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In a lot of ways, the 2022 FIFA World Cup was the turning point for the Canadian men’s team.
The tournament in Qatar saw Canada face Belgium (ranked No. 2 in the world at the time) and eventual tournament semi-finalists Morocco and Croatia. The Canadians bowed out in the group stage with three losses and having scored only one goal.
But that small taste of going up against the top nations in the world made the Canadians hungry for more. Much more. Only by routinely testing itself against the best teams in international soccer can Canada hope to become a competitive force when it co-hosts the 2026 World Cup. It’ll still have to face Concacaf rivals going forward from time to time. But there’s no turning back at this point for Canada if it’s truly interested in becoming an elite soccer nation.
As luck would have, newly appointed coach Jesse Marsch’s first two games in charge saw Canada, No. 49 in the FIFA rankings, take on No. 7 Netherlands and No. 2 France in a span of four days, the type of opponents his team should be facing on a regular basis in order to take the next step in its evolution.
“Our end vision, our end goal is two years from now [the 2026 World Cup]. And we’re just starting our process,” Marsch said. “It’s almost unfair to have your first match against the Dutch and your second against the French. But so what? We’ve got to grow up as a team, we’ve got to grow up as a football nation and we’ve got to figure out ways to get better.