How Canada Has Learned From Astronauts As World Cup Dreams Lift Off in Houston

The 2026 journey has already broken new ground for Jesse Marsch and his players. But the ride is not over yet and could go to a whole level in prime NASA territory.

Alistair Johnston (left) and Stephen Eustàquio (center) hope to lead Canada to new heights, like Chris Hadfield (top right) and Jeremy Hansen (bottom right). | Etienne LAURENT/AFP/Getty Images, Bill Ingalls/NASA/Getty Images, Mike Egerton/PA Images/Getty Images

HOUSTON — Whipping through space, Jeremy Hansen peered out the window of the Artemis II Orion capsule, seeing Earth as it rose beyond the moon’s edge. He couldn’t help but pause in awe.

In just that single, floating sphere, was everything everyone has ever loved, known, and for all but a few, ever dreamed of. A minuscule percentage of people ever get the chance to play at a World Cup—and far fewer get to wear their country’s badge in space.

With the maple leaf on his sleeve, representing a country known for its humility and, at times, for being forgotten on the international stage, the 50-year-old pushed Canada to the forefront. His journey spent plenty of time with NASA in Houston, a city that, in its sweltering heat and urban sprawl, fostered his decades of dreaming. 

On Saturday, a different global dream for another group of Canadians takes to the Texas metropolis. 

Just over two months after Hansen crashed back from the cosmos, the Canadian men’s national soccer team is dreaming as they face Morocco in the round of 16 at the 2026 World Cup, a chance to push Canadian soccer into a new orbit against one of the sport’s titanic forces.

“I think what drives people is a bit of an intuition and a passion, and there are different points and perspectives on that, but the reality is that we need to set goals and follow an intuition about where we’re meant to contribute at any given time,” Hansen tells Sports Illustrated on Canada’s 159th birthday.

“You’re going to meet barriers; you’re going to meet challenges, but anything worth doing in life usually doesn’t come easily. It requires a lot of work, a lot of dedication, and persistence, whether it's going to the moon or chasing the World Cup.”

Hansen, no longer in Houston, won’t be in attendance—but he, alongside former International Space Station Commander Chris Hadfield, will be watching. For two Canadians who chased their dreams in Houston, it’s time to see another group do the same.

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A New World Cup Frontier 

Jesse Marsch (center) has pushed Canadian soccer to a level never seen before. | Jared C. Tilton/FIFA/Getty Images

Canada, led by its own emotional leader and commander in chief, Jesse Marsch, captain Alphonso Davies and vice-captain Stephen Eustáquio, will have to take on its biggest challenge against the No. 6-ranked Atlas Lions—embracing the opportunity this generation has spent years building toward.

“My goal in this tournament, apart from inspiring our nation, was to make a run so that we could get to see one of the giants of the world,” said Marsch, who took the Canada job in 2024. “Now we’re at that phase of the tournament, and I feel like it’s a free hit, and we’re going to go after it and do everything we can to see if we can find a way.”

Like the decades Hansen put into spaceflight, the emotions that will come over the Canadian players as “O Canada” blares out of the NRG Stadium speakers will be enormous. The weight of millions of fans will descend on their shoulders with every note, leading into the ominous countdown from the crowd that encapsulates the final moments before every World Cup match. 

For Hansen, it’s not far off from getting ready for launch. 

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“You know you’re going to feel those emotions, and it’s important to acknowledge them, but then recognize that they're not what's going to help you get through the challenge ahead... You need to accept the situation and get down to work to create a solution,” he says. 

“These players will be focused on what they’re doing, just as we were just focusing on doing our job in space, and the fact that people watch and get enjoyment, and in our case, moon joy out of it is just an added benefit.”

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Inspirational Dreams a Path for Marsch, Herdman

NHL star Sidney Crosby (center) joined Canada at the 2024 Copa América. | Canada Soccer

Hansen’s wisdom, which also served as a round of 32 pre-match video on TSN, is just the latest in a line of famous Canadians reaching out as sources of inspiration. 

Under Marsch, hockey legends Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby have been involved with the team, as have Olympic champion sprinter Andre De Grasse, NBA legend Steve Nash and Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Yet, the tactic is nothing new —nor is the galactic connection and the parallels the dreaming cosmos can offer to Canada’s growing place in soccer, harnessed by a newfound swagger and aspirational effort. 

Back at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, former ISS commander Chris Hadfield joined the team on the touchline with the previous manager, John Herdman, who looked for inspiration from untraditional pathways even more aggressively than Marsch. 

Previous Canada manager John Herdman (left) brought former ISS commander Chris Hadfield to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. | Mike Egerton/PA Images/Getty Images

Hadfield, who became famous for his musical and educational videos in 2012 from the ISS, linked arms with Canadian coaches and belted out the anthem ahead of the 2022 World Cup opener, Canada’s first World Cup game in 36 years.

At that time, Herdman had instilled the term “brotherhood” to define that generation of Canadian soccer. Thirteen of those men are still on the team, and the mantra hasn’t shifted, even as standards have risen. Marsch admitted it was the first thing that stood out to him when he took the role, and it was never more evident than after Ismaël Koné broke his leg in the 6–0 win over Qatar. 

And it was clear to Hadfield, too, as he forged an ongoing connection with the team and remains a die-hard supporter. 

“It’s important to know that what you’re doing is important, and it’s really good if you have a clearly defined goal of what you’re trying to accomplish, but often what really matters is who are you doing it with and as an astronaut, when you get assigned to a flight, one the first questions all the other astronauts ask is who you’re going with,” Hadfield told the Northern Futbol Podcast. 

“When you’re flying a spaceship, the risks aren’t just reputational and a trophy; they’re life or death, and you’ve got to work all those years to build the confidence in yourself and then your crew so you can go out and do things on that world stage... I’m sure Jesse’s doing that way better than I am, but what he’s going to be doing is pointing out all the good reasons that this team has to be confident in themselves and each other, and to come out on the pitch with swagger.”

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Tackling the Atlas Lions

Achraf Hakimi (left) and Jonathan David (right) played in Morocco’s 2–1 win over Canada at the 2022 World Cup. | Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images

There is nothing familiar about this point in the World Cup for Canada. It’s a stage that their Concacaf brethren have not advanced past since the USMNT did so in 2002, and for many, it’s already seen as a massive success. 

But there’s a never-ending push for the next frontier. The U.S. put astronauts on the moon in 1969, but the efforts to return—and go further—have only continued. And so, on Saturday, with millions of eyes watching, Canada is hoping to push beyond it’s wildest soccer dreams.

It will take bravery, near-perfection, maybe some gambles on the fitness levels of star players Alphonso Davies and Moïse Bombito, and likely a few lucky bounces, but it’s far from impossible. 

Marsch called preparing for Morocco a “gory, horror show,” but also admitted that his group will embrace the opportunity, leaning on the freedom they played with in his first three games in charge, which included competitive losses to the Netherlands and Argentina, as well as a scoreless draw against France. 

"Aspire. We should absolutely dare to dream big."

Canadian Space Agency Astronaut Jeremy Hansen has a message for Canadians ahead of our first #FIFAWorldCup knockout stage match. pic.twitter.com/MgrZZWSBw0

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 28, 2026

“While it is very Canadian to be humble, and it’s a great human character trait, sometimes we can keep ourselves small. Being humble should not stop us from setting big goals and chasing big dreams,” Hansen said on TSN.

“We should set big goals, we should expect challenges, we should allow for failures and adaptation, we should continue to persevere until we ultimately succeed, and it makes me proud as a Canadian because I know that is at the root of how we show up on the global stage.”

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