{"id":838500,"date":"2026-07-31T16:27:19","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T16:27:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/838500\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T16:27:19","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T16:27:19","slug":"world-cup-withdrawal-heres-how-to-keep-up-with-canadian-mens-soccer-until-the-next-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/838500\/","title":{"rendered":"World Cup withdrawal? Here’s how to keep up with Canadian men’s soccer until the next one"},"content":{"rendered":"

How’s that post-World Cup withdrawal going? If it makes you feel any better, know that you’re not alone.<\/p>\n

This year’s edition was all the more special because Canada played the role of co-hosts for the first time ever, and the Canadian men’s team had unprecedented levels of success. How many times is watching Cyle Larin’s equalizer against Bosnia and Herzegovina or Jonathan David’s hat trick against Qatar or Stephen Eust\u00e1quio’s winner against South Africa too much?<\/p>\n

We’ve yet to find that answer.<\/p>\n

It is now time, though, to begin life after the World Cup. There is a women’s FIFA World Cup to look forward to in 2027, but focusing here on the men’s team, a lot of fans who want to commit more to the team and the sport are trying to understand how they can follow the team for the four years in between World Cups.<\/p>\n

That’s what this guide is for, to help you know exactly what supporting this team that has given you so many great memories this past June and July looks like in the long haul.<\/p>\n

World Cup qualifiers\"MINNEAPOLIS,<\/p>\n

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – JUNE 29: Jonathan David (10) of Canada and Jose Morales #16 of Guatemala battle for the ball during a Gold Cup match between Guatemala and Canada at U.S. Bank Stadium on June 29, 2025, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Carlos Gonzalez\/ISI Photos\/ISI Photos via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The first thing you should know is that Canada will have to earn qualification for the 2030 World Cup after their status as co-hosts for the 2026 edition granted them an automatic spot.<\/p>\n

Canada plays its regional qualifiers under the Concacaf continental governing body, which includes both North and Central America as well as the Caribbean. There are six guaranteed qualifying spots up for grabs and a seventh will be available as part of an intercontinental playoff. This may change if FIFA expands the World Cup from 48 teams to 64, as has been suggested in recent weeks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

These qualifiers are set to begin in September of 2027 and Canada is considered the third-best team in the region after Mexico and the United States.<\/p>\n

One of the focuses for Canada over the course of the next four years will be to not just qualify, but do so as at least a top 24 team in the world so they can be among the first two pots. Canada was automatically a Pot 1 team as co-hosts in 2026, which made for a slightly easier group. Being amongst the top 12 teams in Pot 1 meant avoiding the likes of Spain, Argentina, France, and England.<\/p>\n

Canada would need to ascend to the top 12 in the FIFA rankings to achieve that this time around, and that rise from 30th would be extremely challenging. Pot 2 and a ranking somewhere in the late teens to early 20s seems more feasible.<\/p>\n

More tournaments before next World Cup\"EAST<\/p>\n

EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY – JULY 9: Isma\u00ebl Kone #8 of Canada dribbles the ball past Lionel Messi #10 of Argentina during the Copa America 2024 semifinal match between Argentina and Canada at MetLife Stadium on July 9, 2024 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Stephen Nadler\/ISI Photos\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The World Cup isn’t the only time Canada is competing for a trophy. Here’s a quick timeline for you before a little explainer on what each tournament is:<\/p>\n

September 2026 \u2013 Concacaf Nations League (Finals in March 2027)
June 2027 \u2013 Concacaf Gold Cup
June 2028 \u2013 Copa America*
June 2029 \u2013 Concacaf Gold Cup<\/p>\n

Nations League<\/p>\n

The Nations League was created to reduce friendlies and increase the number of competitive fixtures in the international windows. To increase the stakes of the Nations League, there are qualification implications for the Concacaf Gold Cup.<\/p>\n

Gold Cup<\/p>\n

Canada has won the tournament once, back in 2000 when they stunned Colombia in the final. Colombia was an invitee team as they are not part of Concacaf but defeated the U.S. en route to the final. Canada hasn’t got back to the final since and were beaten by Guatemala on penalties in the quarterfinals of last year’s edition.<\/p>\n

Mexico has won the event a record 10 times and the winner of this tournament usually wears the badge of the best team in the region, much like the European Championships for European teams and the Copa America for South American sides. Unlike those two competitions, the Gold Cup is held every two years and so Canada is expected to be involved in both the 2027 and 2029 editions.<\/p>\n

Copa Am\u00e9rica<\/p>\n

Canada qualified for South America’s marquee event in 2024 and will be hopeful of doing the same again for the 2028 edition. Jesse Marsch’s men made a stirring debut at the tournament, going all the way to the semifinals where they were beaten by Argentina. They then lost the third-place match to Uruguay on penalties.<\/p>\n

Argentina are the reigning champions and have the most overall titles with 16, though 12 of those titles came before 1960. Uruguay is second with 15 titles and 10 of them came before 1960. Brazil have nine with six coming after 1960.<\/p>\n

International friendlies\"TORONTO,<\/p>\n

TORONTO, ON- MARCH 28 – Fans raise flags during anthems as Canada and Iceland draw 2-2- in a FIFA International Men’s Friendly at BMO Field in Toronto. March 28, 2026. Steve Russell\/Toronto Star (Steve Russell\/Toronto Star via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The Canada men’s senior team announced that they will play Chile on Sept. 26 at BMO Field in Toronto in its first match since the World Cup. They will also travel to Montreal to take on Peru on Oct. 3.<\/p>\n

This is your chance to get out there and support them in person. These prices won’t be anywhere near as expensive as the World Cup tickets were and will be a great opportunity to showcase that Canadian fans are here to stay when it comes to men’s soccer.<\/p>\n

The other window to close out 2026 will be Nov. 9-17. In 2027, Canada will play matches in the March 22-30 window as well as the June 7-15 window.<\/p>\n

While these are friendlies, every match between now and the next World Cup is an opportunity to improve Canada’s current FIFA ranking of 30th.<\/p>\n

Follow them at club level\"28<\/p>\n

28 July 2026, Bavaria, Rottach-Egern: Soccer: Bundesliga, FC Bayern Munich training camp. FC Bayern’s Alphonso Davies signs autographs after practice. Photo: Angelika Warmuth\/dpa (Photo by Angelika Warmuth\/picture alliance via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

This is if you’re really ready to elevate to the next level because it’s going to require a stronger financial commitment as well.<\/p>\n

Canada’s players feature across the Canadian Premier League, Major League Soccer, and across Europe including the top five leagues in England, Spain, Germany, Italy, and France. That means getting a subscription to TSN, OneSoccer, Fubo, DAZN, and Apple TV to keep up with all of them. Yes, being a hardcore soccer fan in this country can be quite expensive and that’s something the powers that be will need to address.<\/p>\n

At a bare minimum, you will want TSN<\/a>, as that gets you almost all of Canada’s international matches, some MLS action of Canada’s teams (Toronto FC, Vancouver Whitecaps, CF Montreal), and all La Liga action.<\/p>\n

Want to binge some soccer-centric shows and movies?\"TORONTO,<\/p>\n

TORONTO, ONTARIO – JUNE 12: Ryan Reynolds, actor and co-owner of Wrexham celebrates as he wathes the the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group B match between Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina at Toronto Stadium on June 12, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

If you’re just feeling soccer fever and want to keep it going, there are several shows and movies that can keep you going all summer.<\/p>\n

“Ted Lasso” on Apple TV became a global sensation a few years ago and will begin airing a new season on Aug. 5. There’s been three seasons prior so you’ll need to hurry and catch up!<\/p>\n

We can’t do without some Canadian content and “Welcome to Wrexham” on Disney Plus is where you can catch Vancouver native Ryan Reynolds work with co-owner Rob McElhenney to help grow Welsh soccer club Wrexham AFC in stature and quality while learning and embracing the sport themselves. It’s a fantastic underdog story that now has the team closing in on the Premier League.<\/p>\n

You can find even more shows and documentaries on Netflix and Amazon Prime.<\/p>\n

Among the best movies you’ll find are classics like “Bend it like Beckham,” “Goal! The Dream Begins,” “Green Street Hooligans,” “Shaolin Soccer,” as well as “Kicking and Screaming.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"How’s that post-World Cup withdrawal going? If it makes you feel any better, know that you’re not alone.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":838501,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[9884,49,48,14990,3484,292247,72597,9147,561,82,292248,13009],"class_list":["post-838500","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-2030-world-cup","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-fifa-world-cup","tag-getty-images","tag-gold-cup","tag-jonathan-david","tag-nations-league","tag-soccer","tag-sports","tag-steve-russell","tag-world-cup"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/838500","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=838500"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/838500\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/838501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=838500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=838500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=838500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}