Four soccer players with B.C. roots are named to Canada’s 26-man roster for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, a five-week tournament played in Canada, Mexico and United States starting Thursday, June 11.
National team head coach Jesse Marsch confirmed his player selections May 29, two weeks ahead of Canada’s first match June 12 in Toronto.
B.C.-raised players on the roster are all defenders — Niko Sigur, 22, of Burnaby (Hadjuk Split pro team), Alistair Johnston, 27, of Vancouver (Celtic FC), Joel Waterman, 30, of Aldergrove/Langley (Chicago Fire FC) and Alphonso Davies, 25, of Burnaby/Edmonton (Bayern Munich).
“It is an honour to name our squad for a World Cup on home soil,” Marsch said in Toronto. “These players reflect the many communities, cultures and journeys that make up this country. They are determined, fearless, and proud to wear Canada across their chest. We look forward to uniting Canadians this summer, and we invite everyone to be part of this journey with us.”
In exhibition play, Team Canada beat Uzbekistan 2-1 at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadiumon on Monday (June 1), with another pre-tourney match Friday (June 5) against the Republic of Ireland at Stade Saputo in Montreal.
Canada will compete in Group B at the World Cup, with matches June 12 at Toronto Stadium (vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina), then June 18 (Qatar) and June 24 (Switzerland) at Vancouver Stadium (aka BC Place), all broadcast live on TSN, CTV, Crave and RDS in Canada.
Canada’s three goalkeepers at the tournament are Maxime Crépeau (from Orlando City SC), Owen Goodman (Barnsley FC, on loan from Crystal Palace FC) and Dayne St. Clair (Inter Miami FC).
In addition to the four from B.C., defenders are Moïse Bombito (OGC Nice), Derek Cornelius (Olympique de Marseille), Luc de Fougerolles (Fulham FC), Alfie Jones (Middlesbrough FC) and Richie Laryea (Toronto FC).
Midfielders on the roster are Ali Ahmed (Norwich City FC), Tajon Buchanan (Villarreal CF), Mathieu Choinière (LAFC), Stephen Eustáquio (FC Porto), Marcelo Flores (Tigres UANL), Ismaël Koné (U.S. Sassuolo Calcio), Liam Millar (Hull City FC), Jonathan Osorio (Toronto FC), Nathan Saliba (R.S.C. Anderlecht) and Jacob Shaffelburg (LAFC).
Up front, Canada’s four forwards are Jonathan David (Juventus FC), Promise David (Royale Union Saint-Gilloise), Cyle Larin (RCD Mallorca) and Tani Oluwaseyi (Villarreal CF).
While no current Vancouver Whitecaps FC players were named to Team Canada, five club alumni were, including Ahmed, Cornelius, Crépeau, Davies and Laryea. As well, Surrey’s Jeevan Badwal, a midfielder, is among Whitecaps players still eligible to play for Canada at the World Cup, as injury replacement, along with Sam Adekugbe and Ralph Priso.