Canada gets eliminated from World Cup in the second group round

Canada lost its second male World Cup match against Croatia. The 2018 runner-up sentenced the Canadian squad to go home with four goals against one. The game was a fight, but the North American team couldn't hold Luka Modric's men.

Despite losing, Alphonso Davies made the first goal in a male World Cup in Canadian history. That achievement was a suitable mend after failing a penalty in Canadian's debut against Belgium.

Davies's goal was not only historic for Canada but also for the entire tournament. It was one of the fastest points in any World Cup match, at 68 seconds. It now holds the 15th position in the championship and the second position in Concacaf, just below a Clint Dempsey goal for the U.S. against Ghana in 2014.

Canada played its first World Cup match in 36 years against Belgium, one of the favorites and second in the FIFA world ranking. Despite losing, Canada showed that it is a team to watch, much more than it did against Croatia.

During the first World Cup game, Canada made 21 unsuccessful shots, proving the team lacks power on the front lines. Belgium made less than half the attempts, 9, and one goal. Herdman's team had the same problem in the first half against Croatia, but it deflated in the second half.

The match was a fight, like Canada's debut against Belgium. The team had the same ball possession precision and made more passes than Croatia. The main difference was in the shots to the goal: the European squad made ten and the North American only two.

Losing the chance to play in the knock-out stage did not change the fact that Canada faced a historic moment: the team's first World Cup in 36 years, after qualifying in the best place for the first time in CONCACAF history. The squad can still go home with 3 points if they win the last match against Morroco.

The coach, Jhon Herdman, led the female team from 2011 to 2018. He is the first coach in Canadian history to have taken both national teams (male and female) to a World Cup. According to TSN, Herdman moved the team 32 positions up in the world rankings in 2021.

The 39-year-old captain has played 97 times for the national team. Hutchinson has won the Canadian Player of the Year award six times in a row, and Canada Soccer named him to the all-time Canada XI men's team.

Hutchinson is the only one on the team born before Canada's last appearance in a World Cup. The squad has a group of young, promising players currently performing in major European leagues. That includes: Alphonso Davies, French club Lille striker Jonathan David, Stephen Eustáquio (FC Porto), Milan Borjan (Red Star Belgrade), and Cyle Larin and Tajon Buchanan of Belgium's Club Brugge.

Larin leads the goal count in Team Canada, with 25 goals for the national team, including six in the final round of CONCACAF qualifying. The 27-year-old is a forward for Belgium Club Brugge, the current winner of the local league.

Jonathan David plays for French club Lille, the winner of the domestic league and Super Cup of France in 2021, after facing Paris SJ, a club with prominent figures like Messi, Mbapé, and Neymar. He has the second-best goal count in Team Canada with 22 goals, the same as his age.

In 2020, Alphonso Davies became the first Canadian to play in the UEFA Champions League. The midfielder did more than that: Bayern Munich, his team, won two national championships, two European and the World Club Cup. The 22-year-old player won rookie of the year in Germany in 2019 and the CONCACAF Player of the Year Award this year.

Team Canada performed well in the world cup, but the better opportunity for a team this young is still in the next one in 2026. According to analysts, the new generation can have an outstanding role. Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. will host the international championship.

Team Canada arrived in Doha with mixed feelings. The squad deflated during its first five friendlies, with two wins, two losses, and a tie. The group was missing captain Atiba Hutchison and Johnathan Osorio, who plays for Toronto FC, in the first four games due to injuries. But in the last friendly, they won against a powerful Japan that beat Germany 2-1 on the same day Canada had their first match.

With their run in the World Cup over, Canada Soccer has a chance to tackle payment issues with the male and female players. In June, the mal team refused to play in a friendly against Panama because of strained labor negotiations. According to TSN, Canada's national teams (female and male) believe they are entitled to a share of the $10 million FIFA bonus they earned by qualifying. According to Global News, the tussle is also over player image rights.

TSN reported that Canada Soccer reached an agreement with star Alphonso Davies for him to receive royalties for sales of his national team jersey. The Federation did not offer other players similar conditions. Mac Ross, an academic specializing in sport and human rights, told Global News that it is a "head-scratcher" that Canada Soccer did not have anything in place already, considering the "popularization of high-level soccer in Canada."

The women's team is also negotiating their payments with Canada Soccer. The previous agreement expired in December 2021. According to Global News, female players have not received equivalent image deals, despite being far more successful than the male team. Ross told the outlet: "there has been no urgency to compensate people like Christine Sinclair for all the jerseys she sold."

According to Global News, Canada Soccer president Nick Bontis said the labor negotiations with both national teams would lead to a "historical" deal for pay equity. That has become an important issue, considering the 2026 World Cup and Canadian participation as a host. The female team has participated in every World Cup since 1995 and won the Olympic gold medal in 2021.