RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta – Canada is competing in the 2026 World Cup as one of the hosts alongside Mexico and the United States, marking their third participation in the prestigious tournament. Their two previous appearances for Les Rouges came in Mexico 1986 and Qatar 2022.

Led by American head coach Jesse Marsch and backed by strong home support, the Canadian team is aiming to progress beyond the group stage for the first time and possibly set even higher ambitions. As stated by Jess Dutton, Ambassador of Canada to Indonesia, in a recent episode of Voice of Indonesia’s World Cup program, Deep Talk: Soccer Fiesta!, he expressed optimism that Canada will advance from the group stage.

"Our men's team is quite good. So I think even if we weren't hosting, we likely would have qualified this year as well. So I think we'll definitely make it out of the first round," he said.

He added that the team would even reach the Round of 16. While there is hope for Canada to go far in the tournament, it is also recognized that strong teams like Brazil and Germany, along with other top sides with world-class players, will make the journey to the later stages challenging.

In the 2026 World Cup opener at Toronto Stadium on Friday, June 12, Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina fought out a 1–1 draw. This was the first point Canada had ever earned in its World Cup history, having previously failed to secure a single point in the 1986 and 2022 editions.

In the next matches, Canada will face Qatar on Thursday, June 18, and Switzerland on Wednesday, June 24. Ambassador Dutton said that, as a host nation, Canadians are ready to support their football team, which is expected to go quite far in the 2026 World Cup.

"We're really proud that Canada is hosting. We're really proud that we have an excellent team that will compete. Canadians around the world will be watching and supporting the Canadian men's team because we know that they're going to exceed expectations and they're going to make it quite far this year," he conveyed.

Canada successfully hosted a star-studded opening ceremony for the 2026 FIFA World Cup at BMO Field Stadium in Toronto on Friday, June 12. The event featured performances by renowned artists, including Alanis Morissette, Jessie Reyez, Michael Bublé, Nora Fatehi, William Prince, Elyanna, DJ Sanjoy, and Vegedream.