‘It’s gonna be huge’: Toronto FC’s Richie Laryea speaks on FIFA World Cup 2026 coming to Canada

Toronto FC midfielder Richie Laryea (22) in action during the first half of an MLS soccer match against D.C. United, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

The FIFA World Cup is less than one year away from kicking off on Canadian soil for the first time ever, and Toronto native and national soccer player Richie Laryea says Canada is ready to meet the moment.

“It’s gonna be huge,” Laryea told CTV’s Your Morning on Monday morning. “It’s such a big opportunity for our country again to really cement ourselves as a soccer/footballin’ country.”

Laryea, who plays for Toronto FC and Canada’s men’s national soccer team, was born and raised in Toronto after his family moved here from Ghana. He previously represented Team Canada in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

“I think it’s going to be very special and obviously, for me, I think being from here, with my family migrating from Ghana and being here for a very long time now, it’s going to be a very special opportunity for myself and my family,” he said.

The 30-year-old defender was drafted by Orlando City SC back in 2016, before he signed to Toronto FC in 2019. He was transferred to Nottingham Forest in England in 2022, before returning to Toronto in August of that year.

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Looking ahead to 2026, he said navigating the challenges of changing teams and nursing injuries can either make or break you, adding he was “lucky enough” to come out on the other side.

“These types of problems, you can turn them into good problems, because they help you down the line... (Especially with) a big tournament like the World Cup, where anything can happen, I think you need to be able to deal with adversity and turn that into a positive situation pretty quickly,” he said.

Canada, which is sharing World Cup hosting duties with the United States and Mexico, will host its first match in Toronto on June 12. The city will host four additional group stage matches and one Round of 32 match.