Manager John Herdman has steered Canada to its first men’s World Cup since 1986, and only the nation’s second-ever men’s World Cup appearance.
Now, with history made, it’s time to get down to business. The 26-man roster will be decided in short order, with the selected players tasked with shocking the world in Qatar.
Those final rosters need to be submitted by Monday, November 14 at the very latest. The expanded 55-man “release list” comes roughly a month beforehand with a deadline of Friday, October 21. The names on the 26-man list come from the 55-man preliminary squad.
The September World Cup warmup matches against Qatar and Uruguay represented the final chance for players on the bubble to make their case to Herdman before returning to their club teams. The next time they wear the Canadian colors will be during World Cup camp in November in preparation for their Group F opener against No. 2-ranked Belgium.
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Canada World Cup roster for Qatar 2022
As all nations will do prior to the 2022 World Cup, Canada are set to select a full roster ahead of the tournament in Qatar. John Herdman will have 26 selections available to him, as rosters were expanded slightly from the customary 23 players.
Given the smaller pool of players used by Herdman, his core group is tight-knit, leaving him with far fewer major choices heading to Qatar.
Predicted Canada roster for 2022 World Cup
Goalkeepers (3): Milan Borjan (Red Star Belgrade), Maxime Crepeau (Los Angeles Football Club), Dayne St. Clair (Minnesota United FC).
Defenders (8): Sam Adekugbe (Hatayspor), Derek Cornelius (Panetolikos), Doneil Henry (Toronto FC), Alistair Johnston (CF Montreal), Scott Kennedy (SSV Jahn Regensburg), Richie Laryea (Toronto FC), Kamal Miller (CF Montreal), Steven Vitoria (GD Chaves).
Midfielders (8): Stephen Eustaquio (FC Porto), Liam Fraser (KMSK Deinze), Junior Hoilett (Reading FC), Atiba Hutchinson (Besiktas JK), Mark-Anthony Kaye (Toronto FC), Jonathan Osorio (Toronto FC), Samuel Piette (CF Montreal), David Wotherspoon (St. Johnstone).
Forwards (7): Tajon Buchanan (Club Brugge), Lucas Cavallini (Vancouver Whitecaps), Jonathan David (Lille OSC), Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich), Cyle Larin (Club Brugge), Liam Millar (FC Basel), Ike Ugbo (Troyes AC).
Goalkeepers
There are absolutely no roster decisions to be made between the sticks, as Herdman has made his intentions clear, and the players have responded.
In fact, if anything, established starter Milan Borjan (below) may have a fight on his hands to keep hold of the No. 1 spot, as both Maxime Crepeau and Dayne St. Clair have performed fabulously in MLS this season.
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Defenders
The group of defenders has been consistent throughout qualifying with depth at every position, the option for rotation, and some tactical flexibility offered by players who can feature in multiple positions and in three-man or four-man backlines.
Veteran Steven Vitoria is the established central defender in the three-man set-up. Alistair Johnston (below) to Vitoria’s right and Kamal Miller to his left appear to be primed to receive the bulk of minutes. Doneil Henry, Derek Cornelius, and the left-footed Scott Kennedy are the backups ready to step in. Herdman could decide to sacrifice one of them for another midfielder or forward.
Richie Laryea and Sam Adekugbe are adept at playing either fullback or wingback positions.
Midfielders
Like the previous positions, midfielder is another sector of the field where the team picks itself. Stephen Eustaquio is a must-start when healthy, and 37-year-old Atiba Hutchinson (below), who can also fill in at center-back, will provide leadership if he can recover from a recent knock.
Mark-Anthony Kaye will often start alongside Eustaquio, with Jonathan Osorio occupying a more advanced position as a link to the attackers. A head injury which has resulted in complications prevented Osorio from joining the Canadian team for the September friendlies and it remains to be seen whether he’ll be able to recover in time.
Promising 20-year-old Ismael Kone may be one of the last cuts in midfield, especially given that he would not be expected to see many minutes in Qatar given the experience ahead of him in the pecking order.
Kone’s case to make the team will be a strong one should David Wotherspoon not regain match fitness in time given he’s still working his way back to regular action for St. Johnstone following his ACL tear.
MORE: Everything to know about Canada manager John Herdman
Forwards
Up front, the established starters Alphonso Davies, Cyle Larin, and Jonathan David (below left) can strike fear in opponents on the counter. Tajon Buchanan is also a difference maker for this team, and he’s typically a starter if Davies operates at left wingback.
Buchanan would be the first choice off the bench, and midfielder Junior Hoilett regularly plays in forward positions. The rugged Lucas Cavallini (below right) has been another of the late bench options for Herdman throughout qualifying.
Ike Ugbo, 23, has struggled to start at French club Troyes, which could see his spot up for grabs. Another interesting possibility instead of Ugbo could be Blackpool striker Theo Corbeanu, on loan from Wolves, who has scored three goals in 10 Championship appearances so far this season. He has six senior caps and two goals, but those mostly came back in the 2021 Gold Cup. He was not utilized at all during CONCACAF World Cup qualifying.
Luca Koleosho, at age 18, is a name to watch if Herdman wishes to take another player along for experience, despite the Espanyol youth product not yet owning a senior Canada cap. He is a dual national and is eligible to play for the United States, having been born in Connecticut. Herdman may feel it’s worth burning a spot on the World Cup roster to convince him to commit to Les Rouges.
Canada starting lineup at the FIFA World Cup
There are actually two possible starting lineups that John Herdman can select from, having fostered exceptional tactical flexibility from his group.
Both will be covered here, as there are slightly different personnel used in each, and both will almost surely appear at various points during the 2022 World Cup.
Predicted Canada starting XI (3-5-2)
Predicted Canada starting XI (4-4-2)
Projected Canada World Cup roster cuts
While Canada are a strong team, the nation is still building a base of top-class football players, and therefore the established player pool is considerably thinner than some other teams.
With that in mind, Herdman has made it pretty obvious which players are the ones fighting for a spot on the 2022 World Cup roster. That leaves very few tough decisions for Herdman to make when it comes to selecting players to represent the CONCACAF side.
As mentioned, Herdman could drop one of the backup defenders in favor of a younger player like midfielder Ismael Kone or forward Luca Koleosho. Kone has another way into the squad if David Wotherspoon and Jonathan Osorio can’t regain full match fitness in time.
Center-back Scott Kennedy has been excellent for Canada, and now that he’s back starting for his 2. Bundesliga side, his place may be safe again. Fellow central defender Derek Cornelius is the other potential candidate should a cut be needed to make room. Atiba Hutchinson’s ability to step in along the backline could ultimately influence this decision.
It’s likely to be either Ike Ugbo or Theo Corbeanu earning a ticket to Qatar as a third-string forward. It’s hard to see a scenario in which both care called up.
The other players on the list to be cut either haven’t been called up all that often or have not seen much time when called up.
Projected final Canada roster cuts
Goalkeepers: Jayson Leutwiler (Oldham Athletic), James Pantemis (CF Montreal).
Defenders: Zachary Brault-Guillard (CF Montreal), Cristian Gutierrez (Vancouver Whitecaps), Frank Sturing (SV Horn), Joel Waterman (CF Montreal)
Midfielders: Raheem Edwards (LA Galaxy), Ismael Kone (CF Montreal), Harry Paton (Ross County).
Forwards: Ayo Akinola (Toronto FC), Charles-Andreas Brym (FC Eindhoven), Theo Corbeanu (Blackpool FC), Luca Koleosho (Espanyol), Stefan Mitrovic (Red Star Belgrade), Jayden Nelson (Toronto FC), Tyler Pasher (unattached)
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