The Canada MNT faces a defining year with historic opportunities ahead.
This is perhaps the most significant year for the program. Canada is one of the hosts of the 2026 FIFA World Cup and is currently experiencing its best period, ranking 27th in the FIFA rankings—the highest in its history.
With the rise of the Canada MNT over the past few years, many players have secured moves to big European clubs. For example, Alphonso Davies from the Vancouver Whitecaps to Bayern Munich, Jonathan David from Lille to Juventus, Moise Bombito from the Colorado Rapids to OGC Nice, and Alistair Johnston from CF Montreal to Celtic.
With this being a World Cup year, it is expected that many players will make moves either to Europe, within Europe, or within MLS. However, some already have already happened. Let’s go over these m
Dayne St. Clair signs with Inter Miami as a free agent
Dayne St. Clair was named the MLS Goalkeeper of the Year in 2025. He led the league in save percentage (79.9%) and ranked second in goals against per 90 minutes. (1.00)
It was interesting to see where the Canadian goalkeeper would end up. It turns out, St. Clair left Minnesota United and signed with the reigning MLS Cup Champions: Inter Miami.
Inter Miami gets one of the best goalkeepers in MLS. Goalkeeping was a weak spot for them in 2025 with Oscar Usturi and Rocco Ríos Novo.
St. Clair gets to play with Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, and Rodrigo De Paul. De Paul signed with Miami permanently, and they brought in former Real Madrid, Sevilla, and Tottenham Hotspur left-back Sergio Reguilón. Miami also has another Designated Player spot open, and they will surely use it on another superstar.
Inter Miami are going all-in to retain its MLS Cup title. St. Clair is a big signing for them and gives them stability at the back. For St. Clair, he is going to be under the spotlight a lot. He has a massive chance to prove to Canada MNT head coach Jesse Marsch that he can be the starting goalkeeper at the 2026 World Cup. Inter Miami is a team with star power, and St. Clair joins that core group.
But his fellow Canadian goalkeeper won’t be too far away…
Maxime Crépeau reportedly set to sign for Orlando City
Looks like there will be two Canadian goalkeepers in the Sunshine State.
It was clear for a while that Crépeau needed to leave the Portland Timbers. Fellow Canadian James Pantemis overtook the starting spot from him. But would the 31-year-old go to Europe or stay in MLS? Turns out, it was the latter.
On New Year’s Eve, both Fabrizio Romano and Tom Bogert reported that Crépeau is headed to Orlando City. Unlike in Portland, he is going to be their number one goalkeeper. He replaces Pedro Gallese, who left to join Deportivo Cali in Colombia. (I honestly thought Crépeau would join Toronto FC to be the replacement for Sean Johnson.)
After finishing second in the Eastern Conference in 2023 and fourth in 2024, Orlando City SC fell off and finished ninth in the East in 2025. They look poised for another top-four finish after winning four straight between July 19 and August 16. (They played in Leagues Cup during this time, too.) But since August 16, they won just one game, drawn three, and lost three. In the wild card game, they crashed out with a 3-1 loss to the Chicago Fire.
So it was clear some changes were needed. Crépeau is one of those changes alongside the acquisitions of midfielder Braian Ojeda, midfielder Luis Otavio, and forward Tiago Souza. As a starter, Crépeau will once again get a chance to prove he can start at the World Cup. He will try to bring the same shot-stopping and commanding presence Gallese brought. While there are still a ways to go for Orlando to prove they are able to get back to the Eastern Conference top four, Crépeau increases their chances.
Jacob Shaffelburg traded to LAFC
Jacob Shaffelburg impressed at the 2024 Copa America, but has struggled to replicate that form.
It was speculated that he would leave Nashville SC at some point. On December 29, he was traded to LAFC for $500,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM) in 2026 and $500,000 in GAM in 2027. Nashville also gets an undisclosed sell-on percentage.
Shaffelburg is going to be competing for a starting spot at the World Cup. The 26-year-old winger joins one of the best (if not the best) attacks in MLS with Denis Bouanga and Son Heung-Min. Plus, given Shaffelburg’s speed, he complements LAFC well. However, Shaffelburg is a left winger, so it is possible that head coach Marc Dos Santos could shift Bouanga to the right or possibly move Shaffelburg to the right.
LAFC are still an elite team with the likes of Son, Bouanga, Sergi Palencia, Timothy Tillman, David Martinez, and Hugo Lloris. For Shaffelburg, he has a chance to utilize his tools and hopefully put up bigger numbers. (Career high in goal contributions is six.) He has a huge opportunity to elevate his status in the Canada MNT setup.
Ali Ahmed signs with Norwich City
Ali Ahmed had a really good 2025. With the Whitecaps, he had a career high of 13 assists in all competitions. Ahmed scored three goals in the Canadian Championship and just one goal in MLS. That was the game-tying goal in the MLS Cup final against Inter Miami.
The 25 year old has been very impressive for the Canada MNT, especially since the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Ahmed has been hard to drop by Marsch.
It felt inevitable that Ahmed would leave Vancouver for Europe, but it is a bit surprising that it happened in the winter and not after the World Cup. On Sunday, it was announced that Ahmed signed for Norwich City in the English Championship.
It sucks for Whitecaps fans to see him go, but this move for Ahmed was well deserved.
Norwich City are 24th in the Championship, in a relegation battle. However, they have been in better form as of late, winning three out of their last six.
A big reason for Norwich being in the position they are in because they had a really bad start, which included six straight losses from October 1 to November 1. On November 8, manager Liam Manning was sacked after Norwich lost 2-1 at home to Leicester City. Belgian manager Philippe Clement was named the new boss 10 days later. Since Clement’s arrival, it seems the ship has steadied at Norwich as they have gone 4-3-4.
It seems Clement’s system will suit Ahmed well. He often uses a 4-2-3-1 formation with quick transitions, high pressing, and using the wings to exploit the wide areas. That sounds similar to the system Whitecaps head coach Jesper Sørensen uses.
It seems Norwich has had trouble scoring and creating scoring chances. They are tied for 16th in the Championship with 28 goals scored. However, they sit eighth in expected goals (33.2) and seventh in non-penalty xG. (32.4)
Goals aren’t Ahmed’s bread and butter, and shooting is something he needs to work on. But Norwich could benefit from his pace and agility. The Canaries have a lot of young players. Josh Sargent is 25 and leads them in goals with seven. Sure, they have veterans such as Shane Duffy (34), Kenny McLean (33), and Vladen Kovacevic (27), but the vast majority of their squad are 24 and younger. At 25, Ahmed could provide some experience for the squad.
Potentially, he could find chemistry with Sargent and get Norwich out of the relegation zone. There, his Canada MNT stock could rise even more and he could be starting in the opening World Cup game in June.
