Canada’s extraordinary improvement in international soccer over the last decade is unmistakable. Whether that will translate into World Cup success is another matter.With coach Jesse Marsch leading the team this summer, the Canadians are set to embark on their third-ever World Cup — this time as co-hosts with the United States and Mexico. Ranked No. 30 in the world, Canada has scored only one World Cup goal in its history and has never won a match at the tournament.But Canada’s outlook has steadily improved with a more experienced player pool that includes Alphonso Davies, Tajon Buchanan, Cyle Larin and Jonathan David, who have all broken into prominent European teams in recent years.The development of talent and the effort to raise the team’s profile became a priority in 2018, when Canada finished the year ranked No. 78 and faced the prospect of being a World Cup host.
“This is a team that is very fast and powerful and talented,” Marsch said, “and I think it’s a team that has an incredible work ethic and commitment to each other, and they exemplify that every time they’re on the pitch — not like sometimes when they’re on the pitch, not like some games when they’re on the pitch — every moment that this team plays on the pitch they give everything they have, and they give everything they have to each other and to the badge and to the country.”
