Page 46 - Sports Energy News, Cornwall, Issue No 139

46 Issue 139 August 2024 www.sportsenergynews.com

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Stories And More About The People In Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry
Canada’s men’s football team has never won a World Cup match. Will their recent fourth

place finish in Copa America provide the leverage they need to finally win a World Cup
game in 2026?

Jake Lapierre - Conditioning Coach - Canada’s men soccer team performance at Copa America this year has certainly opened
floodgates of enthusiasm for soccer fans across Canada. The popularity of soccer (football) around the world cannot be ignored.
Canadian players and fans can stand up and declare that Canada can competitively compete globally. The squad made history
finishing in fourth place, losing in semi-final action to the World Cup Champions Argentina. Canadian players surprised the
competition and were considered serious contenders by demonstrating tenacity, heart, drive, and talent, and competed at a
high level throughout the competition. If soccer teams around the world were disregarding the Canadian men’s soccer team
competitiveness in the past, I would suspect they’re paying attention now! Does Canada have the leverage to win a World Cup game in 2026?
Iceland reached the World Cup finals in 2018; I would have to say Canada’s chances of winning a World Cup game are pretty good!

Jim Riddell - Seaway Karate Club - The 2026 World Cup will be a 39 day tournament jointly hosted by Canada, Mexico, and
the USA. Thirteen of the 104 games will be played in Canada, 7 in Vancouver and 6 in Toronto. This will be Canada’s third
time competing in the World Cup tournament, having been there previously in 1986 and again in 2022, losing all three of their
preliminary round matches on both occasions. Canada has been improving in men’s soccer and are currently ranked at #40
by FIFA, following their 4th place finish at the Copa America tournament. They now have the next 22 months to build on this
success, improve the roster, and prepare for 2026. The number of teams competing in the 2026 World Cup has been increased

from 32 to 48, meaning that 16 of those teams would not have qualified previously. Canada will be playing all three of its preliminary matches
in front of a home crowd, one game will be in Toronto, the other two in Vancouver. Also, host countries often end up with more favourable
matchups in the preliminary round. There are certainly no guarantees, but Canada will be in very good position to win a game or two at the
2026 World Cup.

Peter Collins - Sports Enthusiast - Based on their Copa results, Canada men’s soccer team moved from forty-eighth to fortieth
in the latest FIFA rankings. Improving their ranking by eight places is significant and bodes well for future success including
the 2026 World Cup. There are many other factors that will play into how they perform in 2026. Factors such as what pool
they are placed in and how healthy they are from an injury point of view. Because we are a host country along with the United
States and Mexico, we may get that home field advantage benefit from playing on familiar turf. Lastly, Canada has shown it can
compete with the best teams in the world. If they can start to convert some of their scoring chances, a World Cup win and the
possibility of advancing to the next rounds may be in their future.