Canada predictions, squad details, manager and tournament odds for the World Cup 2022, brought to you by the Ranks FC team.
It’s been a long wait - 36 years to be exact - but Canada are back in the World Cup finals for the first time since 1986.
Who is the Canada manager?
Led by John Herdman, who has no notable playing experience and had only managed in women’s football before taking the Maple Leafs’ reins, there’s a refreshing novelty that pervades this exciting team.
What tactics can we expect from them at the World Cup?
Canada’s tactical blueprint is pretty consistent, and the shape is based around getting 2 or 3 key players into the best possible positions.
They line up in a 3-4-3 shape that counter-attack with venom—and you should expect to see that style adopted against all 3 of Belgium, Croatia and Morocco.
They have a lot of speed to offer on the break and combine it with some defensive grit at the other end. Canada played some good stuff in qualifying, but the level of opponent is about to increase dramatically. As a result, expect them to be hanging in there rather than dominant.
Who are the players to watch for Canada?
Alphonso Davies plays a true attacking role for his nation, pushed forward from his club position of left-back as he’s simply too good for Canada to have him in defence.
No matter what his starting position, opponents freak out when Davies is driving forward with the ball at his feet, and he’s both a strong creative and goalscoring option for the Maple Leafs. He’s also the guy who can lead the lightning-fast counter-attacks Canada will consider their golden ticket to success in this World Cup.
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Who is favourite to be top scorer for Canada?
The star striker in Canada’s ranks is Jonathan David, but the actual top goalscorer is Cyle Larin.
Back in January he notched his 25th for his nation, making him their all-time record scorer, and he scored 13 in total in qualifying for this tournament.
Where David is a more complete forward, a facilitator as well as a scorer, Larin is a pure 9. Despite the former being clearly the better player, it’s more likely the latter will find himself on the scoresheet.
How did Canada qualify for the World Cup?
Those 13 goals from Larin powered Canada to top spot in the CONCACAF standings. That’s right—they went 36 years without qualifying, then leapt in front of the USA, Mexico and Costa Rica to become the pride of North America.
They scored the most goals, conceded the fewest and qualified upon beating Jamaica 4-0 in front of a disbelieving home crowd, with 1 game to spare and all.
What are the ambitions for this Canada team?
Qualifying’s the easy bit, though. The World Cup draw provided a bit of a reality check for Canada, who now face Belgium, Croatia and Morocco. On paper they’re the weakest side, and they’re clearly the least experienced in a tournament setting too.
Canada World Cup Odds
At 500/1, Canada are very unlikely to win the World Cup but they do have regular starters for Bayern Munich, Porto and Lille at their disposal which is why they aren’t longer.
Getting out of this group would be a massive achievement. There won’t be an expectation to do so, though, and the odds are Canada play just 3 games in Qatar.
