten minutes of regulation, but allowed a tying goal in stoppage time, and lost 4–3 on penalties to finish fourth.[140]
On September 7, 2024, Canada defeated the United States 2–1 in a friendly match in Kansas City, Kansas, marking their first victory against the Americans on American soil since 1957.[141] Following two victories over Suriname in the November 2024 CONCACAF Nations League quarter-finals, the team rose to 31st in the FIFA rankings, a new high.[142] Entering the 2024–25 Nations League Finals with the hopes of claiming the team's first trophy in a generation, Canada instead lost 2–0 to Mexico in the semi-final match.[143] They rallied to defeat the United States 2–1 in the third-place match.[144] This was the first time since 1985 that Canada had defeated the United States in consecutive meetings.[145]
On June 7, 2025, Canada defeated Ukraine in a match at BMO Field, the team's first victory against a UEFA side since March 2011.[146] Later in the month, the team competed at the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup, its second chance that year to win a trophy. After defeating Honduras 6–0 in their tournament opener,[147] they drew Curaçao and beat El Salvador 2–0, finishing first in their group. Heavy favourites in the quarter-final against Guatemala, they held a 1–0 lead before Jacob Shaffelburg was sent off with a red card. The Guatemalans subsequently tied the game, before prevailing 6–5 on penalties. Canada's performance in the tournament was widely criticized.[148][149][150]
Canada has a rivalry with the United States, stemming from a generally friendly rivalry between the two countries. The two teams frequently face each other in the Gold Cup. With 42 matches played, the United States currently leads the series with 19 wins, 12 draws, and 11 losses, outscoring the Canadians 66–47.
On June 18, 2023, the United States defeated Canada 2–0 in the 2022–23 CONCACAF Nations League final in Las Vegas, Nevada, marking the first time the two nations faced each other in the final of a major CONCACAF tournament.[152] Three weeks later, the U.S. eliminated Canada 3–2 on penalties in the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup quarter-final.
The following 20 players, along with one training player were selected for the January training camp and B-level friendly match against Guatemala on January 17, 2026 (as a B-level match, it did not count as an official cap for players). Due to falling outside of an official FIFA international window, the squad features players from leagues that are in their off-season, such as Major League Soccer, the Canadian Premier League, and the Swedish Allsvenskan.[159] On January 8, Jacob Shaffelburg withdrew due to injury and was replaced by Malik Henry.[160] On January 13, it was announced that Marcelo Flores would not attend the Canada camp because he was ineligible to play in the friendly match against Guatemala.[161] Caps and goals as of November 18, 2025, after the match against Venezuela.
As of November 18, 2025, the complete official match record of the Canada men's national team comprises 472 matches: 178 wins, 109 draws and 185 losses.[165] During these matches, the team scored 604 times and conceded 595 goals. Canada's highest winning margin is 11 goals, which was achieved against the Cayman Islands in 2021 (11–0).[166] Their longest winning streak is eight wins,[167] and their unbeaten record is 15 consecutive official matches.
↑Deshaies, Antoine. "La Coupe oubliée". ICI Radio-Canada.ca (in Canadian French). Archived from the original on November 13, 2017. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
↑Stokkermans, Karel (July 17, 2014). "World Cup 2002 Qualifying". Rsssf.com. Archived from the original on November 5, 2018. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
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2 (January 19, 2026) [1] 
Australia 3–2 Canada 
Cayman Islands 0–11 Canada 
Mexico 8–0 Canada 
