Canada Turns Fifa Groups Homeward After 20-Year Rise

Canada reaches fifa groups at home on Friday against Bosnia-Herzegovina, a sharp change from the way the country was viewed at Germany 2006. The opener is part of a 20-year rise that has taken Canada from football afterthought to a team with a home World Cup crowd behind it.

Germany 2006 to Friday

The first World Cup the writer covered was Germany 2006, when Canadian journalists had credentials but no tickets to matches and Canada was fit in last under the line, 'Anyone from somewhere we haven’t called already?' A FIFA representative put it bluntly: 'Ah. Poor Canada.'

That was the landscape then. Canada was treated like a team from the margins, not one carrying national expectations into a World Cup.

Saputo Stadium in Montreal

Last week, Saputo Stadium in Montreal was packed for a friendly between Canada and Ireland. That scene sits far from the 2006 tone, with Canada now drawing supporters who show up as dedicated followers of the national team rather than curious bystanders.

The contrast is the point. Among the teams at this World Cup, no team has come further, faster than Canada, and the tournament is being held at home for the country.

Bosnia-Herzegovina on Friday

Friday brings the first test of that change against Bosnia-Herzegovina. Canada is no longer trying to prove it belongs in the conversation; it is opening the tournament in its own country with the attention that comes from 20 years of movement up the ladder.

For Canadian soccer, the home setting is the clearest sign that the old view no longer fits. The team that was once treated as disposable is now the one carrying the country’s name into fifa groups on home soil.