Canada at the FIFA World Cup
International football delegation
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The Canada men's national soccer team have played at the FIFA World Cup on three occasions: in 1986, 2022, and 2026.[1][2][3][4] For most other editions of the World Cup, Canada has not succeeded in gaining one of the places reserved for the North American CONCACAF teams.[5]
Canada made their World Cup debut in 1986, but were eliminated in the group stage after failing to win a single match. In 2022, Canada qualified for the World Cup for only the second time in history, ending a 36-year drought.[6] Four years later, Canada automatically qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup as co-hosts (together with the United States and Mexico). At this World Cup, Canada earned their first-ever group stage point in a 1–1 draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina and their first-ever World Cup match win six days later in a decisive 6–0 win over Qatar, the widest win margin for a CONCACAF team in World Cup history,[7][8] with Jonathan David scoring the first World Cup hat-trick for a host nation since Geoff Hurst in 1966.[9]
Record at the FIFA World Cup
Overall record
| FIFA World Cup record | Qualification record | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Squad | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | ||
| 1930 to 1954 | Did not enter | Did not enter | |||||||||||||||
 1958 |
Did not qualify | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 8 | ||||||||||
 1962 |
Withdrew | Withdrew | |||||||||||||||
 1966 |
Did not enter | Did not enter | |||||||||||||||
 1970 |
Did not qualify | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 3 | ||||||||||
 1974 |
4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 7 | |||||||||||
 1978 |
10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 11 | |||||||||||
 1982 |
9 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 10 | 9 | |||||||||||
| 1986 |
Group stage | 24th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | Squad | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 4 | ||
 1990 |
Did not qualify | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | ||||||||||
 1994 |
14 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 22 | 20 | |||||||||||
 1998 |
16 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 15 | 21 | |||||||||||
  2002 |
8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 | |||||||||||
| 2006 |
8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 8 | |||||||||||
 2010 |
8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 13 | 14 | |||||||||||
 2014 |
12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 24 | 11 | |||||||||||
 2018 |
10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 9 | |||||||||||
 2022 |
Group stage | 31st | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | Squad | 20 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 54 | 8 | ||
 2026 |
Round of 16 | 14th | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 6 | Squad | Qualified as co-hosts | |||||||
  2030 |
To be determined | To be determined | |||||||||||||||
 2034 | |||||||||||||||||
| Total: 3/23 | Round of 16 | 14th | 11 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 11 | 18 | — | 137 | 62 | 38 | 37 | 215 | 144 | ||
By match
| World Cup | Round | Opponent | Score | Result | Location | Canada scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Group C |  France | 0–1 | L | León | — |
 Hungary | 0–2 | L | Irapuato | — | ||
 Soviet Union | 0–2 | L | Irapuato | — | ||
| 2022 |
Group F |  Belgium | 0–1 | L | Al Rayyan | — |
 Croatia | 1–4 | L | Al Rayyan | A. Davies | ||
| Morocco | 1–2 | L | Doha | N. Aguerd (o.g.) | ||
| 2026 |
Group B |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1–1 | D | Toronto | C. Larin |
| Qatar | 6–0 | W | Vancouver | C. Larin, J. David (3), N. Saliba, M. Manai (o.g.) | ||
 Switzerland | 1–2 | L | Vancouver | P. David | ||
| Round of 32 | South Africa | 1–0 | W | Inglewood | S. Eustáquio | |
| Round of 16 | Morocco | 0–3 | L | Houston | — |
1986 FIFA World Cup
Group C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Soviet Union |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 | +8 | 5 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | France |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 5 | |
| 3 | Hungary |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 9 | −7 | 2 | |
| 4 | Canada |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | −5 | 0 |
| Soviet Union | 2–0 | Canada |
|---|---|---|
Blokhin  58'Zavarov 74' |
Report |
2022 FIFA World Cup
Group stage
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Morocco |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 7 | Advanced to knockout stage |
| 2 | Croatia |
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 5 | |
| 3 | Belgium |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 4 | |
| 4 | Canada |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 0 |
2026 FIFA World Cup
Group stage
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Switzerland |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Canada (H) |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 3 | +5 | 4[a] | |
| 3 | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 4[a] | |
| 4 | Qatar |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 10 | −8 | 1 |
- Tied on head-to-head result (Canada 1–1 Bosnia and Herzegovina). Overall goal difference was used as the tiebreaker.
| Canada | 1–1 | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
|---|---|---|
|
[Report 4] |
|
Knockout stage
- Round of 32
| South Africa | 0–1 | Canada |
|---|---|---|
| [Report 7] |
|
- Round of 16
Player records
Most appearances
| Rank | Player | Matches | World Cups |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tajon Buchanan | 8 | 2022 and 2026 |
| Jonathan David | 8 | 2022 and 2026 | |
| Alistair Johnston | 8 | 2022 and 2026 | |
| Richie Laryea | 8 | 2022 and 2026 | |
| 5 | Stephen Eustáquio | 7 | 2022 and 2026 |
| Cyle Larin | 7 | 2022 and 2026 | |
| 7 | Maxime Crépeau | 5 | 2026 |
| Luc de Fougerolles | 5 | 2026 | |
| Ismaël Koné | 5 | 2022 and 2026 | |
| Tani Oluwaseyi | 5 | 2026 | |
| Jonathan Osorio | 5 | 2022 and 2026 | |
| Jacob Shaffelburg | 5 | 2026 |
Goalscorers
On November 27, 2022, Alphonso Davies scored Canada's first-ever FIFA World Cup goal, coming in the second minute of their second group stage match against Croatia in Al Rayyan.
| Player | Goals | 1986 | 2022 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonathan David | 3 | 3 | ||
| Cyle Larin | 2 | 2 | ||
| Alphonso Davies | 1 | 1 | ||
| Promise David | 1 | 1 | ||
| Stephen Eustáquio | 1 | 1 | ||
| Nathan Saliba | 1 | 1 | ||
| Own goals | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Total | 11 | 0 | 2 | 9 |
Head-to-head record
| Opponent | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 0.00 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +0 | 0.00 |
| Croatia |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 0.00 |
| France |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 0.00 |
| Hungary |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | −2 | 0.00 |
| Morocco |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 0.00 |
| Qatar |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | +6 | 100.00 |
| South Africa |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 100.00 |
| Soviet Union |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | −2 | 0.00 |
| Switzerland |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 0.00 |
| Total | 11 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 11 | 18 | −7 | 18.18 |