Canadian Soccer Fans Picks for the 2022 FIFA World Cup: Likes, Dislikes and Favorites
We interviewed 1,000 Canadian citizens in October 2022. We asked the participants – who were all over the age of 16 – a series of questions relating to the upcoming FIFA World Cup.
With Canada featuring in the World Cup for only the second time in the competition’s history, we asked the participants about Canada’s chances, and what other teams and players were likely to stand out. Discounting the 188 responders who were not interested in soccer, the responses were as follows:
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Canadian Fans’ Favorites to Win Big in Qatar in 2022
When it comes to top teams, Canada obviously featured highly. However, several other teams and players also stood out amongst the responses, not only as the favorites to win big in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, but also as personal favorites.
It’s clear from the results that it isn’t just the Canadian National Team that interests Canadian soccer fans, there’s awareness of international competitions, too, with all favorite players being those who are both nationals of and play in overseas countries.
Who Will Win the 2022 World Cup?
In terms of likelihood of winning the 2022 World Cup, Brazil topped the list, with participants giving the Latin American country a 3.58 out of 5 chance of winning, substantially higher than second place Germany at 3.32 out of 5.
When asked straight up which team would win the World Cup, 26%, over 1 in 4 participants picked Brazil, way out ahead of Argentina and Canada, who tied for second with 13% each.
Interestingly, while placing second for an all-out winner, participants gave Canada a 3.02 out of 5 chance of winning, behind seven other teams including England, France, and Portugal.
Favorite Players of Canadian Soccer Fans
While Canada dominated the choices in terms of teams, our participants top players come from further afield. Cristiano Ronald topped the polls for favorite player, with a massive 31% of all responders favoring the Portuguese maestro.
Ronaldo was also voted most likely top goal scorer for the 2022 World Cup with 27%. Lionel Messi and Neymar placed second and third in both sets of results, but a long way back, so it is clear who the majority of Canadian soccer fans will be tuning in to see.
Most Popular World Cup Teams Amongst Canadians
While Canada may not have placed first in terms of expected World Cup winner, when it came to personal preference, there was no doubt. Nearly half of all responders (49%) said they’d most want to see Canada lift the coveted trophy.
The next three teams in terms of preference were Brazil with 12%, Argentina with 8%, and England with 5%.
Additionally, Canada came top of the list when participants were asked to rate teams out of five based on how much they like them. 4.06 out of 5 saw Canada comfortably top the list, with Brazil second with 3.46 out of 5 and Spain following up at 3.3 out of 5.
Living up to their global reputation for kindness, the Canadian responders rated 13 different teams at 3 out of 5 or higher.
We also asked Canadians what their least favorite team was, and this appears to be USA (10%) and Iran (8%). In the case of the United States, the main reasons were that respondents either don’t like the country (34%) or their fans’ behavior (24%). In the case of Iran, the political situation has been the main reason for Canadians not liking them (49%). It is interesting to note that the US and Iran were the most disliked World Cup teams in 2014 as well.
The majority of Canadians said their reason for choosing a least favorite team was a dislike for the country or for political reasons.
Will Canada Shock the World and Win It All?
For soccer fans around the world, and indeed among soccer sportsbooks, Canada is considered one of, if not the biggest underdog to even get out of the group stages of the 2022 World Cup.
This may partly be because the Canadian Men’s National Team (CANMNT) has only been to the world cup once before, in 1986, where they didn’t score a goal or win a game. On top of that, CANMNT has one of the toughest groups.
The other three teams alongside Canada are world number two Belgium, 2018 finalists Croatia, and Morocco who went unbeaten throughout African qualifying, so it’s fair to say the deck is stacked against the boys from the Great White North.
If Canada does make it out of the group stages, things won’t get easier, with potential matches against Portugal, France, Germany, Argentina, and Brazil standing in the way of CANMNT shocking the world and lifting the world cup in Qatar.
However, while the odds may not favor the Canadian team, the folks back at home are full of optimism. From those we spoke to, over 76% thought the team would get out of the group stages, 9% of which belive that Canada will reach the final and win.
Conclusion
It’s no surprise to see Canada featuring heavily in the favorite teams of the participants in our survey. Optimism is rife in the country, with most of the responses predicting Canada will at least make it out of the group stages, and over 10% predicting a shock world cup win for CANMNT.
What is perhaps more surprising is the popularity of non-Canadian players, with Ronaldo, Messi, and Neymar dominating all categories, not only likely top goal scorer, but also favorite players. This is a testament to the popularity of international football leagues amongst Canadians.
One thing we can be sure of, the country will be rocking with every goal scored as Canada try their luck on the biggest global soccer stage for the first time in nearly 30 years, and only the second time in the country’s history.
Methodology
In October 2022, we surveyed 1,000 Canadian citizens over the age of 16 about Canada and other teams’ chances at the FIFA World Cup, as well as their most liked and disliked teams and players.
The analyzed data excludes the 188 respondents who stated they are not interested in football. The responses from the remaining 812 participants was collated, with percentages and averages taken from the results.
Fair Use
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