Canada has a new group of sporting heroes! The Canadian men’s soccer team qualified for the 2022 World Cup for only the second time in the country’s history, after beating Jamaica 4-0 in Toronto March 27.

Perennially second best to rivals Mexico and the United States (and often to Central American nations), Canada is hardly a superpower in world soccer, currently ranking 33rd in the world.

However, Canada topped the CONCACAF (North America, Central America and the Caribbean Soccer federation) regional World Cup qualifying group, winning eight of its 14 games, tying four and loosing two (including a massive victory against Mexico in November last year). Canada also scored the most goals (23) in the eight-nation group, and conceded the fewest (7).

Canada’s only previous participation in a World Cup was in 1986 in Mexico, when the team lost all three of its first-round group games.

Soccer in Canada has never been more popular, with the women’s national team winning the gold medal at last year’s Tokyo Olympics. The men’s team has no such lofty ambitions, and will likely be content just to make the last 16 of the upcoming World Cup, which is scheduled in November and December in Qatar. In the long-term, the 2022 tournament should serve as a valuable learning process for the 2026 tournament, which Canada is co-hosting with the United States and Mexico.

As expected, the United States and Mexico also qualified for Qatar 2022, placing second and third in the group. Mexico downed El Salvador 2-0 in its final game, to finish level on points with Canada, but in second place due to an inferior goal difference. The United States weas defeated by Costa Rica, but held onto third place due to a better goal difference than the small Central American nation.