After a disappointing CONCACAF Nations League and Gold Cup runs, the Canada MNT is back in action for a pair of September friendlies.
They will take on 48th-ranked Romania in Bucharest on September 5. Then, it is off to Swansea to play 31st-ranked Wales. Canada is currently ranked 28th in the FIFA rankings, the highest it has ever been.
Other countries are fighting to qualify for the World Cup. While Canada is one of the teams that qualified, they are also working hard, and it is crunch time. As the Nations League and Gold Cup runs showed, there is still a lot to be worked on for the Canada MNT team.
These two friendlies will give Jesse Marsch and the players tests with less than a year to go until the World Cup. These friendlies won’t answer the questions right away, but they’ll hopefully be a step forward to the answers.
Let’s take a look at five storylines heading into next week’s friendlies.
#1: New faces to the Canada MNT setup and a familiar one
The Canada MNT squad for the friendlies against Romania and Wales was announced on Tuesday. Most of it was no surprise, but there were two new names on the squad and one familiar face.
The two new names are Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty and Jayden Hibbert.
Marshall-Ruty plays for Charlotte FC, on loan from fellow MLS side CF Montreal. The 21-year-old has played 18 matches (14 starts) with Charlotte this season and has managed to get two assists. He can play as a right-back or left-back (Can also play as a defensive midfielder) and has helped win seven straight MLS games, and five of those have been clean sheets. Marshall-Ruty has played in all of those matches and started five of them.
The former Toronto FC academy project has been called up by the Canada MNT before. Marshall-Ruty was called up in January of 2021 at the age of 16. He is the youngest player ever to be called up by the Canada MNT, beating Alphonso Davies’ record by five days. However, Marshall-Ruty has yet to make an appearance for Canada, and that could change in this September window. Marshall-Ruty has been known for his excellent crosses, dribbling,physicality, and versatility. According to his Football Reference profile, Marshall-Ruty is in the 95th percentile in pass completion and 91st percentile in progressive carries. Given that Marsch’s system has transitional play, those numbers are encouraging.
Jayden Hibbert was drafted 19th overall by Atlanta United in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft after two seasons with the University of Connecticut Huskies. The New Jersey-born goalkeeper played last season with Atlanta United 2 and went on loan to Birmingham Legion of the USL Championship. Hibbert spent this season on the first team and has played his first two MLS matches, which were both against Toronto FC. He also played against Atlas in Leagues Cup, helping Atlanta win 4-1. In the two games against Toronto, Hibbert gave up one goal and made six saves. Marsch has spoken highly about Hibbert’s potential.
The familiar face is Junior Hoilett. The 35-year-old has made 65 caps for Canada and scored 17 goals. Hoilett is in his second season with Hibernian in Scotland. The veteran winger will look to bring offensive depth.
fIt will be interesting to see how many minutes Marshall-Ruty and Hibbert get. Both are long shots to make the 2026 World Cup squad, but these friendlies give them a chance to showcase themselves. These are two players who are the future. Marshall-Ruty brings full-back depth and is the most likely to get more minutes (more on the full-backs later), but if there is a chance, Hibbert should see minutes in goals too.
#2: The goalkeeper situation
Speaking of goalkeepers, the Canada MNT has to figure out who starts in goal at the World Cup. Dayne St. Clair and Maxime Crépeau will be competing for the number one job.
St.Clair faced criticism in Canada’s loss to Guatemala, especially in the penalty shootout. However, in MLS he is tied for the league lead in save percentage (78.5), and tied for first in lowest goals against per 90 minutes. (0.92) Minnesota is second in the Western Conference and tied for fourth in the Supporters Shield race. St.Clair has been a huge reason why, and has continued to prove that he is one of the elite goalkeepers in MLS.
For Crépeau, he has more proven experience with Canada at the big stages, particularly with his heroics at the 2024 Copa America. In MLS, he hasn’t been as good as St.Clair, but he hasn’t been terrible either. Crépeau is 22nd in save percentage (69.1%) and 21st in GA per 90. (1.50) These are probably because the Portland Timbers were leaking in goals in the early parts of the season, but have somewhat stabilized. Portland has only given up 37 goals, the 12th fewest in MLS.
Both goalkeepers proved they can start for club and country. But in these two friendlies and for the upcoming months, both St.Clair and Crépeau will be fighting for that number one spot. It is possible that both of them will start one game each in this upcoming window.
#3: Besides Jonathan David, who will score the goals?
With 36 goals for the Canada MNT, Jonathan David is their all-time leading goal scorer. Obviously, they have more success when he scores. But what if he is in a rut or unavailable? Who will score the goals?
Cyle Larin is second all-time for the Canada MNT in goals with 30. However, it has been a rough year or so for Larin. He has still been linked with a much-needed move away from Mallorca and hasn’t scored for Canada since a friendly against Panama on October 15, 2024. These friendlies and the following international windows could potentially be Larin’s last dances with Canada unless his form improves. But these games are also opportunities to prove he still belongs with the national team.
Tani Oluwaseyi has been a rising star in the Canadian setup, and he has earned a move to Europe. He is joining Tajon Buchanan at Villarreal as the move was officially announced on Friday. Oluwaseyi scored his first two goals for the Canada MNT this year, and his pace and athleticism have impressed Marsch, the coaching staff, and Canadian soccer fans.
Promise David has also been a rising star in the Canadian setup. After impressing last season with Union SG in Belgium (and scoring the winning goal to give them their first league title in 90 years), David got his first call-up to Canada for the Canadian Shield and Gold Cup. He scored his first goals in wins over Ukraine and Honduras. The younger David’s pace, physicality, and aerial ability are beneficial to Canada’s attack heading into the World Cup.
Of course, there are also goal-scoring options outside of the forwards. Those include the speedy wingers Jayden Nelson and Jacob Shaffelburg, as well as Ali Ahmed and Hoilett.
It will be interesting to see how Canada will set up to create more scoring. Scoring has been inconsistent in Marsch’s tenure. Will he set up Canada with his usual 4-2-2-2 or 4-2-2 formation? Or will he go with one striker up top and go with a 4-2-3-1?
#4: How will they fare without Alistair Johnston?
Alistair Johnston has been Canada’s top full-back. But he won’t be around for the games in Romania and Wales. That is because he suffered a hamstring injury while playing for Celtic. Johnston is out for three months.
A big question is, how will Canada do without their top full-back? Their two best left-backs, Alphonso Davies and Sam Adekugbe, are also still recovering from long-term injuries. Fortunately, they have a lot of options.
Richie Laryea can play both sides. His tenacity and “dark arts” antics make Canada hard to play against. Burnaby native Niko Sigur has played as a right-back as well as in the midfield. Zorhan Bassong brings depth to the left side, and as mentioned, Marshall-Ruty could see some minutes.
Laryea seems like a lock to play either the left or right, but it will be interesting to see who is on his opposite flank.
#5: Can Canada prove they can beat bigger opponents?
The standards have been raised significantly since Canada qualified for the 2022 World Cup. Gone are the days of losing 8-1 to Honduras.
Now, before the 2026 World Cup, Canada must prove they can go toe to toe with countries around their ranking or higher. They played well but lost to Belgium in 2022 and lost to Croatia and Morocco. Canada lost a friendly to Japan in 2023. They ended up drawing to France in June of 2024 and losing to the Netherlands, and even played Argentina twice at the 2024 Copa America. Canada lost to them both times.
The Canada MNT needs to prove they can win games outside of CONCACAF. Wales and Romania are perfect tests for them. These are teams around them in the FIFA rankings, and they provide a challenge.
These friendlies will give Canadian soccer fans a taste of what could be seen at the World Cup and gives everyone an assessment to see where the team is at. Wales and Romania won’t be easy, but Canada must prove they are up for the task.
