Canada men's national soccer team

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Canada
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s) The Canucks, The Maple Leafs,
Les Rouges (The Reds)
Association Canadian Soccer Association
Confederation CONCACAF (North America)
Head coach Flag of Canada Dale Mitchell
Most caps Randy Samuel (82)
Top scorer Dale Mitchell (19), John Catliff (19)
Home stadium National Soccer Stadium
FIFA code CAN
FIFA ranking 55
Highest FIFA ranking 40 (December 1996)
Lowest FIFA ranking 103 (March 2007)
Elo ranking 54
Highest Elo ranking 32 (May-June 2000)
Lowest Elo ranking 92 (May 1979)
Team colours Team colours Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
 
Home colours
Team colours Team colours Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
 
Away colours
First international
Unofficial: Flag of the United States USA 0 - 1 Canada Flag of Canada
(Newark, USA; November 28, 1885)
Official: Flag of Australia Australia 3-2 Canada Flag of Canada
(Brisbane, Australia; June 7, 1924)
Biggest win
Unofficial: Flag of the United States USA 0 - 7 Canada Flag of Canada
(St. Louis, USA; November 16, 1904)
Official: Flag of Malaysia Malaysia 0-5 Canada Flag of Canada
(Singapore; August 24, 1986)
Biggest defeat
Flag of Mexico Mexico 8 - 0 Canada Flag of Canada
(Mexico City, Mexico; June 18, 1993)
World Cup
Appearances 1 (First in 1986)
Best result Round 1, 24th place 1986
CONCACAF Championship &
Gold Cup
Appearances 11 (First in 1977)
Best result Winners, 1985, 2000
Confederations Cup
Appearances 1 (First in 2001)
Best result 1st round, 2001

The Canadian men's national soccer team is overseen by the Canadian Soccer Association and represents Canada in international competitions at the senior men's level. The side has traditionally struggled to earn recognition at home and abroad while experiencing little international success. As in the United States, the Canadian women's national soccer team has enjoyed more international success than the men. The FIFA rankings for December 2007 have the men's team ranked 55th out of 208 countries, while the women's team is ranked 9th out of 121 countries as of September 2007 (the men's rankings are updated monthly, while the women's rankings are updated quarterly). Both national teams languish to a large extent in the shadow of the country's highly successful national ice hockey teams, as hockey is Canada's de facto national sport and most soccer players convert to the more "respected" sports by high school.

Past members of the national team, including Roger Sportsnet commentator Craig Forrest, have stated numerous times that the Canadian national program is in need of a major overhaul. Forrest believes Canada has the support and talent to compete for a World Cup berth, something it has failed to do for two decades.


Contents

Soccer was being played in Canada before rules were formalized, and the Dominion Football Association (1877) and the Western Football Association (1880) were precursors to the Canadian Soccer Association. In 1885, the Western Football Association sent a representative team to New Jersey to take on a side put forth by the American Football Association, the then-unofficial governing body of the sport in the United States. In an unofficial friendly, Canada defeated their hosts 1-0 in East Newark, New Jersey. The American team won 3-2 in a return match one year later. In 1888, a team comprised of 16 Canadian-born players and organizer David Forsyth (who immigrated to Canada one year after his birth) represented the WFA in a tour of the British Isles, earning a record of nine wins, five draws, and nine losses.[1]

In 1904, Galt Football Club represented the WFA at the Olympic Games in St. Louis, Missouri. With just three teams competing, Galt defeated two American club sides, Christian Brothers College (7-0) and St. Rose (4-0). In 1905, a British team of touring amateurs named the Pilgrims toured Canada, with their match against Galt billed as the "championship of the world". The match was played in front of almost 4000 fans in Galt (now a suburb of Cambridge) and ended in a 3-3 draw.[1]

The Canadian national team toured Australia in 1924, playing a series of "test" friendlies against their hosts, including their first official match, a 3-2 friendly defeat to Australia in Brisbane on June 24th, 1924. In 1925, Canada played their old rivals the United States in Montreal, winning 1-0 on Ed McLaine's goal. In a return match in November of 1925 in Brooklyn, New York, Canada was defeated 5-1. One year later, Canada lost 6-2 to the USA in the same city, before playing four internationals in a 1927 tour of New Zealand.[1]

Following the lead of British football associations, Canada withdrew from FIFA in 1928 over a dispute regarding broken time payments to amateur players. They rejoined the confederation in 1946, and took part in World Cup qualifying in the North American Football Confederation (a precursor to CONCACAF) for the first time in 1957, the first time they had played as a national team in 30 years. In their first qualifier, Canada defeated the USA in Toronto 5-1, but lost in Mexico twice to their hosts (not playing a home game due to financial reasons) 2-0 and 3-0 before defeating the USA 3-2 in St. Louis. Mexico advanced as group winners, however, as Canada missed out on the World Cup in 1958 in Sweden.[1]

Canada secured qualification for the 1986 World Cup after beating Honduras 2-1 in St. Johns, Newfoundland in 1985. Mexico had qualified as hosts, with Canada earning the remaining CONCACAF spot and the de facto title as CONCACAF champions. At the finals in Mexico in 1986, Canada impressed in a 1-0 loss to France in the first round before losing to both Hungary and the USSR 2-0, finishing at the bottom of the group and (unofficially) in last place in the tournament.

In 1990, Canada took part in the NAFC Championship for the first time, hosting the tournament with Mexico and the USA. Mexico and Canada sent their full squads, but the USA sent a 'B' team and does not count the games as official internationals in its records. Canada won after a 1-0 win over USA on May 6th and a 2-1 win over Mexico on May 13th, all three goals scored by John Catliff, the tournament's top scorer.

Canada has had mixed fortunes in the CONCACAF Gold Cup since 2000, winning that year's tournament after emerging from the first-round on a coin-toss tiebreaker with invited side the Republic of Korea. A quarter-final extra-time upset over Mexico on Richard Hastings' golden goal set the stage for an unprecedented run to the final where Canada defeated Colombia 2-0 at Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California.

Canada has enjoyed relative success in the Gold Cup, with third-placed finishes in 2002 and 2007 (with Guadeloupe) on either side of disappointing first round exits in 2003 and 2005. In 2007, under interim coach Stephen Hart, Canada won their group before losing in the semi-final to the USA. Canada were controversially robbed of a late equalizer on a play incorrectly flagged offside. In total, the team's 2007 record consisted of four wins, three losses, and three draws.

In qualifying for both the 2002 FIFA World Cup and 2006 FIFA World Cup, Canada was unable to capitalize on their Gold Cup success, failing to reach the final stage of CONCACAF qualifying on both occasions.

On June 7, 2006, head coach Frank Yallop resigned for a job with the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer. Yallop, whose record was 8-9-3 since his hiring on December 16, 2003, returned to the league where he began his coaching career as an assistant in 1999 with the Tampa Bay Mutiny. The former Canadian international had won MLS Cup titles with the San Jose Earthquakes in 2001 and 2003. On May 18, 2007 the CSA named Dale Mitchell as the new head coach of the senior team. He took over after coaching the under-20 side to three defeats in the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada in July of 2007.


Date Tournament Location Home Team Score Away Team Scorers
20 November 2007
Friendly
Flag of South Africa Durban Flag of South Africa South Africa
2:0
Flag of Canada Canada
12 September 2007
Friendly
Flag of Canada Toronto Flag of Canada Canada
1:1
Flag of Costa Rica Costa Rica
De Rosario 54'
22 August 2007
Friendly
Flag of Iceland Reykjavík Flag of Iceland Iceland
1:1
Flag of Canada Canada
Occean 75'
21 June 2007
Gold Cup
Flag of the United States Chicago Flag of Canada Canada
1:2
Flag of the United States USA
Hume 76'
16 June 2007
Gold Cup
Flag of the United States Foxborough Flag of Canada Canada
3:0
Flag of Guatemala Guatemala
De Rosario 17', Gerba 33', 44'
11 June 2007
Gold Cup
Flag of the United States Miami Flag of Haiti Haiti
0:2
Flag of Canada Canada
De Rosario 31', 35'
9 June 2007
Gold Cup
Flag of the United States Miami Flag of Canada Canada
1:2
Flag of Guadeloupe Guadeloupe
Gerba 35'
6 June 2007
Gold Cup
Flag of the United States Miami Flag of Costa Rica Costa Rica
1:2
Flag of Canada Canada
de Guzmán 57', 73'
1 June 2007
Friendly
Flag of Venezuela Maracaibo Flag of Venezuela Venezuela
2:2
Flag of Canada Canada
De Rosario 5', Gerba 85'
25 March 2007
Friendly
Flag of Bermuda Hamilton Flag of Bermuda Bermuda
0:3
Flag of Canada Canada
Hutchinson 25', Radzinski 30', Stalteri 44'

Date Tournament Location Home Team Away Team
June 2008
World Cup Qualifier
Flag of Canada TBA Flag of Canada Canada Flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
June 2008
World Cup Qualifier
Flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines TBA Flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Flag of Canada Canada

Canada's Under-20 team has qualified for five of the last six FIFA World Youth Championships. In 1997, the team advanced to the second round of the event. Canada also qualified for the 2001, 2003 and 2005 WYC's. In 2003, Iain Hume and Atiba Hutchinson led Canada to a quarter-final appearance that ended in a golden goal loss to Spain in extra time. In 2007, Canada hosted the tournament, and despite an impressive run in friendlies leading up to the competition, went winless in first round play without scoring a goal.

Canada's national stadium is the National Soccer Stadium in Toronto, Ontario, known as BMO Field when local resident Toronto FC of Major League Soccer play league matches at home. Canada has also played internationals since 2004 at Swanguard Stadium in Burnaby, British Columbia; Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta; and Complexe Sportif Claude-Robillard in Montreal, Quebec. The team is likely to play at Saputo Stadium in Montreal upon its completion. Additionally, games at the 2007 Under-20 World Cup (which Canada hosted) were played at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal; Frank Clair Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario; and Royal Athletic Park in Victoria, British Columbia.

(current through 06/18/07) According to the official site [1]

Goalkeepers
Player Date of birth Club Caps (clean sheets) Most Recent Call up
Asmir Begović 6/20/1987 Flag of England Portsmouth FC 0 (0) v Iceland, August 22, 2007
Roberto Giacomi 9/01/1986 Flag of Belgium KSK Beveren 0 (0) 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup
Lars Hirschfeld 10/17/1978 Flag of Norway Rosenborg BK 20 (6) v South Africa, November 20, 2007
Pat Onstad 1/13/1968 Flag of the United States Houston Dynamo 49 (19) v Iceland, August 22, 2007
Kenny Stamatopoulos 8/28/1979 Flag of Canada Toronto F.C. (on loan from Tromsø IL) 5 (2) v Costa Rica, September 12, 2007
Greg Sutton 4/19/1977 Flag of Canada Toronto F.C. 11 (4) 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup
Joshua Wagenaar 2/26/1985 Flag of the Netherlands ADO Den Haag 1 (0) v Venezuela, June 1, 2007
Defenders
Player Date of birth Club Caps (goals) Most Recent Call up
Adam Braz 6/7/1981 Flag of Canada Toronto FC 11 (0) v Venezuela, June 1, 2007
Marcel De Jong 10/15/1986 Flag of the Netherlands Roda JC Kerkrade 1 (0) v South Africa, November 20, 2007
Gabriel Gervais 9/18/1976 Flag of Canada Montreal Impact 11 (0) v Venezuela, June 1, 2007
Andrew Hainault 6/17/1986 Flag of the Czech Republic FK Siad Most 8 (0) v Costa Rica, September 12, 2007
Kevin Harmse 6/17/1986 Flag of the United States Los Angeles Galaxy 5 (0) 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup
Ante Jazic 2/26/1976 Flag of the United States Los Angeles Galaxy 19 (0) 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup
Michael Klukowski 5/27/1981 Flag of Belgium Club Brugge 9 (0) v South Africa, November 20, 2007
Kevin McKenna 1/21/1980 Flag of Germany FC Köln 36 (9) v South Africa, November 20, 2007
Richard Hastings 18/05/1977 Flag of Scotland Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C. 36 (1) v Iceland August 22, 2007
Chris Pozniak 1/10/1981 Flag of the United States San Jose Earthquakes 20 (0) v Costa Rica September 12, 2007
Marco Reda 6/22/1977 Flag of Canada Toronto FC 6 (0) v Venezuela, June 1, 2007
Josh Simpson 5/15/1983 Flag of Germany Kaiserslautern 16 (0) v South Africa, November 20, 2007
Paul Stalteri 10/18/1977 Flag of England Tottenham 60 (7) v South Africa, November 20, 2007
Midfielders
Player Date of birth Club Caps (goals) Most Recent Call up
Patrice Bernier 9/23/1979 Flag of Germany Kaiserslautern 25 (0) v South Africa, November 20, 2007
Jim Brennan 5/8/1977 Flag of Canada Toronto FC 44 (6) v Costa Rica, September 12, 2007
Julian de Guzman 3/25/1981 Flag of Spain Deportivo la Coruña 24 (2) v South Africa, November 20, 2007
Dwayne de Rosario 5/15/1978 Flag of the United States Houston Dynamo 45 (13) v Costa Rica, September 12, 2007
Rhian Dodds 10/3/1979 Flag of Scotland Kilmarnock F.C. 0 (0) v Iceland, August 22, 2007
Tamadani Nsaliwa 1/28/1982 Flag of Greece AEK 12 (1) v Iceland, August 22, 2007
Sandro Grande 9/29/1977 Flag of Norway Molde 12 (1) v Jamaica, October 8, 2006
Atiba Hutchinson 2/8/1983 Flag of Denmark F.C. Copenhagen 29 (3) v South Africa, November 20, 2007
Daniel Imhof 11/22/1977 Flag of Germany Bochum 34 (0) v Costa Rica, September 12, 2007
Nikolas Ledgerwood 1/16/1985 Flag of Germany 1860 München 1 (0) v Iceland, August 22, 2007
Issey Nakajima-Farran 5/16/1984 Flag of Denmark FC Nordsjælland 6 (0) v South Africa, November 20, 2007
Martin Nash 12/27/1975 Flag of Canada Vancouver Whitecaps 36 (0) v 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup
Jaime Peters 5/4/1987 Flag of England Ipswich 13 (0) v Bermuda, March 25, 2007
Antonio Ribeiro 10/8/1980 Flag of Canada Montreal Impact 1 (0) v 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup
Adrian Serioux 5/12/1979 Flag of the United States FC Dallas 13 (0) v Costa Rica, September 12, 2007
Strikers
Player Date of birth Club Caps (goals) Most Recent Call up
Stephen Ademolu 11/20/1982 Flag of Norway Tromsø 2 (0) v USA January 20, 2006
Rob Friend 1/23/1981 Flag of Germany Borussia Mönchengladbach 14 (1) v Costa Rica, September 12, 2007
Ali Gerba 7/27/1982 Flag of Sweden IFK Goteborg 13 (5) v Costa Rica, September 12, 2007
Iain Hume 10/30/1983 Flag of England Leicester City F.C. 20 (2) v South Africa, November 20, 2007
Will Johnson 1/21/1987 Flag of the Netherlands De Graafschap (on loan from SC Heerenveen) 3 (0) v Austria March 1, 2006
Olivier Occean 10/23/1981 Flag of Norway Lillestrøm S.K. 15 (2) v South Africa, November 20, 2007
Tomasz Radzinski 12/14/1973 Flag of Greece Skoda Xanthi 35 (9) v South Africa, November 20, 2007

World Cup record
Year Round GP W D* L GS GA
Flag of Uruguay 1930 Did Not Enter - - - - - -
Flag of Italy 1934 Did Not Enter - - - - - -
Flag of France 1938 Did Not Enter - - - - - -
Flag of Brazil 1950 Did Not Enter - - - - - -
Flag of Switzerland 1954 Did Not Enter - - - - - -
Flag of Sweden 1958 Did Not Qualify - - - - - -
Flag of Chile 1962 Withdrew - - - - - -
Flag of England 1966 Did Not Enter - - - - - -
Flag of Mexico 1970 Did Not Qualify - - - - - -
Flag of West Germany 1974 Did Not Qualify - - - - - -
Flag of Argentina 1978 Did Not Qualify - - - - - -
Flag of Spain 1982 Did Not Qualify - - - - - -
Flag of Mexico 1986 Round 1 3 0 0 3 0 5
Flag of Italy 1990 Did Not Qualify - - - - - -
Flag of the United States 1994 Did Not Qualify - - - - - -
Flag of France 1998 Did Not Qualify - - - - - -
Flag of South KoreaFlag of Japan 2002 Did Not Qualify - - - - - -
Flag of Germany 2006 Did Not Qualify - - - - - -
Total 1/18 3 0 0 3 0 5
Confederations Cup record
Year Round GP W D* L GS GA
Flag of Saudi Arabia 1992 Did Not Qualify - - - - - -
Flag of Saudi Arabia 1995 Did Not Qualify - - - - - -
Flag of Saudi Arabia 1997 Did Not Qualify - - - - - -
Flag of Mexico 1999 Did Not Qualify - - - - - -
Flag of South KoreaFlag of Japan 2001 Round 1 3 0 1 2 0 5
Flag of France 2003 Did Not Qualify - - - - - -
Flag of Germany 2005 Did Not Qualify - - - - - -
Flag of South Africa 2009 Did Not Qualify - - - - - -
Total 1/8 3 0 1 2 0 5
*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
**Silver background color indicates that the tournament was held on home soil. Gold background color indicates that the tournament was won.
Olympic medal record
Men's Football
Gold 1904 St Louis Team
CONCACAF Championship/Gold Cup
Total: 2 Titles
Year Round GP W D* L GS GA
Flag of El Salvador 1963 Did Not Qualify - - - - - -
Flag of Guatemala 1965 Did Not Qualify - - - - - -
Flag of Honduras 1967 Did Not Qualify - - - - - -
Flag of Costa Rica 1969 Did Not Qualify - - - - - -
Flag of Trinidad and Tobago 1971 Did Not Qualify - - - - - -
Flag of Haiti 1973 Did Not Qualify - - - - - -
Flag of Mexico 1977 Fourth place 5 2 1 2 7 8
Flag of Honduras 1981 Fourth place 5 1 3 1 6 6
1985 Champions 4 2 2 0 4 2
1989 Did Not Qualify - - - - - -
Flag of the United States 1991 Round 1 3 1 0 2 6 9
Flag of the United StatesFlag of Mexico 1993 Round 1 3 0 2 1 3 11
Flag of the United States 1996 Round 1 2 1 0 1 4 5
Flag of the United States 1998 Withdrew - - - - - -
Flag of the United States 2000 Champions 5 3 2 0 7 3
Flag of the United States 2002 Third place 5 2 2 1 5 4
Flag of the United StatesFlag of Mexico 2003 Round 1 2 1 0 1 1 2
Flag of the United States 2005 Round 1 3 1 0 2 2 4
Flag of the United States 2007 Semi-Finals 5 3 0 2 9 5
Total 2 Titles 42 17 12 13 54 59