Canadian National Football Team / World Championships

Canada
Canada

World Cup record goalscorer:	none
World Cup record players:	Ian Bridge , Bob Lenarduzzi , David Norman , Branko Šegota and Carl Valentine (3 each)
Rank :	72
Balance sheet
3 World Cup games 0 wins 0 draws 3 defeats 0: 5 goals
statistics
First World Cup game Canada 0: 1 France León ( MEX ); June 1, 1986
Biggest World Cup defeats Canada 0: 2 Hungary Irapuato ( MEX ); June 6, 1986 Canada 0-2 USSR Irapuato ( MEX ); June 9, 1986
successes
World Championship
Participation in the finals	1 ( first : 1986 )
Best results	Preliminary round, 1986
Best placements in the countries that host the FIFA World Cup
(Status: after the 2018 World Cup )

The article contains a detailed description of the Canadian national soccer team at soccer world championships. Canada has so far only participated in a World Cup finals and was eliminated in the preliminary round without scoring a goal. Canada occupies 72nd place in the all-time table of World Cup finalists .

Overview

year	Host country	Participation until ...	Last opponent	Result	Trainer	Comments and special features
1930	Uruguay	not participated
1934	Italy	not participated
1938	France	not participated
1950	Brazil	not participated
1954	Switzerland	not participated
1958	Sweden	not qualified
1962	Chile	withdrawn
1966	England	not participated
1970	Mexico	not qualified				In the qualifiers in the first round at the US failed, which also failed to qualify.
1974	Germany	not qualified				In the qualifiers in the first round of the Mexico failed, which also failed to qualify.
1978	Argentina	not qualified				Mexico failed again in the second round of qualification .
1982	Spain	not qualified				In the qualification in the final tournament as third in the group failed at El Salvador and Honduras .
1986	Mexico	Preliminary round	France , Hungary , USSR	24.	Tony Waiters	Eliminated after three defeats as bottom of the group.
1990	Italy	not qualified				In the qualifying in the preliminary round of Guatemala failed, which also could not qualify.
1994	United States	not qualified				In the qualification in the intercontinental qualification in the first round to Australia failed after penalties. Australia then lost to Argentina in the second round .
1998	France	not qualified				In the qualification in the final round failed as a group Last of six participants.
2002	South Korea / Japan	not qualified				In the qualification in the intermediate round to Trinidad and Tobago and Mexico failed, of which Trinidad and Tobago could not qualify either.
2006	Germany	not qualified				In the qualification in the 3rd round failed to Costa Rica and Guatemala , which could not qualify either.
2010	South Africa	not qualified				In the qualifying in the third round of Honduras and Mexico failed.
2014	Brazil	not qualified				In the qualification , Canada failed in the 3rd round to Honduras and Panama .
2018	Russia	not qualified				In the qualification , the team met Dominica in the second round in June 2015 and prevailed. Canada eliminated Belize in the third round . In the fourth round, Canada failed to Mexico and Honduras .
2022	Qatar
2026	Canada, Mexico and USA

Statistics (data including 2014: 20 World Championships; percentages are rounded)

• Athletic qualification: 1 × (5% or 8% of the attempts)
• No participation: 6 times (30%; 1930, 1934, 1938, 1950, 1954 and 1966)
• Withdrawn: 1 × (5%; 1962)
• Unqualified: 12 × (60%; 1958, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014)
• Preliminary round: 1 × (5%; 1986)

1930 to 1954

Although the Canadian Soccer Association was founded in 1912 and has been a FIFA member since 1913, the team did not take part in the first five World Cups.

1958 in Sweden

The qualification for the World Cup in Sweden was then the first, took part in the Canada. On June 22, 1957, the Canadians played their first World Cup qualifier in Toronto and won 5-1 against neighboring USA . Eight days later they lost in Mexico City against Mexico with 0: 3 and the second leg four days later ibid they lost with 0: 2nd After that they won 3-2 against the USA in St. Louis , but since Mexico had also won both games against the USA, the Mexicans went to the World Cup after they had also prevailed against Costa Rica .

1962 in Chile

Eight teams from North and Central America wanted to qualify for the World Cup in Chile, including Canada. Nevertheless, the North and Central Americans were not granted a direct starting place, but the winner of the North and Central America qualification had to compete against a South American team. Canada was supposed to face Mexico and the US again, but withdrew before qualifying began. CONCACAF winners Mexico won the intercontinental relegation against Paraguay and qualified for the 1962 World Cup in Chile, where they were eliminated in the preliminary round.

1966 in England

On the qualification for the World Cup in the motherland of football Canada then also took no part. Mexico qualified for the World Cup from the CONCACAF zone, where they were eliminated in the preliminary round.

1970 in Mexico

Since Mexico was automatically qualified to host the first World Cup in Central America , this stumbling block was eliminated. 12 teams have now applied for second place on the grid. Canada had to face the USA and Bermuda in the first round . Canada and the USA won their home games, but while the USA also won in Bermuda, the Canadians only achieved a goalless draw there. With that, the USA had one point more and reached the semi-finals. There they failed because of Haiti , which was defeated in three games in the final against El Salvador .

1974 in the Federal Republic of Germany

Canada again failed to qualify for the first World Cup in Germany , as Mexico , which won all games, was too strong in the first qualifying round and was only not lost to neighboring USA (one win and one draw). To everyone's surprise, the Mexicans did not qualify either and Haiti took part in its only World Cup to date and surprised the Italians in particular .

1978 in Argentina

For the fourth World Cup in South America , Canada had to face Mexico and the USA again in the first round . Since each team won, lost and played once, they all had 4: 4 points in the end. The Mexicans had the better goal difference and were directly qualified for the second round. There was a play-off between Canada and the USA in Port-au-Prince , which Canada won 3-0 and thus advanced to the second round. This took place as the CONCACAF Nations Cup in Mexico in 1977 and Mexico used the home advantage to qualify with five wins, while Canada only finished fourth and could only win against Suriname and Guatemala .

1982 in Spain

Four years later, the CONCACAF teams were again entitled to two starting places. In qualifying for the World Cup in Spain , Mexico and the USA were again the opponents in the first round. Canada was able to take first place ahead of Mexico for the first time and thus reach the final tournament together with Mexico. This was held as the CONCACAF Nations Cup in 1981 in the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa . Surprisingly, however, both failed with equal points at Honduras , which used their home advantage and qualified for the first time, and El Salvador .

1986 in Mexico

→ Main article : Soccer World Cup 1986 / Canada

Although the Mexican national soccer team was automatically qualified to host the second World Cup in Mexico and the biggest stumbling block for the competition was eliminated, as in 1970, it was more difficult for the remaining teams to qualify for the World Cup than in 1982. Because FIFA confessed to CONCACAF -Zone next to hosts Mexico only one place in the finals. In the first round, Canada should face Jamaica. Since Jamaica withdrew, Canada got into the second round without a fight. In the second round, Guatemala and Haiti were the opponents. Canada prevailed with three wins and one draw and reached the CONCACAF finals against Costa Rica and Honduras. Canada won both games against Honduras and drew twice against Costa Rica. This was the only time Canada qualified for the World Cup finals.

In Mexico, the Canadians faced European champions France in their first World Cup match and kept the 0-0 for 78 minutes. Then Jean-Pierre Papin scored 1-0 for the favorite. It stayed that way. In the second game against Hungary they fell behind in the second minute, and in the 75th minute the Hungarians made it 2-0. With this result the last game against the USSR ended . Canada said goodbye to the World Cup for at least 36 years. Canada had not won a game, but compared with other World Cup newbies, they achieved respectable results against renowned teams. The team included seven players without a club and nine players who played in the Major Indoor Soccer League in the United States. Only three players played for smaller European clubs.

1990 in Italy

This time, as in 1982, qualifying participants in the CONCACAF zone were again entitled to two finals. And because Mexico had excluded older players from qualifying for the 1990 World Cup in Italy in a junior tournament that qualified for the 1988 Olympic Games, the chances of qualifying had increased enormously. In qualifying for the second World Cup in Italy , Canada then failed in the preliminary round to Guatemala. After a 0: 1 in Guatemala, a 3: 2 at home was not enough because the away goals rule spoke for Guatemala. Guatemala then finished fourth in the CONCACAF finals behind the USA, which qualified again after 40 years of abstinence from the World Cup, Costa Rica, which qualified for the first time, and Trinidad and Tobago .

1994 in the United States

Canada could not qualify for the World Cup in the neighboring country . In the second round, El Salvador took second place in front of Jamaica and Bermuda, which meant that the third round was reached. In this, the second place was again occupied, this time behind Mexico in front of El Salvador and Honduras. Canada had to go to the intercontinental playoffs. After a 2-1 home game against Australia , the second leg in Australia was lost 2-1. So the penalty shoot-out had to decide. Here the Australians had the better shooters and won it 4-1. But then Australia failed in the intercontinental final to Argentina .

1998 in France

For the second World Cup in France , for which three CONCACAF teams were allowed to qualify, Canada could not qualify either . In the semi-finals, the team initially prevailed together with El Salvador against Panama and Cuba by winning five games and ending one draw. In the final round, however, only the last place was occupied behind Mexico , the USA, Jamaica, which was also able to qualify for the first time, Costa Rica and El Salvador. Canada could only win the home game against Costa Rica and achieve three draws, but lost six games.

2002 in Japan and South Korea

In qualifying for the first World Cup in Asia, Canada beat Cuba 1-0 and 0-0 in the interzone qualification and thus reached the intermediate round together with Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico and Panama. Canada could only win the home game against Panama and also achieve two draws. Group winners Trinidad and Tobago only finished bottom of the group in the last round, while group runner-up Mexico qualified there, tied with the USA, as second behind Costa Rica for the World Cup finals.

2006 in Germany

Canada did not qualify for the second World Cup in Germany either . The team only had to intervene in the second round and won both games 4-0 against Belize . In the third round, only the last place in the group was occupied behind Costa Rica, Guatemala and Honduras. Only the last game in Guatemala was won 1-0 when Guatemala had already qualified for the next round. In this, however, Guatemala only finished fifth. USA, Mexico and Costa Rica qualified from the CONCACAF zone; and after an intercontinental relegation against the AFC fifth Bahrain also Trinidad and Tobago for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

2010 in South Africa

Canada did not qualify for the first World Cup in Africa either . In the second qualifying round, St. Vincent and the Grenadines were eliminated 3-0 and 4-1. Canada had to contest the third round against Honduras, Mexico and Jamaica. With two draws and four defeats in six games, Canada only finished last. Honduras and Mexico then qualified for the World Cup alongside the USA in the last round. The CONCACAF fourth Costa Rica failed in the intercontinental relegation against the CONMEBOL fifth Uruguay.

2014 in Brazil

The qualification for the second World Cup in Brazil first began well for Canada. In the second round, the team prevailed with four wins and two draws against Puerto Rico , St. Kitts and Nevis and St. Lucia . In the third round, however, only third place was taken behind Honduras and Panama. In the end, Canada had only one point less, but lost the decisive game for group victory in Honduras with 8-1. The third group opponent Cuba had nothing to do with the outcome and only achieved a draw after five defeats. After the 1: 9, coach Stephen Hart had to resign , but his three successors have not been able to change fortunes for the better. Group winners Honduras then qualified for the World Cup. Panama, on the other hand, narrowly failed: In the last game of the qualification in Panama it was 2-1 for Panama against the already qualified US-Americans until the 90th minute, whereby Panama would have reached the intercontinental playoffs in fourth place before Mexico. Then Graham Zusi and Aron Jóhannsson scored two goals in the 90th minute to make it 3-2 for the USA. As a result, Mexico was fourth and was then able to prevail against New Zealand in the playoffs. Costa Rica qualified as group runner-up in the CONCACAF finals also for the World Cup finals in Brazil.

2018 in Russia

In qualifying for the World Cup in Russia , Canada did not have to intervene until the second round and met Dominica , the winner of the first round match against the British Virgin Islands . Canada prevailed with two wins (2-0 and 4-0) and met Belize in the third round . After a home win and an away draw, Canada was in the fourth round, which was played as a group stage. There Canada finished only third behind Mexico and Honduras and eliminated together with the bottom of the table El Salvador .

Ranking of the Canadian World Cup players with the most appearances

1. Ian Bridge , Bob Lenarduzzi , David Norman , Branko Šegota and Carl Valentine - 3 appearances in one tournament

Ranking of the Canadian World Cup players with the most World Cup goals

So far none.

Players banned from World Championships

• 1986: In the second game against Hungary was Mike Sweeney , the red card and was suspended for the final group game against the USSR.

Share of players playing abroad in the World Cup squad

Legionnaires made up the largest contingent in the Canadians' only World Cup squad to date, along with seven players without a club. Only two players ( Paul Dolan and George Pakos - both one game each) played in Canada. At least nine players were not born in Canada, 3 in Scotland, 1 each in Germany, England, Italy, Yugoslavia, Trinidad & Tobago and Czechoslovakia.

Year (games)	Number (countries)	Players (stakes)
1986 (3)	13 (1 in Belgium, 1 in Northern Ireland, 1 in Scotland, 1 in Switzerland, 9 in the USA)	Igor Vrablic (2); Terry Moore (0); Colin Miller (0); Ian Bridge (3); Pasquale de Luca (0), Gerry Gray (2), Bob Lenarduzzi (3), Tino Lettieri (2), Dale Mitchell (1), David Norman (3), Branko Šegota (3), Mike Sweeney (2), Carl Valentine (3)

Games

Canada has played three World Cup games so far, all of which have been lost. Canada never played in the opening game, never against the hosts, newcomers, the defending champions or later world champions. All games are unique so far. All three losses are the highest against these opponents.

All World Cup games
No.	date	Result	opponent		venue	occasion	comment
1.	06/01/1986	0: 1	France	*	Leon ( MEX )	Preliminary round	First international match against France
2.	06/06/1986	0: 2	Hungary	*	Irapuato ( MEX )	Preliminary round	First international match against Hungary
3.	06/09/1986	0: 2	Soviet Union	*	Irapuato ( MEX )	Preliminary round	Only international match against the USSR

Negative records

• Canada is one of the five of the 79 World Cup finals who have not yet scored a goal. All of them have only taken part in a World Cup finals: the Netherlands Indies (1938), Zaire (1974), Canada (1986), China (2002) and Trinidad & Tobago (2006)

See also

• Soccer World - Statistics - Canada on fifa.com
• fifa.com: "Statistical overview: records and milestones"

References and footnotes

1. ↑ The placements from 5th place onwards were determined by FIFA without any placement games. See: All-time FIFA World Cup Ranking 1930–2010 (PDF; 200 kB)
2. ↑ weltfussball.de "Panama - USA 2: 3"