Canada have seen their fair share of success on an international level, even if they don't quite have the same reputation as regional rivals such as USA and Mexico.
Les Rouges won the 1985 CONCACAF Championship to qualify for the 1986 FIFA World Cup, before winning the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup and qualify for the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup.
In fact, hey are the only national team except Mexico and the United States to win a Gold Cup trophy.
And they have had some fine players along the way!
We all know Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David, but let's talk about Julian De Guzman, a true legend and the first Canadian to play in La Liga.
And then there's Junior Hoilett, who Premier League fans will fondly remember for his stints at Cardiff, QPR and Blackburn!
In recent years. the aforementioned Davies and David have been making plenty of headlines, with prolific striker Cyle Larin another big name.
But who is Canada national team's most lethal attacker ever?
Let's take a look!
The greatest goalscorer Canada has produced with 25 goals so far, Cyle Larin has been consistently scoring for the national team since netting his first strike against Puerto Rico in March 2015 in a 3-0 win.
In March 2021, the forward scored his first hat-trick for his country in a 5-1 win over Bermuda in Canada's first 2022 World Cup qualifying match.
Larin then scored a brace in a historic 2-1 win over Mexico in their 2022 World Cup qualifier, helping Canada record their first win against Mexico in 21 years!
He didn't stop there.
In January 2022, Larin scored the opening goal in a 2-0 win for Canada against the United States, thus surpassing Dwayne De Rosario's record and becoming the greatest goalscorer for Canada in history.
Well on his way to create history in Canadian football, Jonathan David is already the second-highest international goal scorer for his country.
David plies his trade with Lille at club level in Europe and has scored 22 goals for Canada to date.
The winner of the Golden Boot at the 2019 Gold Cup also holds the record for the most senior goals scored by a Canadian in a single year (2019), when he netted eight times for his country.
Next up on the list of Canada's all-time top goal scorers is Dwayne De Rosario.
De Rosario featured for the national team on 81 occasions and scored 22 goals, which made him the record goalscorer for Canada, until it was matched and surpassed by Larin in 2022.
His most clinical performances came as he netted braces in important games against Belize, Haiti and St. Vincent.
De Rosario won the Canadian Player of the Year award in 2011 for his performances at international level.
John Catliff was a member of the Canada national team that reached the quarter-final at the 1984 Summer Olympics while he was still playing at Harvard Crimson.
He made his debut for Canada in July 1984 in a friendly against Chile and went on to score 19 goals in 46 international games, before ligament injuries to both his knees forced him to retire from professional football in 1994.
Catliff's biggest goalscoring feat for Canada was a hat-trick against Jamaica in a friendly game in April 1988.
With 19 goals in 55 appearances for Canada, Dale Mitchell was truly a powerhouse in his prime.
The striker scored a brace on his debut against New Zealand in September 1980 and also featured for Canada at the 1986 World Cup in their third group stage game against the Soviet Union.
Another notable goalscoring moment of his career came at the 1984 Summer Olympics when he scored a hat-trick against Brazil in the quarter-final.
Lucas Cavallini has scored 18 goals for Canada since making his debut for the national team against Trinidad and Tobago in August 2012, even if he then did not feature until 2015 due to personal matters.
In October 2015, he was called up to face Ghana in a friendly before being selected for the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
His first goals for Canada came when he scored a double against U.S. Virgin Islands in September 2018.
Cavallini has scored two hat-tricks in his international career, first against Cuba in 2019 and second against Cayman Islands in March 2021 in Canada's 2022 World Cup qualifier.
Tosaint Ricketts made his debut on February 9, 2011 as a second half substitute in a 1-0 loss against Greece.
His first international goal came as a stoppage time equaliser in a 2-2 draw against Ecuador in a friendly on June 1, 2011.
Ricketts went on to feature for Canada at the CONCACAF Gold Cup and multiple World Cup qualifying campaigns, scoring 17 international goals in 61 appearances for Canada.
Born in Guyana, Alex Bunbury chose to represent Canada at international level.
The striker made his debut for the senior national team in August 1986 in the Merlion Cup against Singapore.
His best performances for Canada came in the 1994 World Cup qualifiers against Bermuda and El Salvador in 1992 and 1996 respectively, scored a hat-trick in each game.
For his contributions, the former West Ham United forward was inducted into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame in April 2006.
Ali Gerba made his debut for Canada in July 2005 against Honduras.
Until December 2009, he had the country's most prolific strike rate with 15 goals in 28 international matches.
Gerba featured for Canada in three CONCACAF Gold Cups and the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.
Tenth on the list of top international goal scorers for Canada is Junior Hoilett.
Since making his debut in October 2015, the Cardiff City legend scored 14 goals for the national team, with his first international goal coming in the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup in a 1-2 defeat to Jamaica.
Hoilett went on to score in wins for Canada against Martinique and Cuba at the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
His performances saw him given the captain's armband for the first time in Canada's CONCACAF Nations League game against Cuba in September 2019 and he celebrated that feat with a hat-trick!
It was Hoilett who scored Canada's third goal against Jamaica in March 2022 to book their place at the World Cup for the first time since 1986.
Position | Player | Games | Goals | Canada career |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Cyle Larin | 54 | 25 | 2014 - present |
2. | Jonathan David | 34 | 22 | 2018 - present |
3. | Dwayne De Rosario | 81 | 22 | 1998 - 2015 |
4. | John Catliff | 43 | 19 | 1984 - 1994 |
5. | Dale Mitchell | 55 | 19 | 1980 - 1993 |
6. | Lucas Cavallini | 33 | 18 | 2012 - present |
7. | Tosaint Ricketts | 61 | 17 | 2011 - present |
8. | Alex Bunbury | 66 | 16 | 1986 - 1997 |
9. | Ali Gerba | 30 | 15 | 2005 - 2011 |
10. | Junior Hoilett | 49 | 14 | 2015 - present |
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