Canadian striker Oluwaseyi grateful for journey that’s led to FIFA World Cup

CHARLOTTE — Even in tough moments, Tani Oluwaseyi remains thankful.

So thankful that the 26-year-old Canadian striker keeps a gratitude list on his phone to remind him of all the people who’ve helped him achieve his dream of playing soccer at the highest level — including for the national squad at this summer’s FIFA World Cup.

“We always say to raise a child you need a community and I think, for me, it’s been the same thing,” Oluwaseyi said at Canada’s pre-tournament training camp in Charlotte, N.C.

“I’ve had a lot of really good people along the way who’ve helped me, which is not dissimilar to everyone here. I think no one can say they got here on their own. I think it’s important to recognize those people and give them their flowers.”

The list began back in 2022 ahead of Major League Soccer’s SuperDraft.

Oluwaseyi was looking to launch his career after playing four years at St. John’s University in New York, where he earned a degree in sports management and business administration, and playing semi-professionally.

His parents, who moved the family of five from Abuja, Nigeria, to Mississauga, Ont., when Oluwaseyi was 10, always cautioned the emerging athlete against making soccer his entire life.

Even after he received a scholarship to St. John’s, Oluwaseyi said his dad reminded him to have a backup plan.

“I always wanted to go pro but it was never the be all and end all for me,” he said. “But it was always the dream and what I wanted to do. And I’m lucky enough and grateful enough that it worked out for me.”

Oluwaseyi was picked by Minnesota United in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft and eventually made his league debut in October 2024. That season, the six-foot-three forward put up eight goals and six assists over 25 regular-season games. He followed up with a team-leading 10 goals, eight assists over 24 appearances in the 2025 campaign.

Then came an unexpected move.

Last summer, Spain’s Villarreal expressed interest in the young Canadian. By the end of August, Minnesota had dealt him to the La Liga club in a transfer reportedly worth north of US$8.5 million.

“I’d just signed a new deal with Minnesota so I’m thinking I’m there for a couple years or maybe I wait until after the World Cup to try and make a move,” Oluwaseyi said. “But for it to happen so suddenly, there was always going to be a period of uncertainty and a period of not being fully sure in my decision in going there.”

Oluwaseyi had two goals and two assists over his first 27 games for Villarreal, but said from a personal standpoint, the season hadn’t gone as well as he’d wanted.

“Making a move from the MLS to a top-five league and a team as good as Villarreal wasn’t always going to be smooth sailing. I think no part of my career has ever been smooth sailing,” he said. “So I think it’s been a learning curve, it’s been an adjustment, but I think overall I’ve become a better player since going there. And I think that’s the most important thing.”

Fellow Canadian Tajon Buchanan was already playing for Villarreal, and reuniting with a national squad teammate helped the transition.

“Being the only person in a space from your part of the world can be difficult. It’s not fun at times,” Oluwaseyi said. “But having him there, who’s experienced it, who’s done the same move as I have to Europe from the MLS, and being in that locker room together definitely made things easier for us, because we can bounce ideas off each other, we can be critical of each other, and overall just have a good time with each other.”

The duo travelled to North Carolina together for training camp with the national team last week, and are hoping to spend a large chunk of the summer together chasing a World Cup title.

The quest begins on June 12 when Canada kicks off its tournament in Toronto against Bosnia-Herzegovina.

“The closer it gets, the less real, I would say, it feels,” Oluwaseyi said of the moment. “But I think for me, it’s important not to look at the size of the occasion and just focus on myself and doing the right thing.”

The powerful sniper has made 23 appearances since first getting called up to the national team in 2024, scoring two goals and adding three assists.

To be able to play in a World Cup on home soil will be special, he said.

“I remember being 14 and watching Toronto FC play at BMO Field and being like ‘Oh, it would be cool to be there someday,'” he said. “So to be able to have done that or even surpassed that in a sense is pretty cool. And I hope other kids are watching and hoping that they can do the same thing.”

All through the journey from the MLS SuperDraft to Minnesota to Spain, and now to the World Cup, Oluwaseyi has continued his gratitude list.

“I think it’s just a little bit of extra motivation,” he explained. “Because as an athlete, there’s always down moments, there’s always high moments. And I think in both those moments it’s important to reflect from time to time on the journey and how you’ve gotten to the point you’re at.”

Being grateful is something Oluwaseyi said his parents always instilled in him, his older sister and younger brother.

“Whether it was sports, whether it was things in life, (my parents) have always been big on thanking people when they’ve helped you, whatever that help looked like,” he said.

“I think it’s something that we’ve carried from a very young age and I’ve continued to carry the older I’ve got. And I think I’ll carry it for the rest of my life.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 3, 2026.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press