CONCACAF & North America
Canada's World Cup History — From 1986 Debut to the Iceteca
1986–2022Canada
Published 2026-05-31
Exhibit Narrative
36-year drought between World Cup appearances, broken in 2022 with Alphonso Davies scoring Canada's first ever goal.
Canada's World Cup history is a story of long waits and frozen triumphs. In 1986 — their first qualification, under English coach Tony Waiters — the squad consisted of semi-professional journeymen. They held France scoreless for 79 minutes before Jean-Pierre Papin scored, then lost 2-0 to both Hungary and the Soviet Union. Zero points, zero goals. It would be 36 years until Canada returned. In 2022, they qualified first in CONCACAF under coach John Herdman. The Iceteca match: November 16, 2021, Edmonton, -9°C, Canada beat Mexico 2-1 with Sam Adekugbe leaping into a snowbank to celebrate. In Qatar, Canada lost to Belgium 1-0, Croatia 4-1, and Morocco 2-1. But the milestone moment came against Croatia: Alphonso Davies scored Canada's first ever World Cup goal with a flying header in the second minute.
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