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“We want to show that we are a football nation,” says Canada captain
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Canada will make their first appearance at the World Cup since 1986

Canada aim to surprise their opponents and show they are a football nation when they make their first appearance at the World Cup finals since 1986, Toronto FC midfielder Jonathan Osorio said after a training session on Sunday.

Canada, the first CONCACAF country to book a spot in the 2022 finals, will play against the second-ranked Belgium on Wednesday in their first World Cup match in 36 years.

They crashed out at the group stage at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico with losses to France, Hungary and the Soviet Union after failing to score a goal.

Their other group F opponents are on 2018 World Cup finalists Croatia and Morocco, who were unbeaten in African qualifying.

“We want to show that we are a football nation, that we can compete with the best in the world,” Osorio, who was sidelined by post-concussion syndrome for several months, said after a training session on Sunday.

“We want to surprise people because I think people still see us as underdogs. ‘It’s the World Cup, they should just be happy to be here.’ But that’s not our mentality.”

Osorio added that Canada would need to be tactically sound, play as a unit and choose the right time to apply pressure against players like the Manchetser City star Kevin De Bruyne.

“They have players that can hurt you with an inch of space,” Osorio said.

Belgium’s record goalscorer Romelu Lukaku will probably miss his team’s opener due to a hamstring injury. The forward trained apart from the squad on Sunday.

“As players, we just prepare for whoever we stand opposite to,” Osorio said of Lukaku’s absence.