Squad Battles: The CanMNT’s World Cup squad starts to take shape after strong September window

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The CanMNT are now two games closer to the start of the World Cup, as they’ve wrapped up the first of five remaining windows before they kick off that tournament at BMO Field on June 12th, 2026. 

After a disappointing end to their Gold Cup campaign earlier this summer, the CanMNT had a great response in this September window, too, as they defeated Romania 3-0 in Bucharest and Wales 1-0 in Swansea in a pair of friendlies, giving them back-to-back road wins over European opposition for the first time. 

Thanks to that, it’s put them back on track as they continue World Cup preparation, as they served a reminder that their penalty shootout loss to Guatemala in the Gold Cup quarter-finals was more of a blip in their ongoing evolution than anything. 

Certainly, it’s hard to dispute that when seeing how they played this window, as they didn’t just pick up two key results, but did so while putting in two excellent performances, too. 

In particular, it was a strong camp for several individual players, as several players raised their stock significantly over the course of this window. 

Yet, that’s not surprising to see, as the race for spots in Canada’s World Cup squad remains as tight as ever right now, especially after a big summer of transfer moves. Along with the continued growth of several players within head coach Jesse Marsch’s system, it seems as if Canada’s squad gets deeper by the day - and this camp was a reminder of that growth.  

With that in mind, here’s a look at Canada’s depth chart after the window, in the second of many updates between now and the World Cup - for reference, here’s how things looked after the Gold Cup.  

*Changes to the depth chart will be noted in BOLD*

Goalkeeper:

Locks: Maxime Crépeau, Dayne St. Clair

Frontrunner: Tom McGill

On the bubble: Jayden Hibbert, James Pantemis, Jonathan Sirois, Grégoire Świderski

As has been the case for a while now, this position remains as murky as ever for Jesse Marsch, and this window did nothing to give him clarity over what the goalkeeper position might look like for Canada next summer. 

To be clear, Marsch has a great idea of who his three goalkeepers will be, as Maxime Crépeau and Dayne St.Clair remain locks, while Tom McGill is the clear frontrunner to join them - although a first call-up for dual-national Jayden Hibbert this camp suggests he could offer some competition to McGill, given the potential he's shown in recent months with his play for Atlanta United. 

Along with the news that Owen Goodman doesn’t look to be eligible for the CanMNT (at least not anytime soon), those were the only big changes at this position over the last few months. 

Returning to Crépeau and St.Clair, though, it’s not clear which of the two Marsch prefers at this stage, as he once again split the net in this window. Naturally, both showed well, too, with Crépeau making two saves on 0.43 xG worth of chances as he kept a clean sheet vs. Romania, before St.Clair made four saves on 1.03 xG worth of chances in a clean sheet vs. Wales, so it’s not as if one gained a clear edge on the field this camp, either.

Centre-back:

Locks: Moïse Bombito, Derek Cornelius, Luc De Fougerolles

Frontrunner: Joel Waterman

On the bubble: Jamie Knight-Lebel, Kamal Miller

A new player has cemented themselves as a lock for next summer, as Luc De Fougerolles put together two strong performances across both matches in this window, helping his side keep two clean sheets while pairing nicely with Derek Cornelius, who also had a strong camp. 

Between that and his play for FCV Dender to start the 2025-2026 season, it’s clear that De Fougerolles has earned Marsch’s trust and will be at next summer’s World Cup - in particular, it cannot be understated how important that loan move to Belgium has been to him, as a lack of clarity about his club situation a few months ago was one of the reasons why he wasn’t a lock at that point. 

Yet, while it seemed De Fougerolles’s play in June might’ve potentially pushed him to pip Cornelius in the race to start alongside Moïse Bombito next summer, Cornelius also elevated his stock this camp with some great performances, showing why he’ll start alongside Bombito when the latter returns to full health (which is set to happen this month) - leaving De Fougerolles as a strong third option, one that will be ready to step up in case of an injury or a significant drop in form from Cornelius. 

Elsewhere, Joel Waterman also quietly raised his stock this camp, coming off the bench in both games to help Canada see out results - otherwise, not much has changed on the bubble, although it appears Jamie Knight-Lebel has the edge over Kamal Miller right now after earning another call-up in this camp - even if he didn’t play.

Full-back:

Locks: Alphonso Davies, Richie Laryea, Alistair Johnston, Niko Sigur

Frontrunner: N/A

On the bubble: Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty, Zorhan Bassong, Sam Adekugbe

Unsurprisingly, given the long-term injuries that Alphonso Davies and Alistair Johnston are both dealing with, that opened the door for some more movement at this position, with Niko Sigur the biggest winner. 

In the last depth chart, he was featured as a midfielder, which seemed to be where his future with Canada might lie, but an injury to Johnston pushed Sigur back to full back, and he had two strong performances at that position, including an excellent showing vs. Romania that saw him nab a beautiful goal. Sigur was already a lock in that last depth chart, so not much has changed for him in that regard, but with Johnston unlikely to feature for Canada until the new year, he has the chance to grab a real foothold at the right back position if he can keep playing the way he has. 

Sigur wasn’t the only full back to shine this camp, though, as Richie Laryea was one of Canada’s best players across both games, putting in two excellent shifts at left back. Already a lock on this team, his continued excellence for Canada is going to make it hard for Marsch to take him out of the lineup when everyone’s healthy - he’s been that good. 

Otherwise, Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty is a new inclusion on this list after earning his first CanMNT call-up in a half-decade - while he didn’t feature this window, he’ll hope to earn another call in October. Then, it’s worth noting that Sigur’s emergence has otherwise pushed Zorhan Bassong from a frontrunner to on the bubble, not because of anything Bassong did wrong (he had a decent eight-minute cameo vs. Romania), but instead because of the logjam Sigur’s presence creates at this position - especially when considering Marshall-Rutty's emergence, given his age and ability to play both full back positions. 

Midfield:

Locks: Stephen Eustáquio, Ismaël Koné, Nathan Saliba, Mathieu Choinière

Frontrunner: N/A

On the bubble: Jonathan Osorio

There was also some movement in midfield, where Nathan Saliba’s strong play made him the second new player to cement himself as a lock for next summer. In particular, that Marsch trusted him to start alongside Ismaël Koné vs. Wales after Stephen Eustáquio exited camp with a knock was a huge vote of confidence in the young midfielder, and Saliba repaid Marsch’s faith with an excellent performance. 

Otherwise, not much changed in this group, other than Sigur’s move to full back (and he remains a depth option at this position) - Eustáquio is Marsch’s preferred option when healthy, and all of Koné, Saliba, Choinière and Sigur are battling to start alongside him. 

For what it’s worth, though, Koné might’ve taken a slight edge in that race this camp, as he was very good across both games, helping show why he’s the favourite in this race - at least when considering what he can bring at his best. 

Lastly, one thing to note is that Jonathan Osorio’s stock did take a slight hit this camp, as he wasn’t even included, indicating that he’s currently the fifth or sixth-choice midfielder - and the value he could potentially bring as a leader might be forgotten with what Junior Hoilett brought to the table this camp (more on him in a second).

Wingers: 

Locks: Tajon Buchanan, Ali Ahmed

Frontrunner: N/A

On the bubble: Jacob Shaffelburg, Junior Hoilett, Liam Millar, Jayden Nelson

This position might be the one with the fewest changes compared to the last update, as Tajon Buchanan and Ali Ahmed were both strong this camp, with Ahmed arguably emerging as the biggest winner of this window. In particular, Ahmed’s play was a huge boost, because while he seemed to already be a lock in next year’s team, given how well he’s fit into Marsch’s team, he continues to show that he might be best served to play as a starter in this team, pairing with Buchanan. 

Otherwise, this was a quiet window for Jacob Shaffelburg, who missed the Romania game as he served his suspension for getting sent off vs. Guatemala at the Gold Cup, and then had a pretty non-descript cameo off the bench vs. Wales. At this stage, he is all but guaranteed to go to the World Cup, as he remains Canada’s best supersub option, but the big goal for him will be to regain his confidence, something he was starting to do for Nashville SC before this window, at least. 

Yet, if Shaffelburg’s still all but guaranteed to go to the World Cup, why bump him down a category? Much like with Bassong, it has nothing to do with Shaffelburg and everything to do with Junior Hoilett, who had a strong camp in his return to the Canadian fold. Thanks to his leadership, positional versatility (he also played as an attacking midfielder this camp) and ability to take set-pieces, he showed that he has every shot of making next summer’s roster. 

Jayden Nelson will continue to push after featuring in both games this window, as will Liam Millar, who is set to finally return from his long-term knee injury, but Hoilett’s experience is a crucial factor to consider. 

One thing’s for sure, though, this winger group is far from sorted, so keep an eye on this battle in the next few windows, as it might be the position that sees the most movement ahead of next year.

Strikers:

Locks: Jonathan David

Frontrunners: Tani Oluwaseyi, Promise David, Cyle Larin

On the bubble: Daniel Jebbison, Theo Bair, Jacen Russell-Rowe

Lastly, but certainly not least, there’s the striker position, which remains one of the most fascinating battles that Marsch will be keeping an eye on. 

Once again, though, it remains wide open, as no one was able to seize the opportunity provided by this window, leaving Jonathan David as the lone lock once again. 

For what it’s worth, it’s important to note that Tani Oluwaseyi actually had a pretty strong camp, but he was let down by a few poor moments in front of goal - had he found the net once, that might’ve been enough to cement him as a lock. At this moment, he’s the clear favourite in this race, as shown by the fact that he started both games this window - he’ll just need to start scoring to cement himself as a lock. 

Looking elsewhere, Promise David had a good cameo off the bench vs. Romania, but didn’t play as much as hoped across both games as he dealt with a knock. Because of that, look for him to return to health and form with Union St-Gilloise at the club level, helping him push Oluwaseyi harder in the October window.

Meanwhile, one big winner was Cyle Larin, who, despite missing this camp, improved his World Cup odds with a strong loan move to Feyenoord on deadline day. If the experienced striker can find form at his new club, that could give him a big boost in this race, especially with Oluwaseyi and P. David yet to fully seize an opportunity up front. 

From there, the other big winner this window was Theo Bair, who did well enough to earn minutes vs. Wales ahead of P. David, a sign of how well he did this camp. Having made a great loan move to Lausanne-Sport this window, he has every chance at pushing someone like Daniel Jebbison if he can find some form going forward - so it’ll also equally hurt Jebbison’s stock that he wasn’t included this camp, which opened the door for Bair’s inclusion in the first place.