The Canadian Men’s National Team are enjoying one of the best moments in their history and the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup may be just the setting where they return to the Concacaf mountaintop.

Fresh off their qualification for the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup in Qatar and an appearance in the 2022-23 Concacaf Nations League Finals, Canada will attempt to win their first Gold Cup crown since 2000.

The Canadians will be appearing in the Gold Cup for the 16th time and have competed in every edition of the tournament with the lone exception being in 1998.

Canada own a solid record of 21W-13D-20L in Gold Cup play, with 74 goals scored and 69 conceded.

Sitting at the top of the Gold Cup scoring charts for Canada players are Ali Gerba and Jonathan David with six goals each. Perhaps what is most impressive with David’s Gold Cup haul is that he accomplished it in just one single tournament, doing so in 2019 when he finished as the tournament’s Top Scorer.

Paul Stalteri is Canada’s all-time appearances leader in the Gold Cup with 20 matches, with Richard Hastings (18) and Atiba Hutchinson (18) not far behind. In addition to Hutchinson, another active player who is among the appearances leaders is Jonathan Osorio with 15 games played.

Canada are the only nation outside of the United States and Mexico to have won the Gold Cup, and their performances in the tournament in the past two editions suggest that a title run might be in the works.

Canada narrowly fell to Haiti 3-2 in the 2019 quarterfinals, and then two years later in the 2021 edition they barely missed out on the Final after a last-minute 2-1 defeat to Mexico in the semifinals.

Those experiences will surely help a Canada side that confidently qualified for the tournament by finishing in first-place in Group C of League A of the 2022-23 Concacaf Nations league.

Both Cyle Larin and David played big roles in Canada’s Nations League success with three goals apiece, while David also chipped in with a pair of assists, as did Richie Laryea.

The Gold Cup has proven to be a great showcase for young Canadian talent in recent years, like Alphonso Davies’ Best Young Player Award-winning performance in 2017, or David winning the Golden Boot in 2019 or Tajon Buchanan taking Best Young Player honors in 2021. It will be interesting to see which young Canadian player steps to the forefront in 2023.

Canada’s campaign begins in Group D where they will take on Guatemala, Cuba and one of Antigua and Barbuda, Guadeloupe, Guyana or Grenada from the Gold Cup Prelims.

Twenty-three years after lifting their first and only Gold Cup trophy to date, Canada’s current generation is eager to make more history and deliver a second crown to its coffers.