MIAMI — In the midst of preparations for the biggest game of the season, several Vancouver Whitecaps players took time off Friday to watch the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw.
After all, many wanted to know who they would be facing when soccer's biggest tournament takes place in Canada, the United States and Mexico next summer.
The Caps are currently in Florida where they will take on Inter Miami for the MLS Cup on Saturday.
The groups gathered in several hotel rooms before the final training session of the season to see which group their country was placed in.
The vicious talk began even before the matches were announced, said defender Sam Adekugbe.
“We had a little group party. Everyone was just talking about their own things,” he said with a grin. “Some exciting games, some interesting bands and I think the whole country is excited.”
Whitecaps defender Tristan Blackmon looked on with teammates Giuseppe Bovalina and Sebastian Berhalter.
The group got excited when it was announced that Blackmon and Berhalter's USA team would face Bovalina's Australia, and then again when everyone learned their counties would face Paraguay – and his teammate Andres Cubas.
“We're very excited,” Blackmon said. “Obviously this is a huge event happening in Canada, Mexico and the US. We're very excited.”
Blackmon has a chance to make the American team. In August he was called up to the men's national team for a couple of friendly matches.
Adekugbe played for Canada at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar but will not be in the lineup for Saturday's match.
The 30-year-old from Calgary tore his Achilles tendon while playing for the national team in June but recently returned to training with his Whitecaps teammates.
He will likely be on Team Canada next summer when the country, currently ranked 27th in the world, faces No. 17 Switzerland and No. 51 Qatar in group play. The group will be completed by the winner of the March play-off between No. 12 Italy, No. 32 Wales, No. 69 Northern Ireland and No. 71 Bosnia and Herzegovina.
All three of Canada's group stage games will be played on home soil, starting with a match against a yet-to-be-decided country at BMO Field in Toronto on June 12.
During the tournament, Toronto will host six games and Vancouver seven.
“It’s amazing,” Adekugbe said. “I think for any professional footballer the opportunity to play in your home country is an honor and something you will remember forever.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 5, 2025.
