Home of football statistics and historyCanada have failed to qualify for the previous eight editions of the World Cup, but they will be optimistic of their chances of making next year’s tournament in Qatar. The North American nation have qualified for the major showpiece on just one occasion (1986), but the emergence of young players such as Jonathan David and Alphonso Davies gives them hope of securing another World Cup berth.
As per the 2022 World Cup qualification process, the top five nations in North and Central America and the Caribbean progress automatically to the third round , skipping the initial group stage as well as round-robin phase. Mexico (11), USA (22), Costa Rica (46), Jamaica (48) and Honduras (62) received a bye to the final qualifying round when the draw was made in August last year. The other 29 teams will start their campaign from the first round.
Canada (73), who were only the seventh best-ranked team, have to do the hard way and they may have to play at least 20 matches to qualify for another World Cup. The nation begin their qualifying in Group B where they have been drawn alongside Suriname (141), Bermuda (168), Cayman Islands (200) and Aruba (193) (teams play each other once).
They should comfortably go through as the winners of their group, but the real test could come in the round robin phase which will involve the toppers from Group A to F. Canada will face the winners of Group E involving Haiti (86), Nicaragua (151), Belize (170) and Turks and Caicos Islands (203) in a double-legged tie. Haiti are genuine favourites to go through.
Canada have a strong competitive record against Haiti with five wins, two draws and just one defeat. However, that loss came during the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup where Haiti stunned them with a 3-2 triumph at the quarter-final stage. John Herdman’s side will be hoping to avenge the defeat this summer, should they come up against them. So for all of you who love placing wagers on football matches, this can be a great opportunity to test your luck. You can find multiple sports betting websites on the Realcasinoscanada site and enjoy some quality online betting on the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.
If Canada go through, they will progress to the final round to face USA, Mexico, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Honduras and the winners of the other two round-robin games (home and away). Mexico are obviously favourites to finish top of their qualifying group while United States and Costa Rica are the other much fancied teams to secure an automatic berth.
However, Canada have shown that they can punch above their weight on their day and registered a stunning 2-0 triumph over the United States during the Nations League campaign in 2019. Unfortunately, that was not sufficient to top their group as the USMNT beat them 4-1 in the reverse fixture and qualified for the finals this summer.
Canada have a quality attack at their disposal with the emergence of Jonathan David and Alphonso Davies and alongside them, they have the experience of Scott Arfield and Junior Hoilett, who have played in the Premier League in the past. Consistency has been a concern, but they should be right in the mix for qualification, provided they are no hiccups during the knockout round.
Finishing in the top three in the final round could be a stiff task for them, but we fancy their prospects of competing for the fourth spot which would guarantee a place in the Inter-confederation play-offs, where they could face a nation from AFC, CONMEBOL or OFC home and away for a spot in next year’s World Cup in Qatar.
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