World Cup 2022: Alphonso Davies misses early penalty as Canada takes on Belgium in World Cup opener
Canada's men's national team is back at the World Cup - the grandest stage in soccer. Follow our live updates of the Canada-Belgium game and how the fans are reacting here on Wednesday afternoon. The game begins at 2 p.m. EST.
2:23 p.m.: Early analysis from Joe Callaghan: There is joy to be had both in behind and in front of Belgium's defence when Canada break quickly. They're not coping with Canadian pace at all well. Seven shots to one after 20 minutes tells its own story.
2:20 p.m.: From Bruce Arthur at Ahmed bin Ali Stadium: Just heard that Canadian fans in the first 10 rows were told to sit down by security. Become ungovernable, I say.
2:18 p.m.: At the 18-minute mark, Canada has been controlling the play against world No. 2 ranked Belgium.
According to the Star's World Cup Tracker, it's been all Canada so far.
2:15 p.m.: After holding their collective breath in the run up to the penalty, watchers at Mississauga's Celebration Square reacted with Oh!" and even a Sorry" after Davies missed.
2:12 p.m.: Just minutes into the match, Canada was awarded a penalty after a Belgian handball came off a corner kick. Alphonso Davies stepped up to the spot but his low shot was saved by keeper Thibaut Courtois.
It was a long wait for Davies and a poor effort. Low and saveable. What a pity," wrote Star contributor Joe Callaghan.
1:57 p.m.: At Mississauga's Celebration Square, fans clapped and cheered, shouting Go Canada!" as the Canadian team began entering the stadium on the large outdoor screens. The onlookers stood up when the team lined up for the national anthem to sing with them.
1:54 p.m.: Walking through the front entrance at Eaton Centre in Toronto, there are two lines: one for pictures with Christine Sinclair, the other for general entry. While the lines keep growing, the Samsung Store is lively minutes before the Canada and Belgium match gets underway. Fans draped in red scarves and topped in red toques are scattered throughout the store like fire ants.
1:52 p.m.: Former TFC player Sebastian Giovinco is at Cafe Diplomatico in Toronto to cheer on Canada. With Italy not in the World Cup, he says it's good to cheer for Canada. It's a big day today and I'm happy to be behind the team," Giovinco said.
1:43 p.m.: Canada's Group F fixture vs. Belgium is the last World Cup match of the day in Qatar. Here are the other results from Wednesday:
Morocco 0 - Croatia 0; Germany 1 - Japan 2; Spain 7 - Costa Rico 0
1:30 p.m.: People started to trickle in at Mississauga's Celebration Square, where the match will be showed on two large screens outdoors.
Anders and his girlfriend were one of the first couples to arrive. I feel great to be able to watch Canada facing off against Belgium, which is one of the top teams."
He expects Canada to win 2-1.
Arrivals were taking the few red park benches on the turf that is still blanketed with snow at the Square.
1:20 p.m.: Canada has taken the field in Qatar with the song Started From the Bottom" by Drake playing over the stadium speaker. Canadian fans cheered loudly as manager John Herdman headed straight to the Canadian corner and gives them a salute.
1:15 p.m.: Canada's starting lineup has been announced:
Milan Borjan; Allistair Johnston, Steven Vitoria, Kamal Miller, Richie Laryea; Junior Hoilett, Stephen Eustaquio, Atiba Hutchinson; Tachon Buchanan, Jonathan David, Alphonso Davies.
Couple of surprises there in shape of Junior Hoilett and Richie Laryea," writes Star contributor Joe Callaghan.
Belgium will go with: Thibaut Courtois; Leander Dendoncker, Toby Alderweireld; Timothy Castagne, Axel Witsel, Youri Tielemans, Yannick Carrasco; Kevin De Bruyne, Michy Batsuayi, Eden Hazard.
1 p.m.: Cafe Diplomatico owner Rocco Mastrangelo Jr. says they are all geared up for the match. Inside dining and the regular patio is fully booked but seating in the tent on Clinton St. is first come, first served. Once we win, we'll be partying till 9 o'clock for sure," Mastrangelo said.
12:45 p.m.: Fan Natasha Natasha Burtenshaw-deVries travelled to Qatar to watch Canada take on Belgium. At Ahmed bin Ali Stadium things are ramping up.
There are hundreds of Canadian fans here, way more than Belgian fans so far," she told the Star. There's not necessarily a Canadian section but lots of Canadians around Canada's goal and bench."
This is Canada's second World Cup appearance, the last was in 1986. Asked about what the pre-game atmosphere was like, she said: It was pretty emotional to walk into the security perimeter and see Canadians everywhere ... I wasn't expecting that."
While there's still about 90 minutes until game time, there's already buzz at the stadium.
I'd say it's quiet excitement so far but I am confident that will ramp up as we get closer to game time."
12:35 p.m.: Free Play for Kids is an after-school program in Edmonton where Alphonso Davies learned to play soccer. Today, it provides free child-care services for hundreds of kids from the city's vulnerable communities.
Read more about Free Play for Kids and Davies' involvment here.
12:16 p.m.: The magnitude of the moment 36 years in the making could be felt from coast to coast.
By Wednesday morning, #CanMNT was trending high on Twitter as Canada readied itself to face Belgium at the World Cup in Qatar.
No more friendlies. No more dress rehearsals," read a tweet from Canadian Premier League.
For the first time in 13,316 days," the official Canada Soccer account tweeted.
12:07 p.m.: Soccer fans are starting to gather at Cafe Diplomatico in Toronto ahead of the Canada vs. Belgium match. There's seating in both the dining room and patio as well as a large tent on Clinton St. In the tent there's room for more than 200 fans in front of a large screen.
11:50 a.m.: It's a happy Catch-22 right now to be Olivier Renard.
The 43-year-old former Belgian goalkeeper finds himself with divided loyalties as his native nation takes on Canada at the World Cup.
Renard currently serves as the vice-president and chief sporting officer for CF Montreal, a role giving him an important imprint on the Canadian team that brought the country back to the soccer world stage for the first time in 36 years.
Six of the 26-player Canadian squad in Qatar are members of the CF Montreal team: goalkeeper James Pantemis; Alistair Johnston, Kamal Miller, Joel Waterman on defence; along with midfielders Ismael Kone and Samuel Piette.
Read our full story on Renard and his divided loyalties.
11:36 a.m.: Canada came armed to the World Cup.
During World Cup qualifying the Canadian men travelled with a sword which bears the words Nihil timendum est,' which is Fear Nothing' in Latin. And the sword has made its way to Qatar.
The finale of Canada Soccer's Anything is Possible" documentary series shows captain Atiba Hutchinson complete with the sword, surrounded by his teammates in a circle in the middle of the pitch at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium on Tuesday, the day before Canada's World Cup opener against Belgium.
Dreams are all here in this stadium," said Hutchinson. We're here now. Let's go and make the most of this. Let's put our country on the map. Let's all make each other proud, make our families proud, everybody that's behind us proud.
11:26 a.m.: Alphonso Davies is the country's biggest talent and the face of the team heading to Qatar. He's no stranger to overcoming adversity, and Canada will likely go as far as he takes them.
Read our profile on the 21-year-old superstar.
11:10 a.m.: Canadian soccer hero Christine Sinclair, the world's all-time highest international goalscorer, is sending her best wishes to the men's national team.
36 years...are you ready Canada? Best of luck to Coach Herdman and Canada. Time to show the world," she tweeted.
10:51 a.m.: Canada can look for inspiration from a couple of other underdog nations who came up with shocking victories ahead of its match against Belgium.
On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia stunned Lionel Messi and powerhouse Argentina before Japan came back to beat Germany on Wednesday morning. The surprising results are giving some Canadian fans extra hope ahead of today's opening match.
Shock results continue at World Cup. First Saudi Arabia and now Japan! I can only hope that Canada comes through later today," tweeted Rahm Gummuluru.
If Saudi Arabia can beat Argentina, and Japan can beat Germany, then Canada definitely has a shot at taking down Belgium. Just saying," wrote Mikkel Dack.
10:35 a.m. The magnitude of the moment 36 years in the making could be felt from coast to coast.
By Wednesday morning, #CanMNT was trending high on Twitter as Canada readied itself to face Belgium at the World Cup in Qatar.
No more friendlies. No more dress rehearsals," read a tweet from Canadian Premier League.
For the first time in 13,316 days," the official Canada Soccer account tweeted.
Read the full story from the Star's Gilbert Ngabo
8:15 a.m. For the first time since 1986, Canada's men will compete in the World Cup, starting off with a match today against Belgium at 2 p.m. EST.
There are three other games on today's schedule. At 5 a.m., Morocco and Croatia kick off. Three hours later, Germany and Japan take the pitch, followed by Spain and Costa Rica at 11 a.m.
Here are 10 spots in the GTA where you can catch some of the action.
Read the full story from the Star's Ben Mussett and Janiece Campbell
8:05 a.m. The day before a match that could define him as much as any other, coach John Herdman looked somewhere between furious and embarrassed, but how far between it was hard to say. If you wanted to lighten the mood you could have said, Canada waited 36 years to return to the men's World Cup, so what was waiting an extra 41 minutes before arriving at its first World Cup press conference? He didn't look in the mood.
Apologies for that," said Herdman, one day before Canada meets Belgium to open Group F. We'll look into that internally, make sure everything's clean for the next time through."
It's a minor detail, you'd think, and all you can hope is that it wasn't telling. On Wednesday, Canada's men's national football team will return to the World Cup for the first time since 1986, and it will be a moment. Canada's women have already won Olympic gold and bronzes, and done their part to weld the world's game to our provincial country; it's the men's turn now, in the biggest tournament in the world.
Read the column from Bruce Arthur
7:45 a.m. A veteran referee who infamously whistled for the end of a game five minutes before the match was actually over will work Canada's World Cup opener on Wednesday against Belgium.
Janny Sikazwe, 43, of Zambia caused a stir in January with an on-pitch blunder at the Africa Cup of Nations game between Mali and Tunisia. Sikazwe got confused and blew the final whistle a full five minutes before 90 minutes of play. He quickly checked the time and ordered the game to restart, only to end the controversial match 13 seconds before regulation - without allowing any injury time.
The Tunisian side, trailing 1-0 and playing against 10 men after a Malian player was red-carded, stormed the pitch at Limbe stadium in Cameroon and confronted Sikazwe and his assistants over the gaffe. A chaotic scene ensued.
Read the full story from the Star's Gilbert Ngabo
7:30 a.m. Here it comes. Just 36 years of waiting has brought Canada's men's national team back to the World Cup - the grandest stage in soccer. In the process, and with the luck of the draw, it's brought John Herdman's side to the biggest game in the country's history.
The Red Devils of Belgium await in Al Rayyan Wednesday for Canada's Group F opener and as daunting as Roberto Martinez's side may appear at first blush, there is always reason to believe. Here's a look at how Canada could pull off a shock that wouldn't be far off the one Saudi Arabia pulled off over Argentina Tuesday.