Canada World Cup squad 2022: The expected final team and starting XI for Qatar
Manager John Herdman led Canada to its first men’s Football World Cup since 1986 and the country’s second ever. Now, as history goes, it’s time to get started. The Canada 26-man squad will be determined shortly and the selected players will shock the World Cup in Qatar. These schedules must be locked by Monday 14 November at the latest. FIFA World Cup 2022 fans can buy Canada Football World Cup Tickets from our website.
The expanded “release list” of 55 people was moved about a month earlier, with a deadline of Friday, October 21. The names on the 26-man roster come from the 55-man reserve team.
The World Cup warm-ups against Qatar and Uruguay in September are the last chance for the bubble players to make their case for Herdman before returning to the club’s squad. The next time they don Canada’s colours will be at a World Cup training camp in November in preparation for their Group F opener against second-placed Belgium.
Canada FIFA World Cup squad for Qatar 2022
As all countries have done prior to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Canada will select a full squad for the World Cup in Qatar. John Herdman has 26 options to choose from, as the roster grows slightly larger than the usual 23 players.
Given the small number of players Herdman uses, his close-knit core has given him far fewer primary options for travelling to Qatar.
Predicted Canada squad for 2022 FIFA World Cup
| Position | Player | Club | Age | Caps | 2022 World Cup Qualifiers |
| GK | Milan Borjan | Red Star Belgrade (SRB) | 34 | 65 | 10 |
| GK | Maxime Crepeau | LAFC (USA) | 28 | 15 | 4 |
| GK | Dayne St. Clair | Minnesota United (USA) | 25 | 1 | 0 |
| DEF | Sam Adekugbe | Hatayspor (TUR) | 27 | 27 | 12 |
| DEF | Derek Cornelius | Panetolikos (GRE) | 24 | 14 | 1 |
| DEF | Doneil Henry | Toronto FC (CAN) | 29 | 42 | 5 |
| DEF | Alistair Johnston | CF Montreal (CAN) | 24 | 24 | 14 |
| DEF | Scott Kennedy | SSV Jahn Regensburg (GER) | 25 | 8 | 5 |
| DEF | Richie Laryea | Toronto FC (CAN) | 27 | 28 | 13 |
| DEF | Kamal Miller | CF Montreal (CAN) | 25 | 23 | 12 |
| DEF | Steven Vitoria | GD Chaves (POR) | 35 | 30 | 8 |
| MID | Stephen Eustaquio | FC Porto (POR) | 25 | 22 | 12 |
| MID | Liam Fraser | KMSK Deinze (BEL) | 24 | 14 | 5 |
| MID | Junior Hoilett | Reading FC (ENG) | 32 | 45 | 9 |
| MID | Atiba Hutchinson | Besiktas (TUR) | 39 | 97 | 10 |
| MID | Mark-Anthony Kaye | Toronto FC (CAN) | 27 | 34 | 10 |
| MID | Jonathan Osorio | Toronto FC (CAN) | 30 | 55 | 13 |
| MID | Samuel Piette | CF Montreal (CAN) | 27 | 61 | 4 |
| MID | David Wotherspoon | St. Johnstone (SCO) | 32 | 10 | 3 |
| FWD | Tajon Buchanan | Club Brugge (BEL) | 23 | 22 | 13 |
| FWD | Lucas Cavallini | Vancouver Whitecaps (CAN) | 29 | 31 | 5 |
| FWD | Jonathan David | LOSC Lille (FRA) | 22 | 30 | 14 |
| FWD | Alphonso Davies | Bayern Munich (GER) | 21 | 32 | 7 |
| FWD | Cyle Larin | Club Brugge (BEL) | 27 | 50 | 10 |
| FWD | Liam Millar | FC Basel (SWZ) | 23 | 15 | 4 |
| FWD | Ike Ugbo | Troyes (FRA) | 24 | 8 | 4 |
Canada’s stars, strengths and weaknesses at the FIFA World Cup 2022
Canadian stars
The two undisputed stars of the Canadian national team are Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David, who took this squad of CONCACAF contenders to World Cup contenders.
Davies plays as a fullback for his club Bayern Munich, but often takes on a senior role in the national team, either alongside fullback and defender three or as a full-fledged winger. Still, he can play as a fullback when needed, providing defensive acumen and his world-class attacking service in large areas.
Meanwhile, David is one of the hottest young attacking stars in Europe and it looks like he will become a wanted man when the season is over. Born in Brooklyn, New York, to Haitian parents, David immigrated to Canada at the age of six and represented Canada from an early age.
Now scoring in Lille, he has forged a seamless strike partnership at the national team level with Cyle Larin, which could see him make a fortune in the near future.
Canada Strengths
The fourth pot of the World Cup has a dizzying advantage and should calm the rest of the Group F players.
Goalkeeping positions were bursting at the seams, with regular starter Milan Borjan plus substitute Maxime Crepeau and Dayne St. Clair in excellent club form. Qatar FIFA World Cup 2022 fans can buy Canada Vs Morocco Tickets from our website.
The depth of the midfield is also incredible. Stephen Eustaquio is a vital starter if he’s healthy, and 37-year-old Atiba Hutchinson (below) could also fill in as a central defender if he recovers from his recent blows.
Samuel Piette often starts next to Eustaquio, with Marc-Anthony Kaye as a backup in the middle. Jonathan Osorio and Junior Hoilett can take a more advanced position as links with the forwards when the formation demands it, although Osorio may be limited by recent injuries.
Due to this depth, this team is tactically very flexible. They were able to play a three-centre formation with Alistair Johnston going through the middle, allowing fullbacks Alphonso Davies and Richie Laryea to bomb forward. Alternatively, they can line up in a more traditional formation, allowing Davies to move up the field and place the dangerous Sam Adekugbe at left-back. This team is capable in both formations, taking opponents by surprise.
Ultimately, this team has an enviable unit. John Herdman has done a great job fostering a locker room culture where teams play for each other on the field and enjoy national team life off the field.
Having very little discretion in putting together the final roster of 26 men, the players have developed a strong bond and have become a solid team.
Canada weaknesses
The team’s biggest weakness is experience. With Canada entering the World Cup for the first time since the 1980s, no one on this list has ever played in a major international FIFA competition.
Also, most players come from domestic or smaller European clubs. Only three players on the roster are expected to play in the top five of Europe’s leagues, and only a few have Champions League experience.
So this team knows that it can work not just as a group of talented players, but as a whole, not as the sum of its parts. John Herdman has united this squad, but their performance at the World Cup will depend heavily on maintaining the support of the team.
Canada’s starting grid at the FIFA World Cup
John Herdman can even choose between two possible starting positions, which has fostered extraordinary tactical flexibility in his team. He sometimes deploys a 3-5-2, with Alistair Johnston slipping through as third centre-back, while also using a more traditional 4-2-3-1 to keep all attackers in the same line-up.
Both will be featured here as they use slightly different personnel, and will almost certainly appear at different points during the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Herdman has also occasionally used a 4-4-2 in World Cup qualifiers, but he recently gave up in favour of a 4-2-3-1.
Expected Canada World Cup squad cuts
While Canada is a strong team, the country is still building a base of top footballers, so the established player pool is much smaller than some other teams.
With that in mind, Herdman has made it pretty clear which players are vying for a spot in the 2022 World Cup roster. Herdman made a few difficult decisions when selecting players to represent the CONCACAF teams.
As mentioned, Herdman can drop a backup defender in favour of younger players such as midfielder Ismael Kone or striker Luca Koleosho. If David Wotherspoon and Jonathan Osorio don’t return to full form in time, KONE will have another way to get into the team.
Central defender Scott Kennedy has had a great time with Canada and now that he is back in his 2nd Bundesliga team, his place may be safe again. Another centre-back, Derek Cornelius, is another potential candidate if cuts are needed to make room. Atiba Hutchinson’s ability to get in the back could ultimately influence that decision.
Ike Ugbo or Theo Corbeanu will probably get the ticket to Qatar as a third-line striker. It’s hard to see a situation where both sides care about each other.
Other players on the roster are either not called up often or are not called up often enough.
Expected final Canada roster cuts
| Position | Player | Club | Age | Caps | 2022 World Cup Qualifiers |
| GK | Jayson Leutwiler | Oldham Athletic (ENG) | 33 | 3 | 0 |
| GK | James Pantemis | CF Montreal (CAN) | 25 | 0 | 0 |
| DEF | Zachary Brault-Guillard | CF Montreal (CAN) | 23 | 0 | 0 |
| DEF | Cristian Gutierrez | Vancouver Whitecaps (CAN) | 25 | 0 | 0 |
| DEF | Frank Sturing | SV Horn (AUS) | 25 | 2 | 0 |
| DEF | Joel Waterman | CF Montreal (CAN) | 26 | 0 | 0 |
| MID | Raheem Edwards | LA Galaxy (USA) | 27 | 4 | 0 |
| MID | Ismael Kone | CF Montreal (CAN) | 20 | 2 | 0 |
| MID | Harry Paton | Unattached | 24 | 0 | 0 |
| FWD | Ayo Akinola | Toronto FC (CAN) | 22 | 2 | 0 |
| FWD | Charles-Andreas Brym | FC Eindhoven (NED) | 24 | 7 | 3 |
| FWD | Theo Corbeanu | Blackpool (ENG) | 20 | 7 | 0 |
| FWD | Luca Koleosho | Espanyol (SPA) | 18 | 0 | 0 |
| FWD | Jayden Nelson | Toronto FC (CAN) | 20 | 3 | 0 |
| FWD | Tyler Pasher | Unattached | 28 | 2 | 0 |
Eticketing.co is the best website for All Sports events. Football World Cup fans can buy Qatar World Cup Tickets from our website.
Comments
Post a Comment