The Canada MNT are in action for the first time in 2025.
They aren’t playing friendlies, they are playing competitive games. What makes things even better is that Canada will be playing for a trophy. The Canadians are in the final four of the CONCACAF Nations League and will face Mexico. Should they beat Mexico and also win the final
Jesse Marsch was hired as Canada’s head coach in 2024 and he took them to greater heights with a fourth-placed finish in the Copa America. The standards have been raised and now is the time for the Canadian men to win a trophy.
But first, they need to deal with Mexico in Los Angeles on Thursday.
The roster
Marsch stated that the Canada MNT is the strongest they ever looked after the roster for the Nations League was announced.
On paper, he is right. The Canadians look very strong. Note: It was announced on Monday that Sporting Kansas City’s Zorhan Bassong has replaced Toronto FC’s Richie Laryea on the roster as the latter is dealing with a hamstring injury.
The squad has a mixture of experience and youth. There are also a couple of newcomers up front.
Striker Promise David was a player to keep an eye on as he has 11 goals and four assists with Union SG in the Belgian Pro League. Then there is Bournemouth’s Daniel Jebbison, who is also a striker. After representing England at the youth level, the Oakville, Ontario native announced he would commit to Canada last month.
Both David and Jebbison bring competition for Jonathan David, Cyle Larin and Tani Oluwaseyi (who was named the MLS player of the last matchday) and could potentially be super subs. They also bring height and aerial ability. Promise David is 6’5″ and Jebbison is 6’3.”
The big question is: Who will start between the sticks?
Maxime Crépeau was phenomenal in the Copa America and did play in a couple of friendlies last fall. But the 30-year-old has not played for the Portland Timbers since their 4-1 opening day loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps. He missed games against Austin and Nashville due to a leg injury and was benched in favour of fellow Canadian James Pantemis in Portland’s 1-1 draw with LA Galaxy on Sunday.
As for Dayne St.Clair. He has two clean sheets in four games with Minnesota United this past season. The 27-year-old also played in Canada’s Nations League quarter-final tie against Suriname.
Alistair Johnston has continued to impress with Celtic and Moise Bombito and Derek Cornelius have been consistent starters with OGC Nice and Olympique Marseille respectively. So it wouldn’t be a surprise if they start on the backline with Alphonso Davies.
Canada also has a lot of options in the midfield. Stephen Eustaquio,Ismaël Koné, Mathieu Choinière, Jonathan Osorio, and Niko Sigur all round out the depth. Given Eustaquio’s importance to Canada, it is almost certain he’ll start.
It is worth noting that Tajon Buchanan played a few minutes in the two legs against Suriname. The 26-year-old has been getting back into action with Villareal on loan from Inter Milan. Buchanan’s speed and agility is needed and it could be worth starting up.
Marsch has experimented with a 4-2-2, 4-2-3-1 and a 5-3-2 during his tenure as Canada MNT’s head coach. It’s unclear which formation he goes with but here is a projected lineup with a 4-4-2.
What to expect from Mexico
Canada MNT and Mexico played a physical 0-0 draw in Arlington, Texas in a friendly on September 10. Since then, Mexico has lost 2-0 to the US but did beat Honduras 4-2 on aggregate in the Nations League quarterfinals.
Mexico has not been the CONCACAF powerhouse of the past. They failed to reach the knockout stages of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and won just one out of five CONCACAF tournaments since 2020. But despite this, Mexico is one of the giants of CONCACAF and cannot be underestimated.
Mexico’s physicality and defensive structure made things hard for Canada in the September friendly. Canada had trouble in the final third and couldn’t orchestrate good build-ups due to Mexico’s physicality.
As mentioned in a through tactical breakdown article by OneSoccer’s Alexandre Gangue-Ruzic, Head coach Javier Aguirre had Mexico sitting back instead of pressing against Honduras, but pressed more aggressively against the US. With Marsch’s Canada so adamant on pressing, Mexico could be focused on sitting back, being defensively sound and physical and trying to score on the transitions.
Strikers Raul Jimenez (Fulham), Santiago Gimenez (AC Milan) and Julian Quinones (Al-Qadsiah) are all on good form with their respective clubs and either one of them could be deadly for El Tri against Canada.
Keys to victory for Canada MNT
Canada needs to find and create lanes in their build-up. Mexico will be tough to break down but Canada needs to be clean in the final third. Since the Copa America,they have been gradually been better at that.
The game will be won in the midfield. The likes of Eustaquio and Chioniere will duel it out with players like Edson Alvarez and Carlos Rodríguez. Canada needs to clog the midfield with their press but Mexico will do the same to start counter-attacks.
Kickoff for Thursday’s semi-final is at 7:30 pm Pacific and it will be simulcasted on TSN and OneSoccer.
