World Cup qualifiers: Canada celebrates reaching first men's World Cup in 36 years

By George Ramsay, CNN

Updated 1250 GMT (2050 HKT) March 28, 2022

Tajon Buchanan celebrates during Canada's 4-0 victory against Jamaica in Toronto

(CNN)After a 36-year absence from the men's World Cup, Canada can now call itself a «legit football country.»

That's the view of coach John Herdman, the Englishman who has overseen Canada's steady rise through the men's FIFA rankings over the past four years.Canada's ascension to football legitimacy culminated in a 4-0 victory against Jamaica on Sunday, guaranteeing Herdman's team a spot at the World Cup in Qatar later this year. It will be just the second time that Canada has featured at a men's World Cup having lost every game in the finals of the 1986 edition, but expectations are high this time around. «The sky's the limit. I think we're going to just continue to get better and better and we're going to continue to improve,» said midfielder Atiba Hutchinson, a 39-year-old veteran of the Canadian team. Read More«We're going to be ready to go there at the World Cup and put ourselves really on the map,» Hutchinson added. «We've got a lot of confidence and we believe that we can do well.»Sunday's win in Toronto came courtesy of first-half goals from Cyle Larin and Tajon Buchanan, a flicked finish from Junior Hoilett in the second half, and a late own goal from Jamaica's Adrian Mariappa. It was enough to seal Canada's spot at the World Cup with one game of qualifying — against Panama on Thursday — still to play, as well as gain the approval of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who tweeted his congratulations.

That's what I'm talking about! Congratulations to the Canada men's national soccer team — taking us to the World Cup for the first time in 36 years. <a