(AP) The pressure on Canada is immense, as one of the three host nations, to advance beyond the group stage at a World Cup for the first time.
Canada is in Group B alongside Switzerland, Qatar, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, which knocked Italy out in the European play-offs for a spot at the World Cup.
The Canadians will play all three of their matches at home, which will undoubtedly mean large crowds of red-clad supporters cheering them on.
Known more for hockey, Canada hopes to leave a mark in football as one of the co-hosts of the sport’s biggest event.
Canada has appeared at the World Cup twice before, in Mexico 1986 and 2022. But it has never advanced past the group stage.
Their American coach Jesse Marsch expects the team’s “aggressive, confident, and rugged” style of play to make an impact in this year’s tournament.
“I’ve simply tried to bring a style of football that leverages and reveals their raw abilities and their commitment at the highest level of how this sport is played, and I think they’ve enjoyed it, I’ve enjoyed it, and I think the people watching the team have enjoyed it,” Marsch said.
Canada finished last in its group at Qatar four years ago, but Alphonso Davies scored the nation’s first World Cup goal in a 4-1 defeat to Croatia.
