Canada

The Story

Canada is the third co-host and the only one most Americans don't know how to read. They've been to two World Cups in 96 years, scored a single goal in those two appearances combined, and now they're hosting matches in Toronto and Vancouver and walking into a tournament where the bar has quietly been raised on them.

The story of Canadian men's soccer this decade is John Herdman, then Jesse Marsch — the American who took over in 2024 with a mandate to push this group out of CONCACAF respectability and into something that looks like a tournament team. Marsch has the squad he wants. He has Alphonso Davies, the Bayern Munich left-back who is the most famous Canadian soccer player ever and is recovering from a torn ACL. He has Jonathan David, the striker who is having his worst season in five years at Juventus. He has Stephen Eustáquio, who runs the midfield, and a deep pool of dual-nationals — Tajon Buchanan, Ismael Koné, Jacob Shaffelburg — who give this group a shape Canada hasn't had before.

Whether they can win a knockout match is genuinely unknown. Whether Toronto and Vancouver will lose their minds for them anyway is not.

3 Players to Know

Alphonso Davies

Born in a Ghanaian refugee camp to Liberian parents who'd fled the civil war, raised in Edmonton from age five, fluent in three languages by ten. He's one of the best left-backs in the world at Bayern Munich on his good days — but he tore his ACL last year and is still rebuilding. He came off the bench against Freiburg in early April and assisted a goal. Marsch told ESPN he's 'ready' for the World Cup. Whether he's the Davies of 2022 or 75% of him is the single biggest variable in this team's ceiling.

Jonathan David

Born in Brooklyn, raised in Ottawa, broke through at Gent before five high-volume seasons at Lille (109 goals). He moved to Juventus last summer and the move has not gone well — five Serie A goals in 16 games. Marsch publicly called him 'the best forward I've ever coached,' which is both a vote of confidence and a lot of pressure. He's still Canada's only proven international striker. If he finds his Lille form again in June, Canada has a chance to do something.

Stephen Eustáquio

Born in Leamington, Ontario, raised in Portugal from age nine, played for Portugal's U-21s before switching to Canada in 2020. The midfield engine — captained the side through Davies' absence and is the player Marsch trusts to set tempo. Plays for Porto. He is the least famous of these three names and the most important to whether Canada actually controls a match against Belgium or Ecuador.

The Food

Signature Dish

The honest answer is poutine — fries that hold up, dark gravy with body, cheese curds that have to squeak when you bite them. Anything less is a tray of soggy nachos pretending. The other Canada on a plate is breakfast: peameal bacon (Canadian back bacon rolled in cornmeal, on a kaiser bun), real maple syrup that costs what real maple syrup costs, and a butter tart for the road. Montreal-style smoked meat sandwiches and a proper St. Viateur bagel — boiled in honey water, baked over wood — are the ones DFW will struggle to find.

Where to Eat in DFW

Maple Leaf Diner in Preston Valley — the Windsor-born owner moved here for his wife and built a corner of Ontario in north Dallas. The poutine is the real thing (one variation is a poutine-topped chicken-fried steak that they call 'the hangover cure'), and there are Nanaimo bars and butter tarts on the dessert board. Brunch-heavy, line-out-the-door on weekends — go early or go on a Wednesday.

Fan Culture

Canadian fans are still figuring out how to do this — and that's the charm. The Voyageurs, the supporters group, have a 30-year head start on the rest of the country, but most of the people in red-and-white this summer will be at their first World Cup match ever. Expect the loudest version of "O Canada" you've ever heard, a lot of people genuinely overwhelmed that this is happening, and zero of the world-weary cynicism you'll get from English or Italian fans. They will applaud the opposing keeper for a good save. They will apologize if they spill your beer. When Davies touches the ball, the noise is going to be something none of these stadiums have ever recorded.