If the past 12 months are anything to go by then 2026 should be a banner year for Canadian soccer.
While the women’s team failed to impress under new coach Casey Stoney, the men’s side made a lot of progress and racked up some impressive wins while looking ahead to next summer’s FIFA World Cup.
Vancouver Rise FC flew under the radar during the regular season of the inaugural Northern Super League campaign before hitting its peak in the playoffs and defeating AFC Toronto in the final to be crowned the league’s first champions.
Internationally, Paris Saint-Germain enjoyed a banner year by breezing to the Ligue title, winning the French Cup and claiming its first ever UEFA Champions League crown by defeating Inter Milan in the final in Munich.
What will next year bring? Here are five bold predictions for 2026.
Canada reaches round of 16 at FIFA World Cup
Having lost all six of its previous games during its two World Cup appearances (in 1986 and 2022), the Canadian men’s team will finally come good next summer on home soil when it not only wins its first tournament game but also advances to the round of 16.
It’s a tough group stage schedule for Canada with an opening match in Toronto against Italy (Yes, the Azzurri will qualify — another bold prediction) and then a stern final test against Switzerland in Vancouver. But a victory in the second game against Qatar (one of the weakest countries in the 48-nation field) is a sure thing for the Canadians who will take full advantage of playing at home to collect four out of six points to move on to the knockout round.
Finishing second in Group B would ensure a round of 32 matchup against the second-place team in Group A — most likely South Korea, South Africa or Mexico in Los Angeles. Mexico isn’t what it used to be so even the prospect of facing them in L.A. (a city with a massive Mexican population) shouldn’t scare the Canadians who have more than enough quality in their starting 11 and on the bench to match up with any team from Group A.
Colombia wins FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup hasn’t produced a first-time winner on the men’s side since the 2010 tournament in South Africa when Spain hoisted the trophy after defeating the Netherlands in the final in Johannesburg. Before that, it was France in 1998 when it won the World Cup for the first time on home soil in 1998.
Colombia will join the first-timers club next year when it wins the World Cup after failing to qualify for the 2022 tournament in Qatar and finishing as runners-up at last summer’s Copa America.
Los Cafeteros impressively finished third in South American World Cup qualifying with a 7-7-4 record, behind Argentina and Ecuador, and just ahead of Uruguay and Brazil. They also had the second-best attack during the South American qualifiers with 28 goals, led by Bayern Munich’s Luis Diaz. Head coach Nestor Lorenzo's roster is a mix of players who ply their trade with top clubs in South America, Mexico and Europe, including Diaz and Galatasaray defender Davinson Sanchez.
Vancouver Whitecaps win MLS Cup
By reaching the MLS Cup earlier this month, the Vancouver Whitecaps delivered a stern warning to the other 29 teams in the league that it was sick and tired of being overlooked.
True, the Whitecaps lost 3-1 to Lionel Messi and Inter Miami in the final, but the West Coast club announced itself in a big way in 2025 by firmly establishing itself as one of the league’s superpowers. Vancouver will take the next step in its evolution in 2026 by becoming only the second Canadian team to win the MLS Cup, joining Toronto FC, who turned the trick in 2017.
The Whitecaps are, top to bottom, one of the deepest teams in the MLS with quality at every position. World Cup winner Thomas Muller, who joined the team this summer, by now has come to terms with the uniqueness of the MLS and will be able to hit the ground running in 2026 with a full pre-season under his belt.
With a strong supporting cast in place, including fellow attacker Sebastian Berhalter (MLS Best XI in 2025), Canadian international Ali Ahmed and 2025 defender of the year Tristan Blackmon, Muller will guide the Whitecaps to glory next year.
AFC Toronto wins Northern Super League title
AFC Toronto were unquestionably the best team in the Northern Super League for most of 2025. Toronto won the Supporters’ Shield as the regular season champions and placed four of its players on the league’s all-star team. But after dismantling Montreal Roses FC in the semifinals of the playoffs, Toronto fell short in suffering a 1-0 home loss to Vancouver Rise FC in the final last month.
“Congrats to Vancouver … They found a way to do it,” said Toronto coach Marko Milanovic, who bemoaned the number of scoring chances his team didn’t put away. He later added: “Sometimes in football that’s what happens — you get punished.”
Most of Toronto’s squad will be back for next season, including NSL rookie of the year Kaylee Hunter, fellow top-scoring forward Esther Okoronkwo and influential midfielder Emma Regan. The pain of the disappointing loss to Vancouver won’t go away and will only motivate AFC Toronto who will make amends by lifting the Diana B. Matheson Cup as next year’s league champions.
Paris Saint-Germain repeats as UEFA Champions League winners
PSG has hardly missed a beat since earning a 5-0 win over Italian giants Inter Milan in last season’s final. The French super club is well on its way to advancing to the knockout round of this season’s competition by winning four of its six games in the first round and is battling it out with RC Lens atop the table in Ligue 1. They added another trophy to their bulging cabinet last week when they beat Brazilian outfit Flamengo in the FIFA Intercontinental Cup final held in Qatar.
The bulk of last year’s Champions League-winning team remain in place at PSG, including top forward Ousmane Dembele who won this year’s Ballon d’Or award. Manager Luis Enrique has kept his squad of super stars well motivated ever since beating Inter in the final and the team looks as hungry as ever. So, look for Enrique’s men to finish off the first round of the Champions League with a flurry of wins and then systematically progress through the knockout round before toppling their opponent in the final next May in Budapest to become only the third team since 1990 to repeat as champions.
John Molinaro is one of the leading soccer journalists in Canada, having covered the game for over 20 years for several media outlets, including Sportsnet, CBC Sports and Sun Media. He is currently the editor-in-chief of TFC Republic, a website dedicated to in-depth coverage of Toronto FC and Canadian soccer. TFC Republic can be found here.
