Your Halifax Guide to the FIFA Soccer World Cup | News | Halifax, Nova Scotia
WCanada’s men’s national team takes to the soccer field against Belgium on Wednesday, November 23, and will make history — not just how The first Canadian men’s team since 1986 to qualify for the biggest sporting event in the world, but how the team with the fastest climb in the FIFA global rankings in 2021-22. Led by global star Alphonso Davies, a 22-year-old rising talent whose job it is to play for German professional team Bayern Munich, and coached by John Herdman, a firefighter from Northern England who oversaw the ascent of the Canadian women’s team in permanent competitors. Les Rouges will enter the 2022 World Cup with the highest expectations they have ever faced.
The World Cup is nothing if not a spectacle. More than half of the world –literally— attended the 2018 tournament in Russia. And if you’re crawling downtown in the next four weeks, you’re virtually certain to encounter a motley mix of T-shirt hooligans hurling obscenities at a TV.
Nearly two-thirds of Breg readers who took our poll this week said they would tune in to the tournament – if not for the whole shebang, then at least for the Canada games.
Here at The Coast, we’ve got you covered with the Haligonian’s guide to keeping up with the World Cup – from the good to the ugly of the tournament, where to watch it, when Canada plays and everything you need to know to be smarter than your friends and family.
What’s the big buzz about Team Canada?
It’s been 36 years since Canada last qualified for the World Cup – a moment in our country’s soccer history that, believe it or not, it happened in Atlantic land. (Hat tip to George Pakos and the muddy King George V Field at St. John’s.)
Achievement aside, that 1986 team exited the world tournament without scoring a goal. That number will change with this Canadian team. There’s a strong argument to be made that our country’s soccer talent pool has never been deeper — nor has it had as much star power.
Davies is the undisputed star of the team (just watch these 80 seconds if you need a primer), but he is far from the only member of The Reds to turn heads at the sport’s highest level. Ottawa-born forward Jonathan David is in the midst of a scoring tear in France’s Ligue 1 and has been related to transfers to European giants Real Madrid and Manchester United. At 22 years old and with just 34 caps for Canada, he is already second on Canada’s all-time scoring list. Meanwhile, Brampton-born Tajon Buchanan and Leamington’s Stephen Eustaquio have made waves in Belgium and Portugal at Club Brugge and FC Porto respectively.
Any Scottish connections?
Not this time, but it was close. Port Williams’ Jacob Shaffelburg (who plays professionally for Major League Soccer’s Nashville SC) has made four appearances for Canada’s senior men’s team and was part of the group that helped Canada qualify for the Qatar World Cup – but alas, the name his was left off Herdman’s final 26-man roster. (These are the breaks when you share a position with Alphonso Davies.)
Former HFX Wanderers FC gaffer Stephen Hart led the club to a Gold Cup semi-final in 2007. But Hart’s last involvement with the senior men’s side came in 2012.
If you’re looking to adopt an honorary Scotsman this tournament, you could do worse than one whose name already sounds like he was born in New Glasgow or North Sydney: Defender Alistair Johnston. The 24-year-old won his first call-up to the senior men’s squad only in 2021, but he has become a back-line player under Herdman’s watch. (Plus, the fact that he wore short sleeves in the infamous Canada game at the Iceteca means he can handle a Halifax winter.)
What is the controversy with Qatar hosting the tournament?
Where to start? Three former FIFA officials have been accused of accepting bribes in exchange for supporting Qatar’s hosting bid. Amnesty International was in the spotlight on the country’s treatment of migrant workers ahead of the tournament, accusing Qatar of subjecting workers to “forced labour” to prepare World Cup venues, confiscating their passports and leaving them with “horrendous living conditions ” and wages that, in case, “are not paid for several months”. or Guardian Report 2021 found that those very conditions had killed about 6,500 workers. And the official ambassador of the country in the World Cup has been widely denounced for homophobic comments after calling homosexuality “damage to the mind”.
None of this, if you’ve followed FIFA over the decades, is particularly shocking to the sporting body. Corruption has been endemic in football’s governing body for years.
For some, however, the abuses of the 2022 tournament represent the last straw. Fifteen percent of voters in our website poll said they would boycott the tournament entirely. Twenty-six percent said they would not normally attend the tournament but would tune in for Canada.
When does Canada play?
Canada is guaranteed three opening-round games against its Group F opponents: Wednesday, November 23 against Belgium (3:00 p.m. Atlantic time); Sunday, November 27 vs. Croatia (noon AT); and on Thursday, December 1 against Morocco (11:00).
If Canada finishes in the top half of its group, the men’s team will advance to the knockout stages of the tournament for the first time ever. From there on, every game is win or go home.
Should I pick Canada in my World Cup pool?
Only if you like a dark horse. Oddsmakers have Canada (+20,000 odds, a massive blow) as the 20th most likely World Cup team to win it all, ahead of just 10 other nations and even with Wales and Morocco. If you’re looking for the safest pick, the odds favor Brazil (+400) to win, followed by Argentina (+550) and France (+600).
But if you want the hipster choice, then of course, go with Canada. It’s more fun to cheer for an underdog anyway.
Where can I watch games in Halifax?
HFX Wanderers FC are hosting a series of viewing parties at HFX Sports Bar & Grill (1721 Brunswick Street). Proceeds support United Way Halifax and the Extra-Time Society, a wing organization for the Wanderers that aims to “positively impact the community through sport”. Bookings include entry into a draw for Wanderers tickets and signed merchandise.
🌊🍁With a giant 235 inch screen, the best place in Halifax to watch all Canada games is at our viewing parties @HFXSports 📺
Reserve your table in advance to beat the rush!
All proceeds support @UWHalifax & Overtime Society 👊
Details: https://t.co/1q7kQTRZHG pic.twitter.com/jQGlpJyVDz
— Halifax Wanderers FC (@HFXWanderersFC) November 14, 2022
If you want to hang out with the Halifax members of The Voyageurs, Canada’s unofficial soccer supporters group, they’ll be watching every game on Niche Lounge (1645 Granville Street).
You can also find the games at The Old Triangle (5136 Prince Street), The brown dog (1450 Ironstone Ln), Maxwell’s plum (1600 Grafton Street), The Major Leagues (920 Cole Harbor Road), and… well, just about any bar or pub that carries TSN.