All-Time Leading Players of Canada Men's National Soccer Team
Longest serving - Pat Onstad
Goalkeeper Pat Onstad from Vancouver, British Columbia, was the safe hands of the Canadian men's national team for 22 years from 1988 to 2010, making his Canadian international career the longest of all time. During this time, Onstad racked up 60 appearances on the national stage, with 15 of those in FIFA World Cup qualifiers, across three unfortunate, unsuccessful attempts to qualify for the tournament. Since then, soccer fans and enthusiasts of online sports betting Canada alike will know that Canada's chances in the World Cup are steadily improving, returning to the competition after 36 years in 2022. After automatically qualifying for the 2026 tournament along with co-hosts Mexico and United States, Canada has fresh hopes for their national team, even without Onstad onside.
In 2010, Onstad became the oldest player to be on the pitch representing Canada, aged 42 years and 131 days. This broke the record previously held by defensive midfielder David Norman, who retired from international football at age 32, shattering the record by a whole decade. Onstad now serves as the general manager of Houston Dynamo FC in the Western Conference of the MLS.
Most Caps - Atiba Hutchinson
Six-time winner of Canadian Player of the Year, Atiba Hutchinson is no doubt a Canadian household name. The midfielder from Brampton, Ontario was a favourite on the national stage for many years, and is considered by some to be the best Canadian soccer player ever thanks to his determination and reliably high performance record. You could say that when Hutchinson was on the pitch, it was a safe bet that the game was in good hands!
Due to his skills, Hutchinson was the first male Canadian soccer player to exceed 100 caps, and remains the highest capped player for the national squad with 104 caps before retirement from the game - 15 and 20 games more than the closest competitors to the title, Julian de Guzman and Paul Stalteri. Most notably, Hutchinson also became the first player from North America to win the Danish Super Liga Player of the Year during his stint at FC Copenhagen.
Most Goals - Cyle Larin
The Canadian national men's team's top goalscorer is the versatile Cyle Larin, who can play as a striker or left winger for both his country and Mallorca in La Liga. Over the past nine years representing his country, Larin has put 28 goals in the back of the net over 62 games - that's around 0.45 goals per game. Also hailing from Brampton, Ontario, Larin also holds the record for most goals in one year after scoring 14 goals in 2021 alone, and the joint record for the most consecutive games with a goal.
Not only this, but Larin was the top goalscorer for the North, Central American and Caribbean leg of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers with 13 goals. However, when it comes to penalties, Larin's record is bested by the third highest goal scorer Dwayne De Rosario - the former record holder of the most goals ever. Despite Larin being the one to knock De Rosario off the top spot, De Rosario is still the highest scorer of penalty kicks with seven throughout his career.
Over the years, Canada's national team has continued to improve and achieve success on the world stage. With this in mind, it's worth keeping an eye out on the country's up-and-coming stars - you never know, some of these records might end up being broken!