With the 2022 World Cup tournament about to kick off, Canada is ready to thrive in the underdog role, which has led the Canadian team to unprecedented success in making it to Qatar.
Canada is in one of the most difficult groups in the World Cup. In terms of the average FIFA world ranking, the country was drawn from among the lowest-ranked teams and joined the trio of teams with the highest average rank: Belgium, Croatia, and Morocco.
Canada begins the World Cup on Nov. 23 against No. 2-ranked Belgium, followed by 2018 World Cup runner-up Croatia on Nov. 27, and ends against No. 22-ranked Morocco on Dec. 1. If Canada finishes among the top two, it advances to the Round of 16.
Ranked No. 41, Canada has not faced European opposition as part of its preparation for this World Cup. And it no longer has the incredible momentum it had during the final round of qualification when it finished atop its region CONCACAF, or the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football.
But the team is well-versed in doing the unexpected.
‘Sky’s the Limit’
Midfielder Liam Miller said Canada is going to Qatar to compete, not just to participate. He believes the “sky’s the limit” for the team and that when a team has nothing to lose, it is a lot more dangerous.
“I came to play, and say I played excellent in a World Cup,” he said.
Miller, who plays for a club in Belgium, said Canada has “been underdogs 99 percent of the games we’ve gone into,” and the World Cup is “just another opportunity to prove people wrong in terms of what we can do in this tournament.”
It was highly unexpected that Canada would win the final qualification tournament to reach the World Cup, given that the last time Canada reached that level was in 1997.
Canada’s attitude can be summarized in Alphonso Davies’ viral tweet on Nov. 13: “A kid born in a refugee camp wasn’t supposed to make it! But here we are GOING TO THE WORLD CUP. Don’t let no one tell you that your dreams are unrealistic. KEEP DREAMING, KEEP ACHIEVING!”
Davies’s story is well-known among fans of the Canadian team. He came to Canada as a refugee from Ghana, developed in Edmonton and Vancouver, and now plays for the biggest club in Germany, FC Bayern Munich.
The Canadians have thus been surprising a lot of people, and would surprise even more if they manage to not finish last in their group.
TSN’s “The Ranking Show” ranked all 32 World Cup teams and ranked Canada 24th.
