Canada prepares for its first World Cup in 36 years

Canada has a theme — and a social media hashtag, of course — for Qatar: We Can.

It's a clever slogan for a team that is headed to its first World Cup in 36 years.

“Canada is a football nation, man. We better believe it,” coach John Herdman said when the team secured its berth. “And we’re going to keep coming. We’ve only gotten started.”

Canada has seen a dramatic rise on the world stage in the four years since Herdman took over. In 2021 alone, the team went from No. 72 in the world rankings to No. 40.

Canada earned its World Cup spot the hard way. Because of the squad's low ranking, players had to get through the two early rounds of CONCACAF qualifying. They emerged atop the field ahead of Mexico and the third-place United States, which both had byes to the final round.

Canada has since come down from the qualifying high. The Canadians have played in four matches, winning two and losing two. The most recent game was a 2-0 loss to Uruguay in Slovakia in late September.

“I think by the time we get to the World Cup, and as I said to the players, we’re not going to get a prize for a performance award at the World Cup. You have to take your moments and we didn’t," Herdman said.

Canada is led by Cyle Larin, who plays in Belgium with Club Brugge. He has scored 25 goals, including six in the final round of qualifying. Fellow forward Jonathan David, who plays for French club Lille, is close behind with 22. Bayern Munich defender Alphonso Davies has 12.

Herdman clearly understands that Canada can't simply be satisfied with returning to the World Cup after a long drought. The team has to win.

In other words, they have to believe their own “We Can” slogan.

“This is what Canada’s got to learn, you’re not going to get a gift. You've