Young players learning big lessons in Canada's historic World Cup run

Men’s National Soccer Team coach Jesse Marsch speaks on preparations for Saturday’s match and his team’s historic performance so far in the World Cup.

HOUSTON — They call him “The Machine.”

At 20 years old, Luc de Fougerolles is the youngest player on Canada’s 26-man FIFA World Cup squad.

Yet the centre back is known as one of the group’s hardest workers, particularly in training, prompting his teammates to give him a mechanized moniker.

“I kind of just give everything every training session. It’s something that I’ve kind of learned from the older guys,” a grinning de Fougerolles said of the nickname before Canada’s training session in Houston on Thursday.

“They’ve been around here for so long, but every training session they’re giving 100 per cent, their GPS (total distance run) is always the highest. So I see them doing it and I kind of want to do that myself and give everything for the training session for the team. It’s been inspiring to see all the older guys still pushing the limits, and I’ve been trying to match them, which is tough.”

He’s one of several young players working hard to prove themselves during Canada’s historic World Cup run, and the emerging talents say they’ve picked up invaluable lessons along the way.

The hard work has paid off for de Fougerolles.

He’s played in all four of Canada’s games at this summer’s tournament, started in three, and become a reliable defender for head coach Jesse Marsch.

Over 17 appearances for the national team, he’s proved to be a player who can be counted on not only to limit opponents’ chances but also get the ball to his teammates.

“I just kind of love playing in the big games, and I feel like in this tournament you have to grow up,” de Fougerolles said. ”It’s tough when everything comes quickly as well, so you learn during the tournament as well. I think I’ve learned some good lessons this tournament in the group stage, especially, and it’s in the last knockout game. And I think I’m ready to keep learning and growing.”

Among the lessons has been new insight into what, exactly, it takes to maintain and prepare your body for games at the highest level. De Fougerolles said he’s learned just how important recovery is between games and training sessions.

“The only thing that we’ve been doing is watching the football and recovering. It’s being ready for the next game,” he said.

“I think you learn different techniques about how to get through, and also me learning from the older guys who’ve maybe been and done it before here, playing in this heat and recovering. So I’m trying to take things from them and help myself recover for the next game.”

That next game will come Saturday when Canada — who came into the tournament sitting 30th in FIFA’s rankings — take on No. 7 Morocco in a round-of-16 bout in Houston.

The entire team is well aware that a spot in the World Cup quarterfinals is on the line, said Niko Sigur.

“This is all pressure that I think your own mind puts on it, you know? If you look at it as just another game — which it is, which we’ve all been doing — we’ve been playing a sport all our lives, so you just try to enjoy it," said the 22-year-old midfielder. “And the pressure is normal, but it’s good that there’s pressure, and then once you get into the game and start getting a feel for it, you settle.”

Sigur has logged minutes in two of Canada’s games at the tournament, coming on late in the nation’s dominant 6-0 group-stage win over Qatar, and providing a second-half spark in the 1-0 victory over South Africa that marked the country’s first-ever win in the knockout round of a men’s World Cup.

Coming into a 0-0 draw with a spot in the round-of-16 up for grabs wasn’t easy, he said.

“I learned to try to stay calm and do what’s asked of me,” said Sigur, who’s played 21 games for the senior squad, putting up two goals and two assists.

“Obviously, in this kind of game, it was a little bit frantic, hectic in the end. But I just tried to play my game, stick to what Jesse told me, and bring what I brought into the game, like trying to break lines and play forward. Obviously, we wanted to go after it and win it, but the overall takeaway was to just stay relaxed and stick to what I know.”

Some of Canada’s young stars could see club moves following big World Cup performances — Sigur and de Fougerolles included.

Born in raised in England to a father from Montreal, de Fougerolles came up through Fullham’s academy and spent much of last season out on loan with FCV Dender in Belgium.

The young defender said he hasn’t given any thought to what might happen at the club level after this summer’s success.

“I think it’s been quite easy, to be honest. I think there’s so much going on, it’s happening so quickly, it’s pretty easy to forget about club football for the moment,” he said. “And it’s what I’ve been doing. And I’m sure, after the World Cup, we’ll see what happens.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 2, 2026.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press