This time Canada came to the World Cup

This is the most important sporting event on the planet and, for the very first time, Canada will be there.

In September 1985, in a tumultuous match in St. John's, Canada's National Men's Team defeated Honduras 2-1. to win a place at the 1986 World Cup football tournament in Mexico

The first World Cup was held in 1930 in Uruguay, where the team also won the tournament. The event was canceled in 1942 and 1946 due to World War II. Brazil won five World Cups – more than any other country – in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002.

Canada competed for the first time at the World Cup in 1958 and again in 1970, 1974 , 1978 and 1982, failing to qualify each time.

In 1986, when Canada qualified for the first time, 121 countries competed for 24 places in the final tournament. In order to qualify for the tournament, the teams play a series of games in their regional subdivisions. Canada plays in CONCACAF, which covers North and Central America and the Caribbean.

17 nations competing for a niche

<p clbad = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Two spots in the 1986 final were awarded to CONCACAF teams The host country, Mexico, automatically claimed one, leaving 17 nations to fight for each other.Canada recorded five wins, zero draws – or no one – as we call it in soccer – and three defeats.

Canadian players were not used to the requirements of playing in the rarefied air of high altitudes like these. To prepare, some of them attended additional training in Colorado Springs. Defender Ian Bridge, who usually played with a Swiss team, temporarily settled on a site in the Alps to prepare for playing at high altitude.

"Canada is already a winner," said the program of the World Cup nde of 1986. "This coach Tony Waiters and his players overcame so many hurdles to qualify is itself significant. Any success achieved in Mexico will be a bonus to this success. "" Data-reactid = "28"> Two places in the 1986 final were awarded to CONCACAF teams. The host country, Mexico, automatically claimed one, leaving 17 nations to fight for each other. In qualifying, Canada recorded a record of five wins, zero draws or no wins, as it was called in soccer, and three losses.

Canadian players were not used to the demands of playing in the rarefied air of high altitudes like those in Mexico. To prepare for this, some of them attended additional training in Colorado Springs. Defender Ian Bridge, who usually plays with a Swiss team, is temporarily on a site in the Alps to prepare for high altitude play.

"Canada is already a winner," read the 1986 World Cup schedule. "Coach Tony Waiters and his players overcame so many hurdles to qualify, any success achieved in Mexico will be a bonus to this success. "

"A solid foundation for the future"

<p clbad = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = " text "content =" Canada played three games in the World Cup tournament, against France, Hungary and the Soviet Union lost all three games (1-0, 2-0 and 2-0 , respectively), marking only one goal

"From a Canadian point of view, we gave it all. According to an article in The Globe and Mail on June 10, 1986, Tony Waiters, Team Canada coach, said: "In this World Cup, it was not enough to win a match or score a goal. But I think we have a solid foundation for the future. We realize what we must do to improve ourselves as a country.

In February 2000, Team Canada scored an incredible surprise by winning the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Mexico in the quarterfinals and defeated Colombia in the final to win the championship. "data-reactid =" 30 "> Canada played three games in the World Cup tournament against France, Hungary and the Soviet Union and lost all three games (1-0, 2 -0 and 2-0, respectively), failing to score a single goal. [TRADUCTION] "From the Canadian point of view, we gave everything we could give," said the coach of Team Canada Tony Waiters after the third defeat, according to an article in The Globe and Mail on June 10, 1986. "In this World Cup, it was not enough to win a game or score a goal, but I think that we have a solid foundation for the future, we realize what we must do to improve ourselves as a country. "

In February 2000, Team Canada scored an incredible surprise by winning the Gold Cup, the CONCACAF championship – ranked 85th at the start of the tournament, Canada beat Mexico 10th in the quarterfinals and beat Colombia in the final e to win the championship

Colin Jose, a Canadian football historian, won the biggest triumph in the history of Canadian soccer. . The second best result was the game against Honduras, which cemented Canada's place at the 1986 World Cup.