We’ve had moments. Fleeting glimpses, brief visions.
Four years ago, as the ball hung in the air, swung in beautifully from Tajon Buchanan to a galloping Alphonso Davies, we caught sight of it. Canada, on the World Cup stage, against a hallowed football nation, conjuring magic.
It wasn’t just the finish, it was everything that came before. It was keeper Milan Borjan sending the ball soaring halfway down the pitch before the fans were even settled in their seats. It was Cyle Larin bringing it down with ease, urging his side on. It was Buchanan collecting, pausing, taking a few strides and whipping that divine cross into the box.
And it was Davies, charging forward all the while, leaping into the air and sending the ball careening past Croatian keeper Dominik Livakovic. A display of our daring, of our ingenuity, of our quality.
The glory was brief, but it was ours. The first World Cup goal ever scored by men representing our flag. It held weight. And for just a second, before the experience and brilliance of the Croatians upended our revelry, it let us see what it all could look like one day: Canada as a bona fide player at the sport’s highest level. For just a second, it was real.
But we’ve had our moments. In ’86, we made our World Cup debut as an unlikely underdog, a quirky historical footnote. In ’22 came our long-awaited return, an emerging talent, but still grateful just to be involved. But that was only the start. Here, in 2026, we look for more.
Here, the World Cup arrives on our soil with Canada firmly a football nation. It arrives in a country whose kids play soccer more than any other sport, whose men’s team is led by talents making their mark on clubs throughout Europe, whose women’s team has already made the climb and touched the summit.
After stepping into the bright lights four years ago, Canada returns to the World Cup in 2026 with an eye on turning potential into performance. On finding our first victory, our first tangible success, our first journey just a little bit deeper into this tournament. The next step for our program awaits, and our promise is undeniable.
It comes not from the occasion, not from the tournament having come to our stadiums. The promise is in the squad itself, in the men who wear our colours.
It’s in Davies, our world-class gem. The greatest talent our nation has ever produced on a soccer pitch. It’s in Moise Bombito, the pivotal game-changer on our back line.
And even as injuries threaten to rob us of these two essential talents, our spirits won’t be dampened. Because it’s in Jonathan David too, our Iceman, our record-breaking, cold-blooded finisher. It’s in Buchanan, our dancer on the wing, and Ismael Koné, our whirling dervish in midfield.
It’s in Cyle Larin, and Promise David, bringing veteran poise and uninhibited dynamism to our attack. It’s in our midfield engine, Stephen Eustáquio, and the creative flair of Liam Millar and Ali Ahmed. It’s in our young wonder on the back line, Luc de Fougerolles, and the understated leader beside him, Derek Cornelius. It’s in our stoic keeper, Maxime Crépeau, standing guard in our goal.
And it’s in our heart-and-soul vets — Richie Laryea, Alistair Johnston, and Jonathan Osorio — who’ve set the standard, who’ve bled for the shirt, who remind us each time they wear it what this all means.
The promise is in this group that plays with pace and passion and courage. That hounds the opposition, looks to put them on their heels, looks to turn them and dizzy them and push them back.
And it’s in the man who leads them, the belief he’s instilled. It’s in Jesse Marsch, the American who’s become so enamoured with our country that he stands arm-in-arm with us and bellows our anthem, denounces those who try to tread on our name, and waxes poetic on the values we hold dear.
Now, he leads us back onto that hallowed World Cup stage, back under the lights. And if we take him at his word, more glory waits just over the horizon.
The former Leeds United manager has told anyone who will listen that this squad is the best Canadian men’s national team ever fielded, that there is real potential here. His group steps into this tournament looking for more than just keepsakes and mementos, more than photos to pin up on our walls, saying we were there, saying we were part of it. This time, they arrive looking to move the needle, looking to lift our ceiling.
Still, as we approach our greatest era, we cannot discount all that got us here. Like that arcing cross four years ago, curling through the air, picking out our captain, it’s about more than the finish. It’s the buildup, too. All those moments. Everything that came before.
That Canada kit covered in snow, Larin lying in the Commonwealth Stadium grass, hands in the air, mobbed by adoring teammates. Davies sprinting down the wing at BMO Field, pulling the ball off the line, dancing in the box and fluttering the twine. David’s heavenly chip at the Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano, into the clouds, then just below the bar.
It’s all of it. Each a stone in the path, urging us on, carrying us toward this moment.
Now, we go forward.
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