Canada head coach Jesse Marsch was wary of unknown quantities in advance of Friday’s 2026 Fifa World Cup draw and despite the lottery being somewhat kind to his side on paper, the co-hosts will be minded to approach with caution. Especially with the possibility of an opening fixture against Italy looming large.
For much of the spectacle, things were going swimmingly. From Pot 2, Canada avoided the likes of Croatia and Colombia and were paired with Switzerland. From Pot 3, Marsch was relieved to avoid Norway as Qatar were drawn instead. But then, there was a sting in the tail.
As he entered the Kennedy Center in Washington DC ahead of the big reveal, Marsch had outlined his preferences.
“I’d rather not have these European play-in opponents,” he said.
And that’s exactly what Canada have got, with their opening Group B fixture at Toronto’s BMO Field on 12 June pitting them against the winners of Uefa’s Playoff A, which will be Italy, Northern Ireland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, or Wales.
Gennaro Gattuso’s Italy don’t need much motivation to qualify for their first World Cup since 2014, but a tournament opener in downtown Toronto would guarantee an astonishing atmosphere, owing to the dizzying numbers of Italian descendants in the city suburbs. Should the Azzurri make it through, that opening clash will be a World Cup moment for the ages. And it would represent a monumental challenge to Canada’s hopes of making it to the knockout round for the very first time.
“I live in Italy so I can maybe put some spies out and see what’s going on in the Italian camp,” Marsch joked afterwards.
There are some other subplots to consider, just in case Italy stumble at the finish line. And that’s not exactly outside the realms of possibility. In the latter stages of September’s international friendly victory over Wales in Swansea, members of Marsch’s staff began to congratulate each other on a job well done, much to the displeasure of Welsh boss Craig Bellamy. Post-game, he rather menacingly relished a rematch.
“I see them celebrating at the end, I’m like, ‘I hope I see you in a World Cup. I hope I see you again.’”
Canada would certainly prefer it that way.
Still, the entire situation is unhelpful. Marsch is obsessive when it comes to research, detail and preparation, so having to wait until next spring to find out the identity of an opponent they’ll face less than three months later is certainly not ideal.
“I didn’t want a European playoff team because I just didn’t want to wait to know,” Marsch told reporters afterward. “But too bad, I’ve got to be a little bit patient. I’m not always the most patient person.”
There are some things you can always count on when a World Cup rolls around, and the Swiss navigating the group stage is one of them. Four of their last five appearances have seen them work their way to the knockout stages. Their qualification campaign saw them rack up four wins and two draws from their six games, scoring 14 and shipping just two. There’s not much in the way of history here. The sides have only ever met once before, a friendly in St Gallen in May 2002 when Canada claimed a 3-1 win thanks to a brace from Tomasz Radzinski and one from current national team assistant coach Paul Stalteri. But Marsch doesn’t mind them as an opponent and fancies his chances when the sides meet in Vancouver on 24 June.
“They like the ball and they’re good on the ball, which for a pressing team is always an opportunity,” Marsch said. “It’s also a challenge for us to get all our football right and make sure we’re ready for what that game will require. That will be the third game we play in the group so we would know exactly the kind of result we need and how we need to approach that match.”
The game that will seemingly define Canada’s World Cup quest will also take place in Vancouver on 18 June with Qatar as the opponents. Again, it’s a fixture with little history. The teams faced each other back in 2022 in a friendly in Vienna, with Cyle Larin and Jonathan David finding the net in a 2-0 Canada victory. Marsch expects his side will dominate the ball, which increases the pressure on a collection of attackers that have underperformed in recent months. From their last five fixtures, Canada have found the net just four times. David has struggled since his high-profile move to Juventus, while Larin’s loss of form has seen him usurped by both Villarreal’s Tani Oluwaseyi and Union Saint-Gilloise’s Promise David.
“Qatar is really well-coached by Julen Lopetegui, who’s done well in club and international football,” Marsch said. “He will have that team prepared and they will be well organized. We will probably have the ball more. We will probably have to break them down. We will have to make sure they don’t hurt us on the counter in a game like that. We should go into the match confident but also really aware of how they can hurt us.”
Marsch was keen to land teams he had already faced, essentially trying to manifest it earlier this week by telling reporters he had a “gut feeling” Canada would draw a familiar opponent. Instead, they’re in the dark a little. And that will bring its own sense of unease.
History is unkind to them. Six defeats from six World Cup games, one goal scored and 12 conceded, they need all the help they can get to deliver something memorable on home soil next summer. For much of Friday’s draw, everything was going to plan. Then, late on, things dramatically changed. Maybe it was the perfect World Cup preparation after all.
