10 BIG questions the CanMNT must answer ahead of the World Cup
With the calendar now flipped to August, that means we’re now less than 10 months away from the start of the World Cup, as the next international window is already just around the corner.
This September window marks the first of five remaining windows before the start of the World Cup, as well, which means that the CanMNT likely only have 10 games left to play ahead of that tournament, assuming they fill all five windows with the two games they can play apiece - they’ve already filled two out of five of those windows, with more to come.
After a disappointing Gold Cup exit, Canada will look to hit the reset button in that September window, when they’ll travel to Europe to face Romania and Wales in a pair of friendly matches. Two good tests, it promises to be a good precursor for what’s to come over the next 10 months, which will also include friendlies against Australia and Colombia, as well as some other high-level matches.
There, they’ll have plenty of questions to answer as they begin this sprint towards the World Cup. From the selection of their roster to several decisions surrounding their starting XI, there is still a lot that can change ahead of Canada’s tournament opener at BMO Field on June 12, 2026.
In honour of the 10 months that remain until the World Cup, and the 10 games Canada will be expected to play over that span, here are 10 questions they’ll look to answer over that stretch, starting in this September window.
What is Jesse Marsch's best XI?
To begin, it’s worth looking at a simple question, as its answer will probably be informed by a lot of the questions asked below, and that query is as follows: What is Canada’s best XI under head coach Jesse Marsch? If all goes to plan, Canada would ideally like to have that XI starting together on June 12th, although it’s worth noting that injuries, form and other factors might hamper their ability to do that.
Yet, even without factoring in those potential absences, it’s hard to even think of what Canada’s best XI might look like for that day, even when dreaming of an ideal scenario where they had a fully healthy team available to them. That’s not a bad thing to have that conundrum - it’s a credit to the growing depth of their team, as several new players have stepped up and put their names in the mix to earn a starting spot since Marsch’s arrival.
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Because of that, look for them to hopefully get some reps with that best XI - whatever it might look like - sometime over the next 10 months. That might not happen for a while with the long-term injury to Alphonso Davies and the ongoing injury recovery of someone like Moïse Bombito, but that shows why the next three windows are quite important, in particular.
Ideally, Canada has their best XI, or something close to it, figured out by March of next year, giving them at least four games across the March and June windows to work with that group and prepare them for the start of the World Cup, so that’ll put pressure on making sure that they get a better idea of what that team looks like in September, October and November.
The last thing they’ll want to do is let certain battles drag out too close to next year, especially given their schedule, as they’ve got the luxury of being able to experiment with their squad in the last three windows of 2025, instead of having to juggle high-stakes qualifiers as many other teams are doing right now.
The trade-off in that situation is that they won’t be as battle-tested in a competitive environment by the time the World Cup comes around, at least compared to some of their opponents, but that’s why they’ll want to start to ramp up preparation in March and June of 2026 - hopefully led by their best XI.
RELATED: Squad Battles: Diving into the CanMNT's depth chart for 2026 World Cup after busy summer
Who is their starting goalkeeper?
Of course, in most teams, the easiest position to choose in a best XI is usually in goal, and Canada is yet to figure out who their #1 starter is at this stage of their process. Through 21 games under Jesse Marsch, they’ve split the goal, with Dayne St.Clair playing 11 games and Maxime Crépeau playing 10 games, showing how tough a decision this might prove to be for Marsch.
Ultimately, the differences between the two are quite minimal - St.Clair has been the better goalkeeper at the club level over the past 12 months, and Crépeau has been the better goalkeeper for Canada over that span, according to the metrics. Figuring out which of those two factors is more important to Marsch will be his big objective over the next few months - and these friendlies can help him do that.
RELATED: THE BREAKDOWN: It's time to settle the CanMNT goalkeeping debate once and for all
What is Alphonso Davies’s best position?
This is an age-old question, but as long as Alphonso Davies is on the CanMNT, it feels like this debate might rage on, and understandably so - while he remains a world-class full back with Bayern Munich, he’s also a pretty darn good winger on his day.
So, where should he play for Canada?
Given how he’s been used under Marsch, where he’s featured as a left back in 12 out of 13 appearances, it seems likely that he opens the 2026 World Cup at that position. Yet, given that he’s also scored 15 goals and added 18 assists in a Canadian shirt (but is yet to register a goal contribution under Marsch), you can’t help but wonder what he could do in a more offensive role on this team.
For what it’s worth, unlike on past iterations of this Canadian team, where the suggestion was to push Davies forward because there were a lack of dangerous options up front, that’s no longer the case on this team. In particular, out wide, Tajon Buchanan, Ali Ahmed, Jacob Shaffelburg and Liam Millar are some of the options pushing for a starting role - pushing Davies up to a winger position would only leave room for one of them to start, likely being Buchanan.
Because of that, it appears that the ideal solution here is to keep Davies at left back, but to just increase his offensive responsibilities - Davies does have nine career goals and 32 assists in 197 professional appearances as a left back per Transfermarkt, after all.
If Marsch is unable to extract that sort of offensive impact from him at left back, though, then the debates to move him forward will rage on, so it shows why this is such a fascinating question to ask.
Davies' stunner wins Goal of the Week! ☄️@Heineken || #UCLGOTW pic.twitter.com/Waao6Lyq9Q
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) May 10, 2024
For what it’s worth, though, it’s one that we won’t see answered in the immediate future, as Davies continues to recover from a major knee injury. As a result, he might not be seen in a Canadian shirt this year, and even if he does, it’s hard to see him being 100% until the new year, given how those injuries tend to be (although his recovery seems to be going quite incredibly).
What that means, however, that the best way for Marsch to help answer this question in the short-term will be by pushing his winger group hard over the next few windows - if someone fails to step up alongside Buchanan as a reliable starting option, the temptation to push Davies forward upon his return will increase, especially when knowing that Richie Laryea has more than done his part to be a starter in that left back role with his play lately for Canada, as he’d likely be relegated to more of a substitute role if Davies slots back into Canada’s backline.
Who will help Jonathan David score goals?
For the most part, Canada has started to find their feet offensively under Marsch, scoring 28 goals in 21 games, with 16 of them coming in eight games in 2025 after they scored just 12 goals in 13 games under their new coach in 2024.
Plus, the good news is that they’ve started to show that their attack is a bit more balanced than before, too, as Jonathan David has scored just five of those 16 goals in 2025 (31%), after scoring five of the 12 they scored in 2024 (41%). He undoubtedly remains as the most important offensive piece on this team, scoring 10 out of 28 of the goals scored under Marsch (35%), and finding himself involved in half of the goals they’ve scored when considering the four assists he also has over that span (giving 14 goal contributions on those 28 goals scored), but there’s been a bit more balance to that scoring in 2025.
GOAL 🇨🇦🇨🇦
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) June 7, 2025
TAJON TO J. DAVID AGAIN 🤯
Buchanan's ice-cold first touch sets up a cross for an even colder glancing header by Jonathan David and the #CanMNT go up 2-0 over Ukraine 🇺🇦
🔴 Watch LIVE on OneSoccer & TSN pic.twitter.com/9sNH2Y4NAy
In particular, the big help has been the return of Tajon Buchanan to top form, as he’s found the net four times in 2025 after not scoring for Canada since March of 2022. For context, those four goals now have him tied with Jacob Shaffelburg for the second-most goals scored under Marsch behind David’s 10, which is not bad at all.
GOAL 🇨🇦🇨🇦
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) June 25, 2025
It's a second quick goal for the #CanMNT as Tajon Buchanan doubles the lead moments after the opener 🔥
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To that point, though, it is also a bit surprising to see a pair of wingers as the next most prolific options not named Jonathan David under Marsch, as despite having a strong group of strikers, Tani Oluwaseyi (2 goals), Promise David (2 goals) and Cyle Larin (1 goal) have combined for just five goals, as they not have been dangerous as hoped in front of goal.
Given that Canada has almost exclusively played with two strikers under Marsch, it’s not unreasonable to expect more goals from that group, as well as the other forwards that have featured under Marsch, such as Daniel Jebbison, Jacen Russell-Rowe and Theo Bair.
Yet, that shows why this goalscoring question is so important for them to answer. There’s no doubting what Jonathan David brings to the table in the goals department, and it’s good to see the support that Buchanan and Shaffelburg have provided him, but they’ll want one of their strikers to become a regular source of goals if they’re to keep playing with two up front.
Especially given that David ends up dropping quite deep when playing with another striker, one can only wonder what he’d do if pushed higher up the pitch as a lone #9, something Canada will have to consider if they can’t find a way to get another forward going alongside him. Because of that, look for them to either get Cyle Larin back to his old Canada form (he has just one goal in his last 20 games for Canada), or find a way to push Tani Oluwaseyi or Promise David to replicate their red-hot club form for country - if not, the calls to make David a lone striker with an extra midfielder behind him will only grow.
Who are the key pieces to watch next summer?
It’s fitting that the last two questions were about Davies and David, because when we talk about locks for the best Canadian XI, they’re two of them. Otherwise, three other locks are Moïse Bombito, Stephen Eustáquio and Tajon Buchanan, who round off Canada’s ‘big 5’ - those players are expected to play a massive role for Canada next summer.
After that, though, things get interesting - the next five most important players are probably some combination of Alistair Johnston, Derek Cornelius, Richie Laryea, Ismaël Koné and Cyle Larin - that group are all established starters who aren’t quite locks but are near-fixtures in the starting XI. From there, Ali Ahmed, Jacob Shaffelburg, Liam Millar, Mathieu Choinière and Jonathan Osorio are forgotten but established players also pushing that group of five, while newcomers Tani Oluwaseyi, Promise David, Nathan Saliba, Niko Sigur and Luc De Fougerolles have thrown themselves into the mix to earn starts over the last 12 months.
Goalkeepers aside, it would not be a surprise to see those 20 players make Canada’s World Cup squad, so it’s interesting to lay them out in different groups like this, as it gives an idea of the hierarchy in Canada’s squad. Now, something to watch will be if there’s any movement between these four groups in the next few months.
In particular, it’ll be fascinating to see if anything steps up and joins Canada’s ‘big 5’ ahead of the World Cup - Alistair Johnston is probably the closest to doing so (and might already be in that group), while Ismaël Koné is the next likeliest option when considering his recent move to Sassuolo and his potential, but there are names to watch in each of the ‘next 5’, ‘new 5’ and ‘forgotten 5’ who could all climb.
This is all worth noting because Canada’s success next summer is mostly dependent on the play of their most important players. No doubt, they’ll need a full squad to make noise, and there will be surprise cult heroes that step up in a tournament like that (the way Jacob Shaffelburg did at last year’s Copa América), but ultimately this team will go as far as David, Davies, Eustáquio, Buchanan and Bombito take them - along with any others that prove capable of joining that group of five over the next few months.
RELATED: THE BREAKDOWN: How Moïse Bombito is leading an impressive CanMNT defensive transformation
How to decide midfield, winger and striker battles?
To stick with the theme of Canada’s best XI and locks, that last section helps give an idea of how close Canada is to finding that best group, as putting David, Davies, Eustáquio, Buchanan and Bombito into that XI leaves Canada with six starting spots to fill.
From there, you can plug some gaps - Derek Cornelius is all-but guaranteed to start at centre back (although Luc De Fougerolles will push him), Alistair Johnston is also pretty much a lock at right back (although Richie Laryea is also there if Davies stays at left back), and one of Dayne St.Clair and Maxime Crépeau will start in goal, meaning that eight out of 11 starting positions are all-but-sorted when factoring that in.
Unlike that centre back, full back and goalkeeper position, however, where Canada already has near-certain starters, and a clear idea of the competition around them (which is only one or two players in each case), the same can’t be said for the remaining spots that leaves in midfield, out wide and up front, where there are a LOT of players fighting for the three remaining spots in Canada’s best XI.
Out wide, Ali Ahmed, Jacob Shaffelburg and Liam Millar are the favourites to start alongside Buchanan; otherwise, Jayden Nelson, Theo Corbeanu and Junior Hoilett also have a chance- as does Alphonso Davies, of course.
Then, centrally, Ismaël Koné, Nathan Saliba, Niko Sigur, Mathieu Choinière, and Jonathan Osorio are all battling to start alongside Stephen Eustáquio (and don’t rule out a long shot like Ralph Priso at least throwing his name in the mix, too).
Lastly, up front, it’s an absolute logjam when it comes to the names wanting to play alongside Jonathan David - Promise David, Tani Oluwaseyi, Cyle Larin, Daniel Jebbison, Jacen Russell-Rowe, Theo Bair, Charles Andreas Brym are just some of the main options, and that list can stretch as long as you like it when considering names like Dieu Merci-Michel, Deandre Kerr, Kwasi Poku, Jules Anthony Vilsaint, Gabriele Biancheri, Santiago López, Iké Ugbo and the many, many other Canadian-eligible strikers that are out there.
That’s a lot of options to consider across those three positions, so it’ll be fascinating to see how Marsch sifts through those players during these next few windows. Does he go for names he’s more familiar with? Does he try to bring in the players in the best form? Will finding chemistry be important? Should he make some bets on potential?
Some combination of familiarity and form will be the likely answer, but then he’ll have to see which names step up when on the field, so expect a lot of rotation at these three positions before he whittles down that group, as those positions are where Canada faces the most difficult questions in their race to find their best XI.
RELATED: THE BREAKDOWN: What's Jesse Marsch's ideal midfielder profile for the CanMNT?
What’s still to be done on the pitch?
Of course, while a lot of Canada’s goals over the next few months are focused on their squad and its composition, that doesn’t mean that they won’t have a few things to work on while on the pitch, either.
Ultimately, even if they’ll be rotating their team a lot more than usual, these games will offer an important opportunity for them to iron out some things in their game.
For example, improving offensive patterns is something they’ll look to do, as is being more consistently dangerous on set-pieces after showing some early signs of growth in that area this summer. Otherwise, figuring out how to concede fewer goals after the 60th minute is something else that stands out, as well as finding the best way to chase games where they don’t score first.
Otherwise, something else to watch out for is to see if Canada shows some flexibility in their tactical plan, as they’ve mostly been pretty rigid with their tactics under Marsch. That rigidity has actually been quite important for them, as it’s given them an identity, something they were lacking at the last World Cup, but there is some value to being able to adapt in certain situations, which can help them when defending a lead or chasing a game, for example.
RELATED: THE BREAKDOWN: How do the CanMNT use their substitutes under Jesse Marsch?
Is it too late for a formation tweak?
Speaking of things to watch on the field, something else to watch out for is Canada’s choice of formation, which has remained pretty straightforward under Marsch - he prefers a 4-2-2-2.
To be fair, that 4-2-2-2 is pretty fluid, as it becomes a 3-2-5 in possession, and he has shown a willingness to turn that 4-2-2-2 into a 4-2-3-1, depending on the game.
That last point is key - with Canada’s logjam in midfield, it might soon become very tempting to use that 4-2-3-1 formation more regularly and not just in emergency scenarios, even despite all of the strikers they have.
Given that it would allow them to play Jonathan David higher up, and give them a bit more juice in midfield (on both sides of the ball), it’s very tantalizing to imagine what a 4-2-3-1 with some combination of Koné, Sigur, Saliba, Choinière or Osorio slotting alongside Eustáquio in such a formation - a pair of Koné and Saliba alongside Eustáquio gives a lot on the ball, a pair of Sigur and Choinière with Eustáquio gives you a lot off the ball, and other combinations give you good balance on both sides of the play.
Plus, from Marsch’s standpoint, it could be good to at least have the 4-2-3-1 as an option he can use depending on the game - there will be some matches at the World Cup where he needs two strikers, and others where he needs three midfielders, and he can pick between those two options without sacrificing the integral principles of his preferred formation and tactical set-up - only if Canada becomes more familiar with the 4-2-3-1, that is.
Are there any outside names still to consider?
While we have a pretty good idea of what Canada’s World Cup squad looks like at this stage (splitting the group into four groups helped with that), there is still room for new faces to pierce into the squad over the next 10 months.
Things can change quickly in this sport, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see someone not on the radar put his name in the mix over the next few months, as a well-timed hot streak can sometimes be all it takes to get one’s name on the radar, depending on their position and the level they’re playing at.
Now, the thing to watch in that regard is to see how much of an opportunity any players in that situation are given - both in terms of earning a call to the Canadian squad, as well as getting on the pitch.
Given the nature of his system, Marsch tends to like to slowly integrate players over time, although he’s admitted that he wished he had integrated some players much faster than he did, such as Nathan Saliba. Because of that, it’ll be interesting to see how he handles any new faces that emerge over the next few months, having learned what he has over the past year.
What do successful friendlies look like?
Fittingly, the last big question Canada will need to answer comes on the pitch - they’ll need to figure out what success looks like for them in these friendlies.
Of course, while their main goal is to get more clarity on their squad, the best way to do that is to put up good performances - and it wouldn’t hurt to get some wins, too, especially against top 25 opponents, as they haven’t had a whole lot of those in the past few years (and will want some practice doing so ahead of the World Cup, where they’ll need to get past some top 25 opposition if they’re to make a run).
Now, the question is how much they toe the line between chasing success and experimentation.
The good news is that they’ve proven to be capable of finding that right balance in the past - their 4-2 friendly win vs. Ukraine in June was a great example of what that looks like, as they picked up a result, put in a great performance and experimented with their squad, which is exactly what you want to see from them in a friendly like that.
GOAL 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) June 7, 2025
TAJON BUCHANAN GETS HIS GOAL 😎#CanMNT go up 4-0 over Ukraine 🇺🇦 as Tajon scores off a set piece routine ✨
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Can they strike that same balance in every game going forward? It’ll be hard to do so, but that Ukraine match at least offers them a reference to use - look for them to try and replicate that in the games to come, starting this September.
This Friday (8PM ET / 5PM PT), join us live on both OneSoccer and here on YouTube for 'STATE OF THE SQUAD', as we react to your picks on the CanMNT squad, as we look ahead to Jesse Marsch's latest September window roster drop and with one eye toward the final team for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
