Canada marks impressive return to men’s FIFA World Cup

Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team made a brave return to the FIFA World Cup on Wednesday night despite a 1:0 loss to Belgium in their opening group match at Qatar 2022. Canada featured both an entertaining and exciting attack as the 40,432 fans at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium were drawn to the edge of their seats for a full 90 minutes.
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​Belgium’s star goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois stopped an Alphonso Davies penalty attempt in the 10th minute before Michy Batshuayi scored the lone goal late in the first half. Kamal Miller was Canada’s Player of the Match after an all-star performance in which he blocked several key Belgium attacks.

“We’re proud of what they did, really proud”, said John Herdman, Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team Head Coach. “They proved that they can play here and we can push on if we stay connected, we keep believing and we keep building on our brotherhood.”

Canada Soccer Match Centre & Match Report : https://canadasoccer.com/national-team-match-upcoming/?matchId=3297
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​FIFA Match Centre: https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/match-centre/match/17/255711/285063/400235477

“Our fans are football fans and I thought they really tried to own the stadium tonight. They were brilliant.”

Next, Canada will play Croatia on Sunday 27 November 19.00 local (11.00 ET / 8.00 PT) at Khalifa International Stadium for their second group-stage match at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™.

Canadian residents will be able to watch all of Canada’s group stage matches throughout the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 through TSN, CTV and RDS. Their second match against Croatia will be at 19.00 local (11.00 ET / 8.00 PT) on Sunday 27 November. And their final group stage match against Morocco will be at 18.00 local (10.00 ET /7.00 PT) on Thursday 1 December. All FIFA World Cup Qatar matches will be broadcasted live on TSN, online at tsn.ca, and through the TSN app. Fans will enjoy increased coverage of Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team on Canada Soccer’s social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube, using the #CANMNT keyword.

CANADA SOCCER’S MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM
​Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team are the reigning Kings of Concacaf, having finished first overall in the Concacaf Final Round of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers from September 2021 to March 2022. It marked the third time that Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team won a Concacaf title, having previously won the 1985 Concacaf Championship and the 2000 Concacaf Gold Cup. Canada now looks forward to their second participation at the men’s FIFA World Cup.

CAN 0 : 1 BEL
​2022-11-23 Al Rayyan, Qatar
​TSN ; Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium att. 40,432
​Referee / Arbitre : Janny Sikazwe (Jerson Dos Santos, Arsenio Marengula, Yoshimi Yamashita)

Goals / Buts
​BEL 44′ Michy Batshuayi (left foot / pied gauche) 0-1 (a.Toby Alderweireld)

CANADA – 18 GK Milan Borjan, 2 Alistair Johnston, 5 Steven Vitória, 4 Kamal Miller, 22 Richie Laryea (3 Samuel Adekube 74′),13 Atiba Hitchinson cap.(10 Junior Hoilett 58′), 7 Stephen Eustáquio (21 Jonathan Osorio 80′), 17 Cyle Larin (15 Ismaël Koné 58′),19 Alphonso Davies, 11 Tajon Buchanan (23 Liam Millar 80′), 20 Jonathan David, Coach / entraîneur John Herdman. Unused substitutes / substituts non utilisés:1 GK Dayne St.Clair, 16 GK James Pantemis; 6 Samuel Piette, 8 Liam Fraser, 9 Lucas Cavalini, 12 Iké Ugbo, 14 Mark Anthony Kaye, 24 David Woterspoon, 25 Derek Corneilius, 26 Joel Waterman, 27 Doneil Henry.

Gatorade Performance of the Match / Performance du match Gatorade :
​Kamal Miller

Group F Standings / Classement du groupe F :
​3 points (+1) ​ | Belgium
​1 points (+/-) | Croatia
​1 points (+/-) | Morocco
​0 points (-1) ​ | Canada

Kamal Miller puts in your @GatoradeCanada Performance of the Match ?#WeCAN pic.twitter.com/0vj8STYr37 — Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) November 23, 2022