Canada World Cup 2022 results, squad list, fixtures and latest odds

After an opening loss to Belgium, coach John Herdman had boldly predicted that Canada, who have not won a single World Cup game or even scored a goal, was "gonna eff Croatia" the 2018 finalists.

After being thrashed 4-1 by the 12th ranked Croatians on Sunday, Andrej Kramaric, who contributed a pair of goals to the victory, summed up the result: "In the end Croatia demonstrated who effed who".

While Canada may have been humbled, Herdman remained unbowed making no apologies for his incendiary remarks beyond grudgingly admitting he could have been a little more diplomatic.

"Not at all," said Herdman, when asked if he regretted his comments. "There's a respect there for Croatia.

"We're here to push as far as we can as a team. I could have been a bit more composed coming out of the tunnel but that's my learning.

"I'll take that on the chin but from a mindset point of view I think we showed in that first 25 minutes that little old Canada can compete with the best in the world. We showed we can compete."

"We had some other goals - to create some firsts, but we never got to those moments. I think at times it was one pass too many around the box. I'm not going to criticise them because when you outshoot Belgium I can't complain too much.

Canada World Cup 2022 squad

Canada, led by captain Atiba Hutchinson, were a versatile blend of youth and experience, with Herdman not shying away from promoting young talents: Alistair Johnston, who plays for Montréal, has played almost every minute of qualification, only two years after playing at collegiate level.

Goalkeepers: Milan Borjan (Red Star Belgrade), James Pantemis (CF Montreal), Dayne St. Clair (Minnesota United)

Defenders: Sam Adekugbe (Hatayspor), Derek Cornelius (Panetolikos), Alistair Johnston (CF Montreal), Richie Laryea (Nottingham Forrest), Kamal Miller (CF Montreal), Steven Vitoria (Chaves), Joel Waterman (CF Montreal)

Midfielders: Stephen Eustaquio (FC Porto), Liam Fraser (Deinze), Atiba Hutchinson (Besiktas), Mark-Anthony Kaye (Toronto FC), Ismael Kone (CF Montreal), Jonathan Osorio (Toronto FC), Samuel Piette (CF Montreal), David Wotherspoon (St. Johnstone)

Forwards: Tajon Buchanan (Club Brugge), Lucas Cavallini (Vancouver Whitecaps), Jonathan David (Lille), Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich), Junior Hoillett (Reading), Cyle Larin (Club Brugge), Liam Miller (FC Basel), Ike Ugbo (Troyes)

Who is their best player?

Canada's World Cup side was defined by its promising youth, and the most dazzling amongst these players is almost certainly gifted winger Alphonso Davies. The most expensive Canadian player in history won the Champions League in 2020 with Bayern Munich, and is the face of Canada's footballing renaissance.

Davies had a penalty saved in the opening game against Belgium, but ranked highly in Telegraph Sport's readers ratings, though team-mate, defender Alistair Johnston, was the readers' player of the match.

What are Canada's results and fixtures?

Group F

November 23: Belgium 1 Canada 0

November 27: Croatia 4 Canada 1

December 1: Canada vs Morocco

What is Canada's World Cup record?

Canada have made only one appearance at a World Cup, in 1986, where they failed to make it out of the group stage after losses against France, Hungary, and the Soviet Union. They did not score a goal in any of those five matches.

The golden generation, however, have ushered in a new atmosphere of positivity around Qatar 2022, despite the challenges they face in a thorny group. Canada won the third round of Conacaf qualifiers, beating runners-up Mexico for the first time in more than 20 years, and so start the competition on a wave of confidence.

Argentina | Australia | Belgium | Brazil | Cameroon | Canada | Costa Rica | Croatia | Denmark | Ecuador | England | France | Germany | Ghana | Iran | Japan | Mexico | Morocco | Netherlands | Poland | Portugal | Qatar | Saudi Arabia | Senegal | Serbia | South Korea | Spain | Switzerland | Tunisia | Uruguay | USA | Wales