Canada, the 20th team to play in a CONMEBOL Copa América™
2024-03-24
- With its victory against Trinidad and Tobago, it secured a spot in the 48th edition of the oldest national teams tournament in the world.
- It comes from playing in the FIFA World Cup 2022.
Canada’s journey to qualify for the CONMEBOL Copa América United States 2024™ ended on March 23, with a 2-0 victory against Trinidad and Tobago but began in 2023 with the Concacaf Nations League, a qualifying tournament.
As one of the top four ranked teams in the Concacaf system (alongside the United States, Mexico, and Costa Rica), Canada advanced directly to the quarterfinals of the tournament. There, they played against Jamaica in November 2023: the series – home and away – ended 4-4 but the Reggae Boyz advanced to the semifinals and secured qualification to the CONMEBOL Copa América™, thanks to the away goals rule.
The final playoff was at Toyota Stadium, against Trinidad and Tobago, with a known history for Les Rouges.
Canada has been champion twice in the Concacaf national team tournament. With the old format, in 1985, and with the new one (the Gold Cup) in 2000. It has the particularity of being the only team outside of the United States and Mexico to have lifted the Gold Cup.
In 2022, Canada returned to play in a FIFA World Cup after 36 years. They were eliminated in the group stage, where they faced Belgium, Morocco, and Croatia; the latter two were semifinalists of the tournament.
Canada’s debut in the CONMEBOL Copa América™ extends to 20 the teams that have participated in the tournament: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela (the 10 from CONMEBOL), Mexico, United States, Costa Rica, Japan, Honduras, Jamaica, Panama, Haiti, and Qatar.
Its key figure is Alphonso Davies, a 23-year-old defender who has been playing for Bayern Munich since 2019. Their coach is Mauro Biello.
In addition to debuting in the tournament, Canada will be part of the opening match of the CONMEBOL Copa América United States 2024™, on June 20 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, against Argentina, the defending champion of the tournament and the last champion of the FIFA World Cup.