Ali Ahmed is IN: Which other CanMNT options could join him at 2024 Copa America?
It turns out that the 26-man squad (well, 27 once Tani Oluwaseyi was called in) that Jesse Marsch brought in for friendlies against the Netherlands and France wasn’t exactly set in stone. Changes are a-coming, which means even more players are coming into camp... which also means, unfortunately, that some players have to leave.
Already, Marsch has said thank you and farewell to Dominick Zator and Charles-Andreas Brym, calling in Ali Ahmed and Jacen Russell-Rowe to camp. Will they be the only changes, though?
“We’re bringing in a couple more players, which I think we’ll announce soon,” Jesse Marsch admitted after #FRACAN
— Canadian Soccer Daily (@CANSoccerDaily) June 10, 2024
Who's coming in?!?!
Could there be a coveted dual-national or an excluded #CanMNT vet? 🤔 https://t.co/AAnLDxtlWG
And just to get it out of the way – no, we're not getting Daniel Jebbison or Niko Sigur (yet?). But here's why some of the new faces in this squad deserve a shout at the tournament, starting with the reasons why Ahmed in particular could be a crucial replacement:
"Call up Ali Ahmed" is a meme now?
I’ve been shouting this one from the rooftops (and on Discord) and to anyone who will listen; Ali Ahmed was one of the few pleasant things about the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup, where John Herdman started him in every game.
He was a left-back coming through the Whitecaps system, but Vanni Sartini decided he was a midfielder last season, and I think it’s where most people agree he looked best. Vanni is Vanni, though, and he moved him to wingback this year, where - and this is a common theme - I think his deficiencies have been exaggerated.
He remains in very special company on the MLS’ list of top dribblers, where he’s completely torching the league in progressive carries. He’s not blessed with exceptional pace, but he loves taking players on and shuttling the ball up the field himself. Because he’s frightfully skinny, he’s been commonly cast as weak on defense, which isn’t really true. Yeah, he gets shoved to the ground a lot, but he comes out winning most of his duels, and he’s genuinely Laryea-esque in his ability to draw fouls.
If there’s one thing I’ll concede, I think his move out wide has exposed some holes in his final product. He’s getting himself in good positions for the Whitecaps, but he not so subtly longs to cut inside himself. His crosses across the mouth of goal have been wayward at best - he’s very much been a part of Vancouver’s inability to score during open play.
In the middle, though, he’s the pure progressor Canada is sorely lacking - as a substitute, there’s a directness about his game that Jonathan Osorio and Mathieu Choiniere don’t really provide. His call-in by Marsch was, perhaps, the most obvious decision after those friendlies vs. the Netherlands and France – the real question is... what will he do with the chance this time around?
Now... onto the rest.
Tales of Sirois' demise are overstated
This one could really go either way, and it probably depends on how Sirois is feeling. I went and suggested his apparent decline was a little over-exaggerated, and Laurent Courtois seemed to take that personally. In Sirois’ place, he gave Sebastian Breza his first MLS start of the season, where Montreal escaped with a coveted road point against the Philadelphia Union.
I don’t think it’ll last, one, because Breza has never demonstrated that he’s an MLS-capable starter. But two, because I maintain that Sirois’ decline is a little overstated. Oddly enough, his goals saved above expected is still better than it was last season, when everyone fell madly in love with him. The perception of his demise stems, I think, from relentless Montreal dooming and that clip where the Chicago wind made him look very foolish.
THAT'S WHY THEY CALL IT THE WINDY CITY
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 16, 2024
Stoppage-time scenes in Chicago! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/8vZQppXIHL
His shot stopping numbers, oddly enough, stand head and shoulders above what Max Crepeau has managed behind a similarly putrid Portland defense. After that performance against France, Crepeau is all but locked in as our starting goalkeeper at Copa America, which leaves me back at square one - goalies, in every sport, are voodoo.
We don’t know much about Tom McGill and I’m not convinced Brighton fans know much about Tom McGill. He might be a fascinating prospect or he might be new Jayson Leutwiler. Right now, he’s a guy who hasn’t played professional minutes for a first team since 2020. If Sirois is willing to risk club minutes, even if it only means sitting on a very prestigious bench, I would still take him as our #3. Personally, I would very much like to warm a Copa America bench.
What to make of former CPL-ers?
I’m not sure Dominick Zator expected to be subbed on against the Netherlands. His club side, Korona Kielce, shifted him to right-back towards the end of the season, where he narrowly helped them avoid relegation.
But Canada’s outside play demands pace and fluidity, which aren’t really hot commodities at the bottom of the Ekstralasa, where you’re mostly trying to eke out wins by the skin of your teeth. With Richie Laryea back in the fold, Zator isn’t a right-back for Canada... and he probably shouldn’t be the no. 2 on the RCB depth chart, either.
Now, that’s a fancy way of hiding that my replacement is his ex-Cavalry teammate in Joel Waterman. And I won’t pretend it’s ideal: It’s hard to deny Waterman has struggled this year. But I can at least write a sort of plausible narrative.
Laurent Courtois has insisted on playing Waterman in the middle of a back three, which I contend illuminates all of his worst qualities. It forces him to contest aerial duels that he wins less than half of. It exposes his lack of pace. Maybe worst of all, it negates his exceptional passing range up the flanks. It’s where Mauro Biello deployed him against Trinidad, and where Levi Garcia seemed intent on ending his national team career.
All that being said - and it’s a lot being said - he’s still the most capable distributor in our CB pool. I don’t think I ever want to see him in the middle of our central defense - at least not for Canada. If Marsch ever opts for a back three, though… I won’t say he’s a great option, but he is an option on the outside, where once, he genuinely excelled under Wilfried Nancy.
Zator could still see a role, but Waterman has had brighter moments in the red and white of Canada, and while form may betray him this time around, perhaps Marsch should place his faith here, instead of digging through the back of the cabinet for other options.
