Canada World Cup 2022 roster: Projected final squad and starting XI for Qatar

Manager John Herdman has steered Canada to its first men’s World Cup since 1986, and only the nation’s second-ever men’s World Cup appearance.

Now, with history made, it’s time to get down to business. The 26-man roster will be decided in short order, with the selected players tasked with shocking the world in Qatar.

Those rosters need to be locked down by Monday, November 14 at the very latest. The expanded 55-man “release list” comes roughly a month beforehand with a deadline of Friday, October 21. The names on the 26-man list come from the 55-man preliminary squad.

The September World Cup warmup matches against Qatar and Uruguay represented the final chance for players on the bubble to make their case to Herdman before returning to their club teams. The next time they wear the Canadian colors will be during World Cup camp in November in preparation for their Group F opener against No. 2-ranked Belgium. 

MORE: What is the deadline for World Cup rosters? 

Canada World Cup roster for Qatar 2022

As all nations will do prior to the 2022 World Cup, Canada are set to select a full roster ahead of the tournament in Qatar. John Herdman will have 26 selections available to him, as rosters were expanded slightly from the customary 23 players.

Given the smaller pool of players used by Herdman, his core group is tight-knit, leaving him with far fewer major choices heading to Qatar.

Predicted 26-man World Cup roster for Canada

Canada stars, strengths, and weaknesses at 2022 World Cup

Canada Stars

The two unquestioned stars of the Canadian national team are Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David, who have taken this team from CONCACAF contender to World Cup competitor.

Davies plays full-back at his club Bayern Munich, but is often deployed in a more advanced role for the national team, either at wing-back alongside a back-three or as an out-and-out winger. Still, he can play full-back when needed, providing some defensive acumen along with his world-class attacking service from wide areas.

David, meanwhile, is one of the hottest young attacking stars in Europe and looks set to be a wanted man once the season is up. Born in Brooklyn, NY to Haitian parents, David emigrated to Canada as a six-year-old and has represented Canada since his youth days. Now banging in goals at Lille, he’s developed a seamless strike partnership with Cyle Larin at the national team level that is likely to see him earn a big-money move in the near future.

MORE: Why Canada will not get a new jersey at the 2022 World Cup

Canada Strengths

There are a surprising amount of strengths for a Pot 4 team at the World Cup that should give other Group F participants pause.

The goalkeeping position is bursting at the seams, with regular starter Milan Borjan plus backups Maxime Crepeau and Dayne St. Clair all in great club form. 

The midfield is also incredibly deep. Stephen Eustaquio is a must-start when healthy, and 37-year-old Atiba Hutchinson (below), who can also fill in at center-back, will provide leadership if he can recover from a recent knock. 

Samuel Piette will often start alongside Eustaquio, with Mark-Anthony Kaye as backup to either in the pivot. Jonathan Osorio and Junior Hoilett can occupy a more advanced position as a link to the attackers when the formation calls for it, although Osorio could be limited by a recent injury.

As a result of that depth, this team is exceptionally tactically flexible. They are capable of playing a three-center-back formation with Alistair Johnston moving centrally, which allows wing-backs Alphonso Davies and Richie Laryea to bomb forward. Or, they can line up in a more traditional formation that sees Davies move higher up the pitch and slots the dangerous Sam Adekugbe in at left-back. The team is capable in both setups, something that keeps opponents off guard.

Lastly, this team has an enviable togetherness. John Herdman has done incredibly well to foster a dressing room culture that has the team playing for each other on the pitch and enjoying life in the national team off it. Because he has few decisions to make when putting together the final 26-man roster, the players have already fostered a tight relationship as a consistent squad.

Canada Weaknesses

The biggest weakness for this team is experience. With Canada reaching the nation’s first World Cup since the 1980’s, there is nobody on this roster that has been to a major FIFA international tournament before.

Additionally, most of the players are pieced together from either domestic sides or smaller European clubs. There are only three players on the projected roster playing in a Big Five European league, and only a handful with Champions League experience.

As a result, this team knows it must play not just as a collection of talented players, but as a whole that’s greater than the sum of its parts. John Herdman holds this team together, and however they perform at the World Cup will depend largely on maintaining that squad buy-in.

Canada starting lineup at the FIFA World Cup

There are actually two possible starting lineups that John Herdman can select from, having fostered exceptional tactical flexibility from his group. He has deployed a 3-5-2 on occasion, with Alistair Johnston sliding over as a third center-back, while also using a more traditional 4-2-3-1 to fit all his attackers in the same lineup.

Both will be covered here, as there are slightly different personnel used in each, and both will almost surely appear at various points during the 2022 World Cup.

Herdman also used a 4-4-2 occasionally through World Cup qualifying, but has dumped that recently in favor of the 4-2-3-1.

Predicted Canada starting XI (3-5-2)

Predicted Canada starting XI (4-2-3-1)

Projected Canada World Cup roster cuts

While Canada are a strong team, the nation is still building a base of top-class football players, and therefore the established player pool is considerably thinner than some other teams.

With that in mind, Herdman has made it pretty obvious which players are the ones fighting for a spot on the 2022 World Cup roster. That leaves very few tough decisions for Herdman to make when it comes to selecting players to represent the CONCACAF side.

As mentioned, Herdman could drop one of the backup defenders in favor of a younger player like midfielder Ismael Kone or forward Luca Koleosho. Kone has another way into the squad if David Wotherspoon and Jonathan Osorio can’t regain full match fitness in time.

Center-back Scott Kennedy has been excellent for Canada, and now that he’s back starting for his 2. Bundesliga side, his place may be safe again. Fellow central defender Derek Cornelius is the other potential candidate should a cut be needed to make room. Atiba Hutchinson’s ability to step in along the backline could ultimately influence this decision.

It’s likely to be either Ike Ugbo or Theo Corbeanu earning a ticket to Qatar as a third-string forward. It’s hard to see a scenario in which both care called up.

The other players on the list to be cut either haven’t been called up all that often or have not seen much time when called up.

Projected final Canada roster cuts