Northern Fútbol Podcast

Canada heads into Group B action at the 2026 World Cup this week, starting with a Friday match against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto. What are the expectations for this Canadian team back at the tournament? How will they be followed by the more casual Canadian public, and what do they need to do to deem it a successful World Cup? Ben Steiner, Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic, and Brendan Dunlop wrap up the show by sharing their Canada World Cup predictions and who they think will lead Canada in goalscoring.

Part 1 of 2 of this week's Northern Futbol dives into Canada's outlook heading into the 2026 World Cup on home soil, after playing to a 2-0 win over Uzbekistan and a 1-1 draw with Ireland in the tune-up friendlies. Ben Steiner, Brendan Dunlop and Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic dive into the injuries facing the squad and whether they are a major concern, as well as the biggest takeaways from the final lead-up matches before the big dance.

Led by Jesse Marsch, Canada Soccer unveiled its 26-man World Cup roster on Friday night, picking the group that will look to shock the world at a home World Cup. On this episode of Northern Fútbol, Ben Steiner, Brendan Dunlop and Alex Gangué-Ruzic break down their thoughts on the squad, how it was revealed, and their hopes heading into the pre-tournament friendlies against Uzbekistan and Ireland before the June 12 World Cup opener in Toronto against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Gerry Dobson saw the worst moments for Canada's men's national team — and just as it started to get good, he retired. 10 years after he signed off the airwaves that brought him across CONCACAF with Canada's dismal men's program at the time, he couldn't be happier to see where the team has gotten, even if there's a small part of him that wishes he could have been a part of it. In a one-on-one with Ben Steiner, he dives into some of the stories from the dark days and his experiences calling Canadian games, Canadian soccer and Canada's first live exposure to the Premier League over the course of three decades.

It was a successful end to the 2025-2026 season for several CanMNT players, and none more than Liam Millar, who helped Hull City return to the Premier League after a dramatic promotion final win vs. Middlesbrough. After a long journey to this stage, it’s a huge moment for Millar, who will look to carry that good feeling into what he hopes is a good World Cup for Canada, before hopefully lacing up his boots in the EPL this fall. Alex, Ben and Brendan dive into all other happenings related to Canadians playing abroad, including the upcoming Concacaf Champions Cup final, which will feature CanMNT winger Marcelo Flores, who is hoping to help Tigres UNAL to a big win vs. Toluca, before closing out the show with some talk about the Canadian MLS teams. 

It’s all starting to become real for the CanMNT, who have officially kicked off their World Cup preparation in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they’ve gathered for their pre-tournament training camp. Unfortunately, due to injuries and other club commitments, not everyone has made it to Charlotte, including Canadian captain Alphonso Davies, but otherwise, most of the 32 players who were called up to this camp are there. Now, the challenge for head coach Jesse Marsch is to whittle that group of 32 down to 26 players, which will be easier said than done. Speaking of Marsch, though, he’s already had a busy week, as he announced that he’ll stay on as CanMNT head coach through the 2030 World Cup, in what is a big coup for the Canadian program. Alex, Ben and Brendan dive into everything you need to know about that squad, as well as about Marsch’s contract extension, before finishing with a chat about the favourites to win this World Cup, in this episode of the Northern Futbol Podcast.