Calgary family of Sam Adekugbe watching close as Team Canada on verge of World Cup qualification

It will take a lot of luck — and results going their way — but the men's national soccer team is on the verge of securing one of 32 places at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar in November. 

Team Canada is set to square off against El Salvador in a critical CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying match Wednesday evening. 

It’s been 36 years since the national side appeared at a World Cup, with Canada making its only appearance at the 1986 event in Mexico.

After defeating the United States 2-0 last weekend, fans started believing even more the country could soon officially clinch one of three spots up for grabs. 

Calgary’s own Sam Adekugbe netted Canada’s second goal against the Americans in the final minute of stoppage time. 

His dad, Ben Adekugbe, is a barber at Perfect Touch, along with being a pastor, and says he is proud of where his son has ended up. 

“That’s the dream we have for all our kids, to be successful in whatever they choose to do,” Adekugbe told CTV News. 

“I remember the last game, my wife after Sam scored, she was just crying. I’ve been in shock to be honest. Especially after the last game, I couldn’t even react. It took me a couple minutes to react to everything.”

Ben Adekugbe father to Canadian soccer player Sam Adekugbe, is a barber at Perfect Touch, along with being a pastor.

Ben says he has talked to Sam ahead of the match in El Salvador but both men are not getting too far ahead of themselves. 

“He’s keeping his head down, and like he says, we can’t celebrate until the job is done,” said Adekugbe. 

The Ship and Anchor Pub has been showing Canada's games through their unbeaten run. 

Nicola Trolez, the bar’s marketing manager, says Canada's success has ignited a fan base. 

“We’ve just seen numbers grow, the support is out there and it's just great to see,” she said. 

“It was fabulous on the weekend too, we were able to use our patios, we thought we would put up one TV, we put up two and filling both patios as well as filling inside.”

But with frigid temperatures expected, it will restrict the bar to only operate inside, with their patios blanketed in snow. 

To qualify, a Canada win would need to be coupled with a Mexico loss to Panama, with Honduras beating the U.S. and Costa Rica either losing or drawing with Jamaica.