2026 FIFA World Cup

16 fun facts about members of Canada’s FIFA World Cup squad

By Daniel Squizzato
June 13, 2026

The nation is buzzing after Canada’s dramatic 1-1 draw in its opening match of the FIFA World Cup on Friday.

The excitement of the tournament, which is being co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the USA, has brought unprecedented levels of attention to the Canadian men’s national team.

So perhaps you’re like many Canadians in not knowing too much about the boys in red. Never fear. We’ve got some fascinating tidbits about each of the 16 Canadians who saw action in the match against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

READ: How accessibility and alignment turned Canada into a soccer power

First up is Canada’s goal scoring hero, Cyle Larin. Perhaps, when reading his first name, you didn’t know it’s pronounced the same as Kyle.

So why does it start with “C” instead of “K”? It’s a tribute to Larin’s godmother, Cimone. As Larin’s mother Patricia told reporters back in 2015, “a lot of people make fun of how I spell his name, but I just joke back, ‘C’ is the Canadian way.”

Another hero on the day was goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau. His second-half save on a Bosnian breakaway kept the game within reach for Canada.

The 32-year-old was born in Greenfield Park, Quebec, but he’s not the only notable athlete associated with the town.

There’s also four-time Olympic medallist Émilie Heymans (diving) and three-time medallist Charline Labonté (hockey). Not to mention fellow soccer player Isabelle Morneau, who was inducted into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame in 2014.

Providing the assist on Larin’s goal was Promise David. He’s a relative newcomer to the national team, but made his World Cup dreams clear years ago.

He isn’t related to teammate Jonathan David. But in case the name stuff is confusing, you can use Jonathan’s nickname instead. It’s Iceman, based on his demeanour and his coolness in front of goal.

On the nickname front, Nova Scotia’s own Jacob Shaffelburg has a decent one too: Maritime Messi.

Striker Tani Oluwaseyi doesn’t have a nickname yet, but he’s got a guilty pleasure. The 26-year-old recently told Toronto Life magazine he’s a fan of British reality TV show Love Island: “I hate reality TV in general, but something about that show just moves me.”

Speaking of movement, midfielder Tajon Buchanan always has plenty of it down the right wing. His dynamic play earned him a move to Inter Milan in 2024, making him the first Canadian to ever play in Italy’s Serie A.

 
That opened the door for other Canadians, such as Ismaël Koné, who currently plays for Sassuolo. The 23-year-old, already playing in his second FIFA World Cup, made headlines in September following a tense exchange with Canada head coach Jesse Marsch.

But Marsch and Koné quickly made amends, with Marsch saying soon afterwards that the rupture and repair brought the two of them “closer than [they’ve] ever been”.

His partner in central midfield, Stephen Eustáquio, is similarly fiery. His older brother Mauro represented Canada at the youth levels, and currently manages Inter Toronto FC in the Canadian Premier League.

READ: Top 12 historic moments for Canada’s national soccer teams

Alistair Johnston also has a soccer-playing sibling: his younger brother, Malcolm. Now, the elder Johnston is a defender and isn’t expected to score lots of goals.

In fact, his only goal for the national team came in Canada’s most lopsided win ever: a 11-0 victory over the Cayman Islands in 2021.

Fellow defender Derek Cornelius also has one career goal for Canada. But here’s his fun fact: his go-to karaoke song would be Three Little Birds by Bob Marley.

A two-for-one fun fact: both Liam Millar and Luc de Fougerolles were part of the youth academy of English Premier League club Fulham (though not at the same time).

Impressively, Millar left southern Ontario to join the London-based club at age 13. Meanwhile, de Fougerolles (who was born and raised in London) joined the academy at just 8 years old!

There are other connective spiderwebs on this Canada team too. Richie Laryea and Cyle Larin both played for semi-pro Sigma FC in the mid-2010s. They were both drafted by Orlando City SC in Major League Soccer (Larin in 2015, Laryea in 2016).

And they both have last names starting with “Lar” — which isn’t super interesting, but facts flow better when they come in groups of three.

Here, let’s do another groups-of-three example. Midfielder Ali Ahmed (one) began playing soccer at age 6 with the North Toronto Soccer Club. So did Olympic gold medallist Quinn (two) and me, the person who wrote this article (three).

OK, maybe the groups-of-three thing doesn’t always work.

READ: Team Canada’s Quinn makes their own Olympic history

But what does always work is Jonathan Osorio, the elder statesman of this Canada team. The Toronto FC captain has played for his hometown club for 13 years, his entire professional career.

And finally, on Friday, he got to take the field for his country on that same field he’s patrolled hundreds of times.

Best of all? It was on his 34th birthday.