The 2026 FIFA World Cup runs from June 11 to July 19, spanning 16 cities and three nations: Canada, the United States and Mexico. With 48 teams, 104 matches and a brand new round-of-32 knockout format, this is the biggest tournament ever staged. And Canada is right at the heart of it.
Two Canadian cities will host matches: Toronto and Vancouver. BMO Field in Toronto, officially branded as Toronto Stadium for the tournament, will stage six matches including Canada's opening game. BC Place in Vancouver, with its iconic retractable roof, will host seven matches, including two of Canada's remaining group fixtures and knockout rounds. Between them, Canada stages 13 matches in total.
The excitement is palpable and BonusFinder Canada analysed search interest data across all 48 qualified nations, the full canadian squad, and the world's biggest players, to find out exactly who and what Canadians are watching, backing and searching ahead of this summer's World Cup.
Canada's most searched players: Alphonso Davies leads
Alphonso Davies is Canada's biggest football export and the search data confirms it. The Bayern Munich left-back leads all Canadian players in search interest by a substantial margin, with a trend score of 44.
The gap to second place is significant, with Jonathan David, the prolific forward who joined Juventus from Lille, scoring 18, less than half of Davies' figure.
The young forward Promise David (15), who has been turning heads at Royale Union Saint-Gilloise in Belgium, ranks third. Ismael Kone (11), Jonathan Osorio (10) and Marcelo Flores (10) all register in double figures.
Update: after the group stage
With Canada through to the Round of 32 for the first time in their history, the search data tells a dramatically different story. Davies has surged to a perfect score of 100 despite not having played a single minute of the tournament, a a score that show = just how much Canadian fans want to see their captain on the pitch.
The biggest mover is Ismael Kone, who jumped from 11 to 100, matching Davies and suggesting his performances in the group stage have made him a household name overnight. Cyle Larin is the other standout, rocketing from 4 to 43 on the back of his goal against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Jonathan David also saw a significant jump, from 18 to 54, no surprise after his hat-trick in the 6-0 demolition of Qatar and the first World Cup hat-trick by a North American player since 1930.
Not every player saw a boost. Jonathan Osorio dropped from 10 to 2, while Marcelo Flores fell from 10 to 6, reflecting the tournament's natural winners and losers in terms of public attention.
The most searched players in the World Cup
Arda Güler tops the global player rankings in Canada with a striking index of 79. The Turkish playmaker's emergence at Real Madrid has captured global attention. Bradley Barcola sits just behind, an eye-catching result for the Paris Saint-Germain winger.
Lautaro Martinez (75) ranks third, Harry Kane (68), sits in fourth and Declan Rice (68) closes the top five. Meanwhile, Christian Pulisic (62) is the highest-ranked North American player overall sitting in position six.
At the foot of the list, Kylian Mbappé ranks at number 20 (33). Despite being one of the most covered footballers on the planet, his search engagement in Canada is low. Desire Doue (33) and Jude Bellingham (36) also trail well behind expectations given their club profiles.
Messi or CR7? Canada Has a Clear Winner bedore the World Cup
The greatest debate in football history is alive in Canada and it has a decisive outcome in almost every province.
Cristiano Ronaldo leads Lionel Messi in nine of Canada's 10 provinces. The margins vary: British Columbia (73 vs 58) and Quebec (71 vs 49) are the most pro-Ronaldo provinces by raw score, while Saskatchewan (20 vs 16) and Manitoba (27 vs 17) show the lowest overall interest in either player. Meanwhile, Alberta sits firmly in the CR7 camp at 69 to 44.
Ontario remains the outlier among the major provinces, and arguably the most interesting data point in the entire dataset. With 16 million people, Canada's most populous province is almost perfectly split: CR7 scores 24 and Messi 23.
The only province where Messi actually wins is Newfoundland and Labrador, with a score of 7 to CR7's 3.
Update after Group Stage: Messi vs Ronaldo
Before the tournament, Ronaldo dominated Canadian search interest in 9 provinces out of 10. The World Cup has changed everything.
Updated data shows Messi now leads in every single Canadian province, a complete reversal of the pre-tournament picture.
Ontario leads search interest for both players, but Messi dominates across the board. British Columbia shows the strongest Ronaldo following relative to other provinces with a score of 54, yet still falls well short of Messi's 82. Alberta follows a similar pattern with Messi at 60 and Ronaldo at 44.
The gap is widest in Nova Scotia, where Messi scores 47 against Ronaldo's 32, and in New Brunswick, 43 to 31. Even in the more remote territories: Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon, Messi consistently leads by double digits.
The most searched teams: Who are Canadians are backing at the 2026 World Cup?
Turkey leads all 48 qualified nations with an average search index of 87. Canada's large Turkish community, concentrated heavily in Ontario, is the primary driver. The USA follows at 85, reflecting the shared media landscape and the fact that Canada's neighbour is a co-host. Canada itself ranks third at 83.
Iran (77.15) ranks fourth, Spain (76) and Mexico (73) complete the top six, with Germany (72) and Australia (72) just behind.
Update: Who are Canadians backing to win the World Cup 2026?
The knockout stage has reshuffled the deck entirely. With Canada now out of the tournament, Canadian fans have turned their attention to who lifts the trophy and the search data reveals some surprising allegiances.
Norway leads all remaining nations with an average score of 64, driven almost certainly by the Erling Haaland effect. Belgium follows closely at 63, with France third at 62. Morocco, fresh off eliminating Canada, sits fourth at 58, a remarkable level of interest for an African nation in a Canadian market.
Spain ranks sixth at 55 with Argentina. England register 54, with Switzerland rounding out the final eight scoring 32.
The contrast with the pre-tournament picture is striking. Turkey led all 48 nations before the World Cup with 87, driven by Canada's large Turkish community in Ontario. The USA followed at 85, with Canada itself third at 83. Now, with the co-hosts eliminated and the tournament entering its final stages, Canadian search interest has shifted firmly toward the European heavyweights and the tournament's last remaining South American hope.
One thing is clear: Canada may be out, but Canadians are very much still watching.
Methodology
Search interest scores for teams, players and the Messi vs CR7 provincial breakdown were collected via Google Trends, measuring relative search interest among Canadian users in the lead-up to the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Scores are indexed from 0 to 100 and represent averages across multiple collection points.
