Canada star Alistair Johnston shines at home World Cup, but Northern Ireland had a claim on him

There is a version of this story where Alistair Johnston is cheering for Canada from the stands instead of playing against them. That version never happened, but it almost could have.

Johnston, the Celtic FC defender, has been one of the more composed and impressive performers for Canada during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, a tournament his country is co-hosting alongside the United States and Mexico. He is playing well on home soil, in front of home crowds, under a kind of pressure most footballers never experience. And somewhere in the background of all that is a quiet footnote: his mother is from Northern Ireland.

Under FIFA eligibility regulations, a player can represent a nation if a parent or grandparent was born there. Johnston’s maternal lineage would have given Northern Ireland a legitimate case to call him up, had the footballing gods arranged things differently, and had Johnston himself chosen that path. He did not. Canada got him. Northern Ireland did not.

What Johnston has meant to Canada at this World Cup

Canada reaching a World Cup on home soil is already a story worth telling on its own. The 2026 tournament is historic for multiple reasons, not least because it marks the first time Canada has ever hosted matches at football’s biggest event.

Johnston has helped Canada look like a team that belongs. Playing as a right back, he brings a level of tactical discipline and positional intelligence that tends to go unnoticed by casual viewers but gets appreciated quickly by anyone watching the defensive shape of a team. Celtic supporters already knew what he was capable of. The World Cup stage is just offering a larger audience the same education.

The Northern Ireland connection that almost changed everything

Johnston chose Canada, and given that he was born and raised there, that is entirely logical. But the Northern Ireland link is genuine. His mother hails from there, which under FIFA’s framework would have opened the door to an international career in green rather than red.

The Belfast Telegraph reported on Johnston’s situation on June 23, 2026, capturing the particular bittersweet quality of watching a player with ties to your country shine at a World Cup wearing someone else’s shirt.

To be clear, there is no suggestion Johnston ever seriously considered playing for Northern Ireland, or that there were conversations that nearly went another way. The eligibility simply existed, quietly, in the background, the way a lot of things do until someone points them out during a tournament.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.