3 KEY lessons the CanMNT can learn from 2022 World Cup ahead of 2026 opener

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After years of waiting, the 2026 World Cup is finally here. 

Now, the CanMNT are eager to make history, as the co-hosts are ready to tick some important items off their bucket list as they head into this tournament. 

Namely, the big ones that they’d love to achieve are to earn their first World Cup victory and play in their first World Cup knockout match, having failed to do either of those two things in their previous two participations at the men’s World Cup in 1986 and 2022. 

Given their status as co-hosts, those are two very achievable goals, so look for this Canadian team to put years of work into practice across this tournament.

In particular, look for them to channel the work they put in at the 2022 World Cup, which could prove to be an important tournament for this team to draw inspiration from, more than any other. 

Why, one might ask? 

With 13 players returning from that tournament, a large chunk of this group can enter this World Cup with a better idea of what to expect from this competition, which is such a unique entity. While that 2022 tournament didn’t go to plan for Canada, as they failed to earn a single point, they learned some valuable lessons in Qatar - and it’s not as if all went badly for them there, either, as they still made history by scoring their first World Cup goal, having failed to do that in their previous tournament appearance in 1986, where they also went winless. 

Having done well to compete in 2022, Canada wants to take a big step forward in 2026, and what they learned in 2022 can help them do that. 

Because of that, here are three lessons the CanMNT can learn from those 2022 World Cup games. 

Lesson #1: Put away your chances

Belgium 1-0 Canada, 2022 World Cup, Group F (November 23rd, 2022)

It’s a game that will forever stick in the memories of Canadian fans. 

In their first World Cup game in over 36 years, the CanMNT faced off against a Belgian side that finished 3rd at the 2018 World Cup and was littered with top-class stars. Talk about a tough welcome back to the world’s biggest stage. 

That didn’t bother Canada, however. They came flying out of the gates in that Belgium game, and within 10 minutes, they had a glorious chance to open the scoring, as they won a penalty after Tajon Buchanan’s shot was blocked by the outstretched hand of a Belgian defender.

Up stepped Alphonso Davies to take the penalty, but unfortunately, he was unable to convert, as his attempt was easily saved by Thibaut Courtois in a moment that has been much-debated since (especially considering Jonathan David’s excellent record from penalty kicks). 

Davies misses from the spot!#FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/UWFzWwvzyi

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) November 23, 2022

In the end, that ended up being the story of the game for Canada, however, who generated two further big chances and 1.85 non-penalty xG in the rest of the match - they just couldn’t find the back of the net, no matter how easy or hard the chance. 

Here's a look at the shot map from this Canada vs. Belgium game, with Canada's shots in black. As seen here, they didn't lack for quality shooting opportunities in this game (FotMob)

From Davies’s penalty to a second-half cross that Jonathan David misjudged, Tajon Buchanan’s missed first-timed left-foot finish in front of goal, or Cyle Larin’s header that was nicely saved by Courtois, Canada just couldn’t convert any of the big opportunities that fell to them on the day. 

Jonathan David sends the header just wide of goal!#FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/JcYPpRJjA8

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) November 23, 2022

By the balance of play, they outplayed Belgium, yet they still lost 1-0, as Michy Batshuayi converted his side’s lone big chance, which came from a simple ball over the top that turned into a breakaway right before half-time. 

GOAL! Michy Batshuayi gives Belgium the 1-0 lead before half pic.twitter.com/lcFd9bVooO

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) November 23, 2022

What this shows, though, is why many have been so focused on Canada’s attack heading into this 2026 tournament, given that they’ve had some struggles on that side of their game in the past year. In these big games, you have to be able to put away any opportunities that fall to you, or else you will get punished by these top teams. 

Just because they outplayed Belgium, Canada wasn’t going to be gifted three points, and they learned that lesson the hard way. 

Buchanan nearly answers with a glorious chance!#FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/IzYHEu7ldu

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) November 23, 2022

As a side note, this result also offers a second sub-lesson - the importance of your first game at a World Cup. In hindsight, Canada losing the first game essentially meant their tournament was almost over before it started, even if it didn’t feel that way at the time. 

Granted, with the change of the format from 32 teams to 48 teams, winning that first game is less important now, as teams have a better chance of emerging from the group stage even if they drop that first match, but it just makes a world of difference to be able to start the tournament with a win or draw, giving you positive momentum to build on. 

(Unless you’re Argentina at that same 2022 World Cup, that is, of course.)

Safe to say, these are all some massive lessons for Canada to take into account as they get set for their 2026 tournament opener against Bosnia & Herzegovina this week. 

Lesson #2: Manage your aggression:

Croatia 4-1 Canada, 2022 World Cup, Group F (November 27th, 2022)

Funnily enough, Canada did well to take lesson #1 from 2022 to heart pretty quickly at that same tournament, as they took on Croatia in their second game. In another tough matchup, as they took on the side that finished second at the 2018 World Cup, Canada knew that they were going to find it hard to get a result against an experienced Croatian team. 

Plus, it can’t be forgotten that with their positive performance against Belgium, they had also lost their element of surprise. They weren’t going to sneak up on Croatia after what they had shown days earlier. 

Or so people thought. It took just two minutes for Canada to do what they had failed to do against Belgium, as Alphonso Davies leapt highest to meet a Tajon Buchanan cross to score Canada’s first men’s World Cup goal. 

THE FIRST GOAL EVER SCORED AT THE WORLD CUP FOR CANADA: ALPHONSO DAVIES! 🇨🇦#FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/0t3iLwtCvk

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) November 27, 2022

It was a massive moment, especially in the context of the performance they had against Belgium, as it immediately showed that what they had done days earlier was no fluke. Here they were, against a team many expected to make another deep run at the World Cup, and they were able to get in the first punch without much resistance. 

Unfortunately for Canada, that goal ended up being the high-water mark of their day. Fuelled by the special nature of Davies’s goal, they continued to press on in search of a second, which they looked likely to find for a few minutes, but eventually Croatia started to grow into the game. 

Before you knew it, goals from Andrej Kramariċ and Marko Livaja had Croatia in the lead by half-time, and while Canada had a few decent half-chances from Jonathan Osorio and Jonathan David to tie things up early in the second half, Kramarić scored Croatia’s third in the 70th minute, before Lovro Majer sealed a 4-1 victory with a strike deep into second-half stoppage time. 

Croatia has tied the game on an Andrej Kramaric strike.#FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/UYlSTUrtxX

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) November 27, 2022

Disaster end to the half for Canada as Croatia scores a second goal to take the lead. #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/Aow8tz9VMx

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) November 27, 2022

After their hot start, Canada just completely ran out of gas, especially once they had to sub out midfielder Stephen Eustáquio at halftime for an injury.

Croatia scores a third goal to push Canada to the edge of elimination. #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/6DpTQVWZaX

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) November 27, 2022

All of a sudden, the side that had played with gusto and bravado against Belgium and the first few minutes of this game had looked like a timid side lacking experience, and Croatia punished them for it in a commanding performance, one that saw them win the xG battle 2.33 to 0.39. 

A mistake from Kamal Miller, Croatia moves up 4-1 with minutes to spare. #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/FtHASgt4sc

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) November 27, 2022

Therefore, while this 2026 Canadian team likely won’t have to worry about looking inexperienced and timid the way they did against Croatia in their games this summer, given how much they’ve grown as a side since, there is a lesson to be learned about managing how you start matches.

Here's the attacking momentum map from this game - as seen here, Canada (who are in black), started with gusto but then faded as the game went on (FotMob)

Especially with how this Canadian side plays under head coach Jesse Marsch, which is a Red-Bull, aggressive, pedal-to-the-metal style of soccer, Canada needs to manage their energy in games this summer, especially if they start a game with similar bravado. 

They got a reminder of what that can look like in their final pre-World Cup friendly, which came against the Republic of Ireland, as Canada came out flying en route to earning a 1-0 first-half lead, before fizzling out and settling for a 1-1 draw after conceding in the second half - the exact sort of scenario they’d want to avoid at this World Cup. 

At the World Cup, you have to be able to pick your moments, as experienced teams will punish you for having too much gusto, and Canada learned that the hard way against Croatia. 

Lesson #3: Avoid self-inflicted errors: 

Canada 1-2 Morocco, 2022 World Cup, Group F (December 1st, 2022)

After losing their first two matches, Canada were already eliminated by the time they took on Morocco, but they still had the chance to play spoiler in this game. 

Unfortunately for Belgium, who were hoping for a bit of help from Canada as they concurrently scraped out a 0-0 draw against Croatia in their final group stage game (one they absolutely should’ve won, by the way, given that they generated five big chances and 3.07 xG), Morocco were able to pick up a 2-1 victory in this game to finish as Group F winners. 

To be fair to Canada, it’s not as if they phoned it in during this game, as they put in a good fight against the eventual fourth-place finishers of this World Cup (they won the xG battle 1.35 to 0.53), but they were sunk by one thing - big defensive mistakes. 

Part of the reason Morocco didn’t need to attack as much is that they had a 2-0 lead after 25 minutes, allowing them to sit back and protect their result, one that allowed them to win this group. 

First, Canada’s Milan Borjan absolutely gifted Morocco’s Hakim Ziyech a goal after a horrific turnover in the 4th minute, before Youssef En-Nesyri scored way too easily on a long ball that Canada couldn’t deal with in the 23rd minute, and that’d be all Morocco would need to win. 

An unfortunate error from Milan Borjan gives Morocco the early lead#FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/ZFpJ4Fdeyg

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 1, 2022

Too easy for Morocco! Youssef En-Nesyri turns on the jets and beats Milan Borjan! #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/4BZWQIssyT

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 1, 2022

Canada, to their credit, pulled back a tally in the 40th minute after Sam Adekugbe forced an own goal out of Nayef Aguerd with a dangerous cross, helping them stay in the game.

GREAT WORK by Adekugbe down the left side. Canada get one back#FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/tRZbB5L7rW

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 1, 2022

As a result, they were almost able to tie the game in the second half, with Atiba Hutchinson almost scoring a storybook header that hit the crossbar and narrowly stayed out by just millimetres. 

THIS CLOSE to a 2-2 game#FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/XkKTEozraM

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 1, 2022

In the end, though, Canada were never able to overcome the self-inflicted errors they made at the start of this game, and that left them unable to pick up their first World Cup win or point, which still would’ve been an impressive milestone even if it came in an inconsequential match for them. 

Because of that, it’s a good reminder to this Canadian team that they have to manage their mistakes in games this summer. That’s worth noting because of how they play defensively, which sees them push high up the field aggressively to close down space for their opponents; as a result, they’re always one small mistake away from a massive defensive breakdown. 

They’ve done a great job of avoiding those sorts of catastrophic defensive breakdowns (and the play of goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau has also spared their blushes on a few occasions), which is why they’ve had an excellent defensive record in the past 12 months, so they’ll hope they can keep that up and avoid the sort of mistakes they made against Morocco in 2022. 

Especially if Canada’s struggles in front of goal persist, they’re going to need to give themselves as big a margin for error offensively as possible, and avoiding conceding cheap goals will help them do that.