Canadian Crossing

2023 MLS preview for Canadian teams

We are definitely doing something very different for the 2023 MLS season, given the new Major League Soccer media landscape.

MLS has prevented U.S. English and Spanish language outlets from carrying Canadian MLS teams since 2020 (outside of the 2020 Orlando tournament) during the regular season. The difference was that Canadians could watch Toronto FC, Club de Foot Montréal, and the Vancouver Whitecaps on TSN and TVA Sports while Americans could watch the home feed for those teams via ESPN+.

All of that is pretty much gone as most U.S. and Canadian rights have slipped behind the paywall of the MLS Season Pass via Apple TV. You don't get the games if you are an Apple TV subscriber without paying the extra charge.

If you relied on your local team coverage in the United States to watch a Canadian team, you are out of luck. No more local MLS telecasts in your market. That goes for the Seattle Sounders as well as FC Cincinnati. You would still have local radio coverage but the idea of listening to soccer on radio is better than white noise for going to sleep.

The relative good news for our Canadian readers is that TSN and RDS will have a limited schedule of games featuring the Canadian teams. The Canadian outlets will show a lot fewer MLS games than ever before but they will get more local games than U.S. soccer fans, meaning zero. A MLS press release says the Canadian outlets will have "at least one match per week featuring a Canadian team."

Canadians will have to pay for the MLS Season Pass through Apple TV to get the other games. The CTV games, which was a way to grow the sport in Canada, are no longer a reality.

There will be U.S. national games involving Fox Sports and Fox Sports 1 as well as Spanish language outlets. ESPN is not a part of the MLS package. Then again, that package will be limited and almost certainly won't include Canadian teams.

CF Montreal loses first ever home MLS playoff game to end its season

CF Montreal advances to 2022 MLS Eastern semifinal

CF Montreal to host first MLS playoff game since 2016

Une identité qui renoue avec les symboles de notre histoire.

Nous dévoilons notre nouveau logo qui sera utilisé en 2023 >>> https://t.co/nrwtFjZ67M

We unveil our new logo, which will be used in 2023 >>> https://t.co/XhjME42VXo#CFMTL pic.twitter.com/5Vp8wKiSDc

— CF Montréal (@cfmontreal) May 27, 2022

Club de Foot Montréal has a new logo for 2023 as well as a new coach. Hernán Losada, who briefly coached D.C. United in 2021 and very early in 2022, has been hired to replace Wilfried Nancy, who left to coach the Columbus Crew.

Columbus sent Montréal undisclosed compensation to acquire Nancy as well as assistant coach Kwame Ampadu, fitness coach Jules Gueguen, and video analyst Maxime Chalier, who followed to Columbus.

Across all competitions, Nancy had a 38-25-16 record in Montréal.

The team fired its reserve squad coach Sandro Grande a day after hiring him over a backlash from a 2012 tweet about how he thought the then premier Pauline Marois of Quebec should be assassinated.

2022 MLS Canadian teams preview

CanadianCrossing.com soccer coverage

We don't mean to ignore the changes on the pitch for Club de Foot Montréal (they lost a lot of good players) or any changes for Toronto FC or Vancouver FC. MLS doesn't really give us a reason to care.

Questions we might theoretically have such as "do we need Apple TV to watch the 'free' games" are nice but pretty irrelevant. More confusion than we can keep track off leading to the start of the season on Saturday. We get that MLS wanted the money from the Apple TV deal but driving local support away from soccer won't help you grow the sport.

photo credit and Twitter capture: @cfmontreal

Canada scored 2 goals in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, so there was some progress

Very proud of this team for everything we’ve achieved together. We didn't get the results we wanted at the World Cup, but the future for football in this country is bright. Thank you to all the travelling support for coming all the way to Qatar to support us every step of the way. pic.twitter.com/BvLZqRcgF0

— Alphonso Davies (@AlphonsoDavies) December 1, 2022

Canada scored 2 goals in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, a giant step from scoring 0 goals in 1986. The Canadian team had a -5 goal differential in 1986 (0-5) and 2022 (2-7).

John Herdman, the Canada coach, had his "eff Croatia" moment, which might have hurt in the lopsided loss 4-1 to Croatia. The 1-0 loss to Belgium and 2-1 loss to Morocco were close enough to win but not close enough.

The Alphonso Davies header early in the Croatia match gave Canada its first ever lead in the World Cup. That didn't last long.

Nayef Aguerd scored the other Canadian goal late in the first half Thursday against Morocco. There wasn't a celebration after the goal. Captain Atiba Hutchinson's header off a corner hit the crossbar, which could have tied that game. Alistair Johnston sailed a header just over the bar.

Canada was technically the second team eliminated from the tournament, following the host country Qatar. Croatia and Morocco advanced out of Group F, leaving behind Canada and Belgium. 

The penalty not called on Belgium just before the Belgians scored the only goal. The wasted opportunities by Canada in the first half of that opening match. The mistakes in the first half that led to the Morocco goals. The disagreement over the handshake after the Croatia match. These were learning chances for the 2022 Canadian men's team in the World Cup.

Though Canada wanted a better result, maybe even a tie, the momentum of a World Cup appearance was geared toward 2026, when Canada, along with the United States and Mexico, would host the 2026 World Cup.

That isn't much of a consolation at the moment for a team that showed a lot of promise. A completely healthy Canadian team would have made more of a difference but most countries had injuries of note.

2022 FIFA World Cup preview for Team Canada

Canada draws Group F for the 2022 World Cup

Toronto, Vancouver in; Edmonton out for FIFA 2026 World Cup host cities

CanadianCrossing.com soccer coverage

The Canadian women's team in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup will play Australia (co-host), Ireland, and Nigeria in Group B. The women's team has made 8 World Cup appearances since its debut in 1995. The team's best result was 4th in 2003. The women's team is the defending gold medal champions from the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

Twitter capture: @AlphonsoDavies
photo credit: @CanadaSoccerEN

2022 FIFA World Cup preview for Team Canada

Group F 🇧🇪🇨🇦🇲🇦🇭🇷#CANMNT #WeCAN #FinalDraw pic.twitter.com/cypz9cTTx0

— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) April 1, 2022

For the first time since 1986, Canada is relevant in a men's World Cup of football (soccer). Canada is in Group F in Qatar, site of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Canada's opponents in order of appearance are Belgium, Croatia, and Morocco. Canada went 0-3 in games and 0-5 in goals in 1986, the only other World Cup appearance for the men's team.

Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich) and Jonathan David (Lille) led the Canada squad.

Midfield stars include Stephen Eustaquio (FC Porto) and Atiba Huchinson. Hutchinson would be the oldest player ever to play at a World Cup at 39 years, 9 months, and 3 days.

Canada will not be at full strength. Goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau fractured his leg while playing for LAFC in the MLS Cup. His team had a better day, pulling off the comeback. Centre back Scott Kennedy suffered a shoulder injury with German club SSV Jahn. Toronto FC centre back Doneil Henry was injured during warmups before a friendly match with Bahrain.

The goalkeepers will be Milan Borjan (Red Star Belgrade) and Dayne St. Clair (Minnesota United) along with CF Montréal goalkeeper James Pantemis, who replaces Crepeau.

John Herdman will lead the way as head coach of the Canadian men's national soccer team.

YOUR #CANMNT WORLD CUP SQUAD. 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/Kzq0auPgJw

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 13, 2022

Here is the Canadian schedule:

Date	Opponent	Time	Stadium	City	U.S. TV
November 23	Belgium	2p	Ahmad bin Ali Stadium	Al Rayyan	Fox
November 27	Croatia	11a	Khalifa International Stadium	Al Rayyan	FS1
December 1	Morocco	10a	Al Thumama Stadium	Doha	FS1

Times listed are Eastern time. Qatar time is 8 hours ahead of EST.

CTV and TSN have the coverage in Canada with both outlets carrying the Canadian matches. The Bell Media outlets have extensive pregames for the Canada games and coverage starting 15 minutes before the times listed in the above table.

Fox Sports has the coverage of games in the United States. JP Dellacamera, Cobi Jones, and Geoff Shreeves will have the first Canada match on Fox. Dellacamera and Jones call the other Canada matches on Fox Sports 1. 

The tournament starts tomorrow though Canada won't play until Wednesday.

Toronto, Vancouver in; Edmonton out for FIFA 2026 World Cup host cities

Canada played Morocco in 2016, a friendly game that Morocco won 4–0. The countries played 2 other matches against each other. The only time Canada played Belgium was a friendly game in 1989. Belgium won 2–0. Canada has never played Croatia.

Canada, ranked at 41, is the lowest seed based on October 2022 FIFA rankings in Group F. Belgium is ranked at 2, Croatia is at 12, and Morocco ranks at 22.

Toronto Life has a bandwagon guide for those catching up on football (aka soccer). 

Canada draws Group F for the 2022 World Cup

CanadianCrossing.com soccer coverage

The Canadian women's team in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup learned its opponents: Australia (co-host), Ireland, and Nigeria in Group B.

The women's team has made 8 World Cup appearances since its debut in 1995. The team's best result was 4th in 2003. The women's team is the defending gold medal champions from the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

Twitter captures: @CanadaSoccerEN; @Sportsnet
photo credit: FIFA

CF Montreal loses first ever home MLS playoff game to end its season

85' Et le but de @DjoMihailovic 👌🔔

ALLEZ MONTRÉAL#MTLvNYC | 1-3 | #CFMTL pic.twitter.com/kTHHfgcSVB

— CF Montréal (@cfmontreal) October 23, 2022

Djordje Mihailovic scored a goal for CF Montréal in the 85th minute in the Eastern Conference semifinals in the 2022 MLS playoffs. Down 3-0, the goal wasn't noteworthy as NYCFC advances to the Eastern Conference final 3-1 at Stade Saputo.

The game was the franchise's first home playoff loss after winning the first 5 home MLS playoff games. This was only the second loss for Club de Foot Montréal in the last 17 games, playoffs included. 

NYCFC, the #3 seed, advances to Philadelphia to play the Union next Sunday.

Miahilovic also scored a goal in the CF Montréal playoff win against Orlando City SC. Ismaël Koné scored the only regulation goal in last week's playoff game.

The playoff win was the first for CF Montréal since 2016 and the first for any Canadian MLS team since the 2019 Eastern Conference final for Toronto FC.

Wilfried Nancy should get a lot of votes for the MLS coach of the year with the work he did for this franchise.

We noted in our coverage that the Club de Foot Montréal will look very different. There will even be a new logo for the 2023 team.

CF Montreal advances to 2022 MLS Eastern semifinal

CF Montreal to host first MLS playoff game since 2016

ESPN's Adrian Healey referred to Montréal as the "capital of french speaking Quebec" in both ESPN telecasts. This sentence makes sense to an anglophone audience. Quebec City is the capital of Quebec and is objectively more French than Montréal. Not saying right or wrong to Healey's comment. Would be an intriguing debate. 

2022 MLS Canadian teams preview

CanadianCrossing.com soccer coverage

Our MLS coverage is done for the season. We will have a 2022 men's World Cup preview in about a month.

MLS Canadian teams playoffs results

Year	Date	Teams	Winner	Score
2022	October 23	NYCFC @ CF Montréal	NYCFC	3-1
2022	October 16	Orlando City SC @ CF Montréal	CF Montréal	2-0
2021	November 20	Vancouver @ Sporting Kansas City	Kansas City	3-1
2020	November 24	Nashville @ Toronto	Nashville	1-0 (ET)
2020	November 20	Montréal @ New England	New England	2-1
2019	November 10	Toronto @ Seattle	Seattle	3-1
2019	October 30	Toronto @ Atlanta	Toronto	2-1
2019	October 23	Toronto @ New York City FC	Toronto	2-1
2019	October 19	D.C. United @ Toronto	Toronto	5-1 (ET)
2017	December 9	Seattle @ Toronto	Toronto	2-0
2017	November 29	Columbus @ Toronto	Toronto	1-0
2017	November 21	Toronto @ Columbus	Tie	0-0
2017	November 5	New York Red Bulls @ Toronto	NY Red Bulls	1-0
2017	November 2	Vancouver @ Seattle	Seattle	2-0
2017	October 30	Toronto @ New York Red Bulls	Toronto	2-1
2017	October 29	Seattle @ Vancouver	Tie	0-0
2017	October 25	San Jose @ Vancouver	Vancouver	5-0
2016	December 10	Seattle @ Toronto FC	Seattle	0-0 (5-4 PK)
2016	November 30	Montréal @ Toronto FC	Toronto FC	5-2 (ET)
2016	November 22	Toronto FC @ Montréal	Montréal	3-2
2016	November 6	Montréal @ New York Red Bulls	Montréal	2-1
2016	November 6	Toronto FC @ NYCFC	Toronto FC	5-0
2016	October 30	NYCFC @ Toronto FC	Toronto FC	2-0
2016	October 30	New York Red Bulls @ Montréal	Montréal	1-0
2016	October 27	Montréal @ D.C. United	Montréal	4-2
2016	October 26	Philadelphia @ Toronto FC	Toronto FC	3-1
2015	November 8	Portland @ Vancouver	Portland	2-0
2015	November 8	Montréal @ Columbus	Columbus	3-1 (ET)
2015	November 1	Vancouver @ Portland	Tie	0-0
2015	November 1	Columbus @ Montréal	Montréal	2-1
2015	October 29	Toronto FC @ Montréal	Montréal	3-0
2014	October 29	Vancouver @ Dallas	Dallas	2-1
2013	October 31	Montréal @ Houston	Houston	3-0
2012	November 1	Vancouver @ LA Galaxy	LA Galaxy	2-1

Twitter capture and logo credit: @cfmontreal

CF Montreal advances to 2022 MLS Eastern semifinal

68' KONÉ OUVRE LA MARQUE 🔔

Ismaël Koné gives us the lead!#MTLvORL | 1-0 | #CFMTL pic.twitter.com/Dy12uCKi9e

— x - CF Montréal (@cfmontreal) October 17, 2022

Home cooking worked wonders for CF Montréal in the team's first home playoff match since 2016.

Ismaël Koné scored in the 68th minute to put CF Montréal on the scoreboard in the 2022 MLS playoffs. Djordje Miahilovic added a goal on a penalty shot well into stoppage time. Miahilovic got the primary assist on Koné's goal.

The Koné tally was his first goal since August 28, the 3rd goal in 2022. Miahilovic added his 10th goal of the season, his second consecutive game with a goal.

Orlando City SC had 3 solid scoring opportunities in the first half at Stade Saputo but couldn't connect. CF Montréal allowed 0 shots on goal.

The #2 seed Club de foot Montréal advances to the Eastern Conference semifinal against the #3 seed New York City FC. NYCFC blew past Inter Miami 3-0 at Citi Field Monday night. The semifinal will be at Stade Saputo on Sunday at 1 pm Eastern on TSN, TVA Sports, and ESPN.

CF Montréal lost to New York City FC 4-1 at Yankee Stadium on March 12 and had a scoreless tie at home on July 30.

The Philadelphia Union hosts the other Eastern semifinal tonight against FC Cincinnati, a team coming off its first ever MLS playoff win. With a win on Sunday, Club de foot Montréal would host FC Cincinnati or travel to Philadelphia.

CF Montreal to host first MLS playoff game since 2016

NYCFC is the defending MLS Cup champions from 2021. Last year's squad upset the #1 and #2 seeds to get to the MLS Cup final, defeating a fellow #4 seed in the Portland Timbers on penalty kicks.

This year's NYCFC squad had a stretch of invincibility with a 11-1-5 run. In August, NYCFC went in the other direction with a 1-7-2 stretch.

2022 MLS Canadian teams preview

CF Montréal became the second MLS team ever to win its first 5 home playoff games. The team is building on the momentum of going 11-1-3 in the last 15 regular season games.

CanadianCrossing.com soccer coverage

This game was the first MLS game involving Canadian teams on U.S. television with English video and audio since the 2020 MLS playoffs. Sunday's game marks the second appearance in as many weeks on ESPN.

Has to be difficult to cover a team in the playoffs that the powers that be decided not to carry on U.S. television in any language.

MLS Canadian teams playoffs results

Year	Date	Teams	Winner	Score
2022	October 23	New York City FC @ CF Montréal	TBD	0-0
2022	October 16	Orlando City SC @ CF Montréal	CF Montréal	2-0
2021	November 20	Vancouver @ Sporting Kansas City	Kansas City	3-1
2020	November 24	Nashville @ Toronto	Nashville	1-0 (ET)
2020	November 20	Montréal @ New England	New England	2-1
2019	November 10	Toronto @ Seattle	Seattle	3-1
2019	October 30	Toronto @ Atlanta	Toronto	2-1
2019	October 23	Toronto @ New York City FC	Toronto	2-1
2019	October 19	D.C. United @ Toronto	Toronto	5-1 (ET)
2017	December 9	Seattle @ Toronto	Toronto	2-0
2017	November 29	Columbus @ Toronto	Toronto	1-0
2017	November 21	Toronto @ Columbus	Tie	0-0
2017	November 5	New York Red Bulls @ Toronto	NY Red Bulls	1-0
2017	November 2	Vancouver @ Seattle	Seattle	2-0
2017	October 30	Toronto @ New York Red Bulls	Toronto	2-1
2017	October 29	Seattle @ Vancouver	Tie	0-0
2017	October 25	San Jose @ Vancouver	Vancouver	5-0
2016	December 10	Seattle @ Toronto FC	Seattle	0-0 (5-4 PK)
2016	November 30	Montréal @ Toronto FC	Toronto FC	5-2 (ET)
2016	November 22	Toronto FC @ Montréal	Montréal	3-2
2016	November 6	Montréal @ New York Red Bulls	Montréal	2-1
2016	November 6	Toronto FC @ NYCFC	Toronto FC	5-0
2016	October 30	NYCFC @ Toronto FC	Toronto FC	2-0
2016	October 30	New York Red Bulls @ Montréal	Montréal	1-0
2016	October 27	Montréal @ D.C. United	Montréal	4-2
2016	October 26	Philadelphia @ Toronto FC	Toronto FC	3-1
2015	November 8	Portland @ Vancouver	Portland	2-0
2015	November 8	Montréal @ Columbus	Columbus	3-1 (ET)
2015	November 1	Vancouver @ Portland	Tie	0-0
2015	November 1	Columbus @ Montréal	Montréal	2-1
2015	October 29	Toronto FC @ Montréal	Montréal	3-0
2014	October 29	Vancouver @ Dallas	Dallas	2-1
2013	October 31	Montréal @ Houston	Houston	3-0
2012	November 1	Vancouver @ LA Galaxy	LA Galaxy	2-1

Twitter capture: @CFMontreal
logo credit: CF Montréal

CF Montreal to host first MLS playoff game since 2016

Billets en vente ce lundi à midi! 🎟️

Tickets for our first #MLSCupPlayoffs game on sale this Monday at noon.@BMOfr #CFMTL pic.twitter.com/Igik8NFBwp

— x - CF Montréal (@cfmontreal) October 10, 2022

CF Montréal is the lone MLS Canadian team to make the 2022 MLS playoffs. The Vancouver FC Whitecaps playoff hopes were alive on Decision Day. Toronto FC? Not so much.

Club de Foot Montréal finished with its best ever MLS record. CF Montréal finished 20-9-5 for 65 points with a +13 goal differential (63-50). The team won 6 more games and had 14 more points than any previous squad.

Interestingly, CF Montréal was 11-4-2 on the road. The only place they would travel to is Philadelphia, the top seed in the East.

Club de Foot Montréal had 15 single-goal wins, just behind the record of 18 set by New England in 2021.

Wilfried Nancy, who has been the CF Montréal coach since 2021, will get serious consideration for the coach of the year.

Club de Foot Montréal had a slim shot at finishing first in the Eastern Conference but finished short of the Philadelphia Union. CF Montréal hosts the #7 seed Orlando City SC, a team coming off a late goal over the Columbus Crew. CF Montréal had a 9-5-3 home record in 2022 while Orlando City SC was 5-6-6 on the road.

CF Montréal plays at 8 pm Eastern at Stade Saputo on October 16 on ESPN and ESPN Deportes in the United States, TSN and TVA Sports in Canada.

The teams split in the regular season, each winning at home. Orlando posted a 2-0 shutout on February 27 while CFL Montréal won handily 4-1 on May 7.

The Vancouver Whitecaps FC stuck around longer than expected. The Whitecaps had 3 home wins down the stretch, including a 2-0 win over Austin FC. Vancouver finished 12-15-7 for 43 points.

The home/road splits were astonishing: 10-4-3 at BC Place and 2-11-4 on the road. The goal differential of -17 almost made the playoffs, sharing a similar goal differential with San Jose (last place in the Western Conference) and Toronto FC.

The last road win for Vancouver in 2022 was June 18 when Vancouver blanked Dallas FC 2-0 in the Lone Star State.

The Whitecaps were the lone Canadian team in the 2021 MLS playoffs.

Toronto FC finished at 9-18-7 for 34 points with a current 293-minute scoring drought. The Reds could have helped out CF Montréal on Decision Day against Philadelphia yet lost 4-0. Toronto FC didn't even record a shot on goal in Philadelphia.

The Reds didn't finish last in the Eastern Conference (thanks DC United). Toronto FC was a decent 7-7-3 at BMO Field but a rancid 2-11-4 on the road.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC eliminated from 2021 MLS playoffs

2021 MLS playoffs preview: Vancouver Whitecaps FC as the #6 seed

CF Montréal hasn't played a home playoff game since the all-Canadian matchup in 2016 against Toronto FC. The team's last playoff game was a forgettable 2-1 loss in New England in 2020.

Toronto FC was the last Canadian team to win a MLS playoff game over Atlanta FC in the 2019 Eastern Conference final.

There is a push for CF Montréal to have a very successful MLS playoffs in 2022.

CF Montréal midfielder and captain Victor Wanyama won’t be back in 2023. The team's sole designated player has been with the team since 2020.

The team will also lose midfielder Djordje Mihailovic after the season to Eredivisie side AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands. There is considerable speculation that midfielder Ismaël Koné will also leave after the playoffs.

2022 MLS Canadian teams preview

CanadianCrossing.com soccer coverage

MLS kept the Canadian MLS teams off of U.S. television in English and Spanish for the third year in a row. The 2020 tournament in Orlando was a grand exception.

Quite a surprise for CF Montréal to draw an actual appearance in English in the United States. The Vancouver Whitecaps in 2021 had a playoff game without a live English audio feed, which was just mean.

We would love to be highly critical about those MLS television practices. However, the league has decided to dump all of its local telecasts in 2023 for Apple TV. We don't know how this will apply to TSN in Canada since all of the TSN telecasts are national. Watching local announcers say goodbye is exactly the kind of publicity the league shouldn't want.

Toronto FC, CF Montreal get to cross back into Canada

This was a good test for the MLS Canadian teams since the 2022 season marked the first time since 2019 that the teams played half their games on Canadian soil at home.

MLS Canadian teams playoffs results

Year	Date	Teams	Winner	Score
2022	October 16	Orlando City SC @ CF Montréal	TBD	0-0
2021	November 20	Vancouver @ Sporting Kansas City	Kansas City	3-1
2020	November 24	Nashville @ Toronto	Nashville	1-0 (ET)
2020	November 20	Montréal @ New England	New England	2-1
2019	November 10	Toronto @ Seattle	Seattle	3-1
2019	October 30	Toronto @ Atlanta	Toronto	2-1
2019	October 23	Toronto @ New York City FC	Toronto	2-1
2019	October 19	D.C. United @ Toronto	Toronto	5-1 (ET)
2017	December 9	Seattle @ Toronto	Toronto	2-0
2017	November 29	Columbus @ Toronto	Toronto	1-0
2017	November 21	Toronto @ Columbus	Tie	0-0
2017	November 5	New York Red Bulls @ Toronto	NY Red Bulls	1-0
2017	November 2	Vancouver @ Seattle	Seattle	2-0
2017	October 30	Toronto @ New York Red Bulls	Toronto	2-1
2017	October 29	Seattle @ Vancouver	Tie	0-0
2017	October 25	San Jose @ Vancouver	Vancouver	5-0
2016	December 10	Seattle @ Toronto FC	Seattle	0-0 (5-4 PK)
2016	November 30	Montréal @ Toronto FC	Toronto FC	5-2 (ET)
2016	November 22	Toronto FC @ Montréal	Montréal	3-2
2016	November 6	Montréal @ New York Red Bulls	Montréal	2-1
2016	November 6	Toronto FC @ NYCFC	Toronto FC	5-0
2016	October 30	NYCFC @ Toronto FC	Toronto FC	2-0
2016	October 30	New York Red Bulls @ Montréal	Montréal	1-0
2016	October 27	Montréal @ D.C. United	Montréal	4-2
2016	October 26	Philadelphia @ Toronto FC	Toronto FC	3-1
2015	November 8	Portland @ Vancouver	Portland	2-0
2015	November 8	Montréal @ Columbus	Columbus	3-1 (ET)
2015	November 1	Vancouver @ Portland	Tie	0-0
2015	November 1	Columbus @ Montréal	Montréal	2-1
2015	October 29	Toronto FC @ Montréal	Montréal	3-0
2014	October 29	Vancouver @ Dallas	Dallas	2-1
2013	October 31	Montréal @ Houston	Houston	3-0
2012	November 1	Vancouver @ LA Galaxy	LA Galaxy	2-1

Twitter capture: @CFMontreal
logo credit: CF Montréal

Toronto, Vancouver in; Edmonton out for FIFA 2026 World Cup host cities

FIFA announces Toronto and Vancouver as host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup™! 🇨🇦🏟

Toronto and Vancouver will join 11 host cities in the USA, and three host cities in Mexico as competition venues for the largest FIFA World Cup™ in history.

MORE 🔗: https://t.co/lDhELwSCee pic.twitter.com/imj5XIkT3k

— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) June 16, 2022

FIFA announced the 16 North American cities for the 2026 men's World Cup of football (soccer). Canada was originally supposed to get 3 cities but one of those slots went to the United States. Mexico got 3 locations while the United States received 11 cities.

Toronto and Vancouver were the Canadian cities invited to host games; Edmonton didn't make the cut.

The Canadian cities will host 10 games though we don't know how many will end up in each city. The United States will get 60 games while Mexico also gets 10 games. The consensus is that the U.S. cities will host the significant games in the tournament.

Toronto will be in the East section along with Boston (Foxborough), Philadelphia, Miami, and New York/New Jersey (East Rutherford, NJ).

Vancouver will be in the West section along with Seattle, San Francisco (Santa Clara), Los Angeles (Inglewood), and Guadalajara, Mexico.

The Central section consists of Kansas City, Dallas (Arlington), Atlanta, and Houston in the U.S. as well as Monterrey and Mexico City in Mexico.

Reminder: The Government of Alberta took the unusual step of demanding Edmonton host at least five of Canada's 10 allotted 2026 FIFA World Cup games. It also demanded Edmonton host two round of 32 or round of 16 knockout games.

Edmonton is now shut out of the World Cup.

— Kevin Nimmock (@KevinCTV) June 16, 2022

While Edmonton was the only Canadian city that missed the cut, the U.S. finalists that didn't make the cut were Cincinnati, Denver, Nashville, Orlando, Pasadena (CA), and Washington, D.C./Baltimore.

Montréal showed interest early. The Alberta government put conditions on funding that likely didn't help the Edmonton bid.

Canada defeated Costa Rica 1-0 in a World Cup qualifying game last November in front of 48,806 at Commonwealth Stadium. Don't mistake the selection process for the best places in Canada to host the tournament.

U.S. uses sun, speed to win 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup

Canada has never hosted a World Cup game on the men's side but did host the 2015 FIFA women's World Cup. That tournament was held in Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montréal, and Moncton, NB.

Montréal and Edmonton hosted the semifinals; Edmonton also hosted the 3rd place game while Vancouver hosted the final game.

You may recall that the 2015 tournament was the first time games were played on artificial surfaces, much to the dismay of the players. This is why BC Place will put in a grass surface.

BMO Field in Toronto will get more seating for FIFA requirements. The 30,000 seat stadium will get bumped up to 45,500, still by far the lowest capacity of any of the 2026 World Cup cities.

Canada draws Group F for the 2022 World Cup

The Canadian men will play later this year in Qatar in the 2022 World Cup. This will be the first trip for the men's team since its one and only appearance in 1986.

CanadianCrossing.com soccer coverage

The World Cup is normally in June/July (the 2022 World Cup moved to the fall due to heat concerns in Qatar). The CFL will have to adjust the schedule as needed.

Adjustments depend on when the stadiums will be used in the World Cup and any adjustments in removing the grass surface in Vancouver. MLS will steer clear as well, but their primary issues are in a number of U.S. cities also taken up by the 2026 World Cup.

The Toronto Argonauts could play home games at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton or an early Touchdown Atlantic game.

BMO Field will also get a name adjustment just like the Winnipeg and Ottawa stadiums had in 2015. FIFA doesn't allow corporate sponsored names. 

TSN/CTV and Fox have the 2026 World Cup rights in their respective countries.

Twitter captures: @CanadaSoccerEN; @KevinCTV
photos credit: @CanadaSoccerEN/FIFA

Canada draws Group F for the 2022 World Cup

Group F 🇧🇪🇨🇦🇲🇦🇭🇷#CANMNT #WeCAN #FinalDraw pic.twitter.com/cypz9cTTx0

— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) April 1, 2022

Canada was literally the last ball drawn out of Pot 4 for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The Canadian men's soccer team will be in Group F with Belgium, Morocco, and Croatia.

Even though Canada won the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) qualifying, the team still ended up in Pot 4, ranked 38 in FIFA rankings. The rankings for Canada's opponents are Belgium (2), Croatia (16), and Morocco (24).

Croatia was the runner-up in 2018, Belgium finished 3rd in 2018 so there is some tough competition. Morocco was in the World Cup in 2018 with a best finish in the round of 16 in 1986, the year Canada qualified for the World Cup.

Here is the Canadian schedule:

Date	Opponent	Time	Stadium	City
November 23	Belgium	2200	Ahmad bin Ali Stadium	Al Rayyan
November 27	Croatia	1900	Khalifa International Stadium	Al Rayyan
December 1	Morocco	1800	Al Thumama Stadium	Doha

Times listed are Qatar time, GMT+3. EST (Eastern) is GMT-5.

The late night times might seem like a disadvantage but consider that Qatar has an average high of 30°C (86°F) in November.

The top 2 teams in each group advance to the knockout stage.

Canada has been a bit excited when the men's soccer team qualified for the 2022 World Cup with a 4-0 win over Jamaica at BMO Field on Sunday. 

Canada finished first in CONCACAF qualifying with a 8-2-4 record. The final match was actually a 1-0 loss to Panama in Panama City on Wednesday.

Alphonso Davies may be the most famous name on the team. The team also has Cyle Larin (Besiktas) and Jonathan David (Lille) who are in the Champions League. Jonathan Osorio (Toronto FC) and captain Atiba Hutchinson (Besiktas) are notables in midfield.

Englishman John Herdman is the team coach. You might remember that Herdman led the 2015 Women's World Cup team.

2021 Tokyo Olympics Canadian wrapup

Canada and soccer means women's soccer. The women's soccer team won the gold medal in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Canada hosted the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. Christine Sinclair is the most famous soccer player from Canada.

The Canadian men's soccer team wants to shift that perspective now that the team will play in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

U.S. uses sun, speed to win 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup

This is the first time in the tournament for Canada since 1986 and only the second appearance ever.

Canada lost all 3 games in Group C in 1986 and didn't score a goal, finishing with a -5 goal differential.Canada lost to France (0-1), Hungary (0-2), and the Soviet Union (0-2) in Mexico. 

CanadianCrossing.com soccer coverage

The timing of Canada reaching the World Cup is extra good since the United States, Canada, and Mexico will host the 2026 World Cup.

Twitter capture: @CanadaSoccerEN
photo credit: One Soccer

2022 MLS Canadian teams preview

The 2022 MLS season will be notable in Canada because the Canadian MLS teams get to play all of their home games in Canada. The 2020 and 2021 seasons were filled with "home" games on U.S. soil from Connecticut, New Jersey, Florida, Oregon, and Utah.

Wilfried Nancy is the senior coach of the MLS Canadian teams, having served as the coach for CF Montréal in 2021.

Vanni Sartini took over the Vancouver Whitecaps on August 27, going 7-5-3 in the regular season.

Bob Bradley, father of captain Michael Bradley, is the new Toronto FC head coach. The senior Bradley was the initial coach of Los Angeles FC and served as the coach from 2018-2021.

Been a long time since a Toronto FC squad didn't have Jozy Altidore. Altidore is now with the New England Revolution after a buyout. Justin Morrow retired from MLS soccer.

Lorenzo Insigne is the most popular MLS offseason signing. The Italy national team starter won't get to Toronto until July on a free transfer. Insigne will be a viable 31 years old when he arrives.

Carlos Salcedo is another huge pickup for Toronto FC after being away from the MLS for 7 years. Salcedo is only 28.

CF Montréal will be glad to have Alistair Johnston on defence after acquiring Johnston from Nashville SC for $1 million in General Allocation Money.

Vancouver got a new right-sided centre back in Tristan Blackmon via Charlotte and ultimately LAFC.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC eliminated from 2021 MLS playoffs

2021 MLS playoffs preview: Vancouver Whitecaps FC as the #6 seed

Vancouver scored 1 playoff goal while CF Montréal barely missed the playoffs. Toronto FC didn't come close to the 2021 MLS playoffs.

Toronto FC, CF Montreal get to cross back into Canada

ABC and ESPN released their full schedules. Fox and Fox Sports 1 gave a press release but not a full schedule.

The Canadian MLS teams in 2021 did not appear on U.S. television, English or Spanish, in the regular season.

TSN will carry Toronto FC and Vancouver FC matches as well as 16 CF Montréal contests. TVA Sports will carry all CF Montréal matches en Francaise.

CTV will simulcast the TSN feed on Saturday (Sunday for May 8) telecasts this spring:

March 19 DC United @ Toronto FC, 3 pm
April 2 NYCFC @ Toronto FC, 4 pm
April 16 Vancouver @ CF Montréal, 3 pm
April 23 CF Montréal @ Philadelphia, 3 pm
April 30 Cincinnati @ Toronto FC, 3 pm
May 8 Toronto FC @ Vancouver FC, 4 pm
May 14 Orlando SC @ Toronto FC, 3 pm
May 21 Toronto FC @ DC United, 4 pm

ESPN+ will carry all English language feeds. This is where we note that ESPN+ carries the MLB, CFL, and NHL.

CanadianCrossing.com soccer coverage

Vancouver starts out the season in Columbus this afternoon. Toronto FC is in Dallas today. CF Montréal is in Orlando on Sunday.

The Canadian teams open their home schedule on March 5. Toronto FC has its home opener against the New York Red Bulls at BMO Field. CF Montréal opens its home schedule against Philadelphia at Olympic Stadium. The Stade Saputo schedule starts in April. Vancouver Whitecaps FC host New York City FC at BC Place. 

Charlotte FC is the newest expansion team. Nashville SC moves to the Western Conference.

logos credits: individual teams/MLS

Vancouver Whitecaps FC eliminated from 2021 MLS playoffs

The 2021 Vancouver Whitecaps FC season is now done after some much needed MLS playoff experience. Cristian Dajome scored on a penalty kick in the 39th minute, the lone goal for the Whitecaps. Sporting Kansas City advanced with a 3-1 win over Vancouver.

The Canadian teams were at a significant disadvantage from the other MLS teams in 2021, starting the season in the United States. All 3 teams either started with a new coach (Montréal) or switched coaches in the middle of the season (Toronto, Vancouver).

Ryan Gauld and Brian White led the way, especially in the much improved second half of the season for Vancouver. Vanni Sartini went on a really nice run as the newest Whitecaps coach.

Sporting Kansas City outshot Vancouver 12-6.

Chins up#VWFC | @Bell pic.twitter.com/MAdcT2MaFi

— Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) November 21, 2021

This was the best season for Vancouver since 2017, the only MLS season with a playoff win.

The Whitecaps made the MLS playoffs in a season where both Los Angeles teams were on the sidelines. The challenge will be tougher in 2022; having half of their games in Vancouver for the first time since 2019 will help out a lot.

Consider the surprise element of making the MLS playoffs for the first since 2017 (Vancouver) versus a team in the playoffs for the 10th time in 11 seasons (Sporting Kansas City).

.@WhitecapsFC finally end up on U.S. television thanks to @MLS playoffs. That was only helpful if your Spanish is muy bueno. @TUDNUSA normally has SAP in motion but not for the playoffs???

— Chad Rubel (@canadian_xing) November 21, 2021

Update on this: Univision isn’t doing an SAP feed for its playoff games this weekend because there are English-language broadcasts in the participating teams’ local markets.

I assume (I’ll find out) that the free live stream on MLS’ website has an English feed. https://t.co/mCv7jmBdQc

— Jonathan Tannenwald (@thegoalkeeper) November 18, 2021

MLS and its U.S. TV partners have worked together to eliminate Canadian teams from its national broadcasts during the regular season. Making the playoffs means access to U.S. television, though Vancouver drew a day where ESPN and Fox Sports 1 were not being used (as your humble narrator predicted).

The playoff game ran on Univision (Spanish) with an expected English language feed on TUDN. TUDN didn't have an English language feed for either playoff game. MLS points out that there was an English language feed on its Web site and app.

That doesn't help you if you were watching on TV or had a life and would watch the game at a later time. MLS handled this extremely poorly after getting things correct in previous seasons.

MLS allowed local feeds for the games on Univision and TUDN, but those were only for the local markets. The games specifically are on television, that is not on ESPN+. U.S. viewers outside of Seattle could see the final regular season game for the Whitecaps with the TSN feed. Access to the playoffs was considerably more difficult despite the game being on U.S. television.

The money saved by not having an English language feed is offset by the nasty taste of a public relations cluster[bleep].

Canadians could watch the game in English on TSN.

Even with a playoff appearance, the U.S. outlets almost certainly won't have Vancouver (or Montréal or Toronto) on TV in 2022. The only question will be whether those playoff appearances will have an English language feed.

2021 MLS playoffs preview: Vancouver Whitecaps FC as the #6 seed

Toronto FC, CF Montreal get to cross back into Canada

Romell Quioto had the lone goal in the 72nd minute to give CF Montréal the Voyageurs Cup as winners of the 2021 Canadian Championship. The win came at the expense of its primary MLS rival Toronto FC at Stade Saputo in Montréal.

Jordan Perruzza hit the goalpost for the Reds in the 90th minute, the closest Toronto FC came to a goal.

Quioto had 6 of CF Montréal's 23 shots compared to 4 for Toronto FC.

CF Montréal gets bragging rights and a 2022 Concacaf Champions League spot along with the New England Revolution, Colorado Rapids, Seattle Sounders, and the MLS Cup winner.

These teams met for the 2019 Voyageurs Cup as the then Montréal Impact won on a penalty shootout. The 2020 tournament came down to Toronto and Forge FC (Hamilton) that hasn't been scheduled.

CF Montréal had the edge over Toronto FC in the 2021 MLS regular season with 2 wins and a draw.

2021 MLS preview

CanadianCrossing.com soccer coverage

The biggest soccer news in Canada might have been the fact that Canada is now at the top of the CONCACAF World Cup men's soccer group after a 2-1 win over Mexico 2-1 last Tuesday. Cyle Larin scored both goals with the snow at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton.

Canada (4-0-4) with 6 more matches to play. The men haven't played in the World Cup since 1986. Canada is ahead of the United States by a point; 2 points over Mexico and Panama. The top 3 countries qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Canada, the United States, and Mexico are hosting the 2026 World Cup.

'Caps #MLSCupPlayoff merch is here! 🎉#VWFC #BringItHome

— Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) November 13, 2021

MLS Canadian teams playoffs results

Year	Date	Teams	Winner	Score
2021	November 20	Vancouver @ Sporting Kansas City	Kansas City	3-1
2020	November 24	Nashville @ Toronto	Nashville	1-0 (ET)
2020	November 20	Montréal @ New England	New England	2-1
2019	November 10	Toronto @ Seattle	Seattle	3-1
2019	October 30	Toronto @ Atlanta	Toronto	2-1
2019	October 23	Toronto @ New York City FC	Toronto	2-1
2019	October 19	D.C. United @ Toronto	Toronto	5-1 (ET)
2017	December 9	Seattle @ Toronto	Toronto	2-0
2017	November 29	Columbus @ Toronto	Toronto	1-0
2017	November 21	Toronto @ Columbus	Tie	0-0
2017	November 5	New York Red Bulls @ Toronto	NY Red Bulls	1-0
2017	November 2	Vancouver @ Seattle	Seattle	2-0
2017	October 30	Toronto @ New York Red Bulls	Toronto	2-1
2017	October 29	Seattle @ Vancouver	Tie	0-0
2017	October 25	San Jose @ Vancouver	Vancouver	5-0
2016	December 10	Seattle @ Toronto FC	Seattle	0-0 (5-4 PK)
2016	November 30	Montréal @ Toronto FC	Toronto FC	5-2 (ET)
2016	November 22	Toronto FC @ Montréal	Montréal	3-2
2016	November 6	Montréal @ New York Red Bulls	Montréal	2-1
2016	November 6	Toronto FC @ NYCFC	Toronto FC	5-0
2016	October 30	NYCFC @ Toronto FC	Toronto FC	2-0
2016	October 30	New York Red Bulls @ Montréal	Montréal	1-0
2016	October 27	Montréal @ D.C. United	Montréal	4-2
2016	October 26	Philadelphia @ Toronto FC	Toronto FC	3-1
2015	November 8	Portland @ Vancouver	Portland	2-0
2015	November 8	Montréal @ Columbus	Columbus	3-1 (ET)
2015	November 1	Vancouver @ Portland	Tie	0-0
2015	November 1	Columbus @ Montréal	Montréal	2-1
2015	October 29	Toronto FC @ Montréal	Montréal	3-0
2014	October 29	Vancouver @ Dallas	Dallas	2-1
2013	October 31	Montréal @ Houston	Houston	3-0
2012	November 1	Vancouver @ LA Galaxy	LA Galaxy	2-1

photo credit: MLS
Twitter captures: @WhitecapsFC; @canadian_xing; @thegoalkeeper; @WhitecapsFC
video credit: YouTube/OneSoccer