The Canadian national team is a team to look out for in this year’s Copa América. They have had a lot of success in recent years including their second ever appearance in a World Cup in 2022 and a second-place finish in the 2023 CONCACAF Nations League. They are looking to get revenge after failing to win a game in the 2022 World Cup. They have a culture that knows how to succeed and win. They are the only national team to win a Gold Cup besides the United States and Mexico. They accomplished that feat in 2000, which also resulted in their qualification for the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup. The Canadians are looking forward to the opportunity of playing well in their first ever Copa América appearance this summer.
The manager who will be at the helm for the Canadian national team at the Copa América is still uncertain. Mauro Biello has been the interim manager for the team and has been leading their preparations for the tournament. However, the position of permanent manager is still a question being asked of the Canadian Soccer Federation. Biello led the team in the playoff against Trinidad and Tobago to qualify for the Copa América with a 2-0 victory. Now, the question is being asked if he is the person who can continue that success into the tournament.
Two key players who will be vital to Canada’s Copa América campaign are Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David. Davies is a twenty-three-year-old who is consistently in the starting eleven for Bayern Munich where he is seen playing left-back or on the wing. He also has forty-five appearances for Canada while scoring fifteen goals. One of those goals was the first ever Canadian men’s national team player to score in a World Cup. Another one of those goals gave Canada their first competitive win over the United States in thirty-four years in 2019. Davies will need to step up in a similar fashion for the Canadian side this summer.
David is another young weapon in Canada’s arsenal for this Copa América. David currently plays in France for Lille where he has scored sixty-nine goals in 141 appearances. In 2021, he scored a goal in their win over Angers to secure the Ligue 1 title. He also has scored twenty-six goals for the Canadian national team. Cyle Larin is Canada’s all-time leading scorer with twenty-nine goals, but David has plans for that to change during the Copa América.
Canada is placed in Group A for this Copa América along with reigning World Champions Argentina, as well as Chile and Peru. With all of the talent in their group and the tournament as a whole, getting out of the group stage would be a success and is something that this team is very capable of. Any wins after the group stage are by no means guaranteed or expected.
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