CANADIANS ABROAD: Jacen Russell-Rowe has a big week | Derek Cornelius's strong start to 2024 | Janine Beckie can't stop scoring
The latest chapter in Jacen Russell-Rowe’s young career came this week in Columbus, where the 21-year-old forward was tasked with an important assignment - helping lead the line for the Columbus Crew against Liga MX giants Monterrey in leg 1 of their Concacaf Champions Cup semi-final.
For a young striker at the beginning of his second full season in MLS, it was a big vote of confidence from Crew head coach Wilfried Nancy, who trusted his young charge to go up against one of the best sides in all of Concacaf.
And to Russell-Rowe’s credit, he stepped up to the occasion, as the Crew picked up a monumental 2-1 win, one that can give them the confidence of being able to reach the final as they get set for leg 2 next week in Monterrey.
First, Russell-Rowe played provider on his team’s opening goal, playing a nice 1-2 with Cucho Hernández to free up space for the dangerous Colombian to get a great look at goal, one he wouldn’t miss to make it 1-0.
Big Concacaf Champions Cup night today for the #Crew96, who are taking on Monterrey in leg 1 of the SFs
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) April 25, 2024
Jacen Russell-Rowe is starting and already has an assist, setting up Cucho Hernández for the opener
Nice to see him shine in a big game#CanMNT
pic.twitter.com/XjEhxVX3lF
Then, after Monterrey had equalized to make it 1-1, Russell-Rowe had his moment, scoring arguably the biggest goal of his career in minute 72. Coming on a Crew corner, Russell-Rowe instinctively ran towards the back post, where he perfectly met a flick-on from the near post, heading the ball into the ground and over Monterrey’s goalkeeper for what stood as the winner.
HUGE goal for Jacen Russell-Rowe, as he heads home to give #Crew96 a 2-1 lead vs Monterrey in leg 1 of their Concacaf Champions Cup SF
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) April 25, 2024
After an earlier assist, great to see from JRR, who continues a strong 2024 with his biggest goal to date#CanMNTpic.twitter.com/cPwaETxzM9
Just his seventh goal for the Crew, it came at the perfect time for his team, helping them capitalize on the momentum that they had been building, but were yet to execute as the game wore on.
Yet, this moment has been building for Russell-Rowe, who has stepped up massively for the Crew in 2024. After spending most of 2022 with the Columbus Crew’s second team, where he won MLS’s Next Pro MVP as he scored 25 goals and added six assists to help his team win a regular season and playoff double, he then stepped up to the first team in 2023, scoring four goals and two assists across 772 minutes as they won MLS Cup, but it felt like he still had lots of room to grow.
Having spent most of 2023 as a super sub, one who didn’t get much playing time in the bigger games (he featured in just two minutes across the Crew’s playoff run), it felt like his impressive scoring rate might be enough for him to earn more of a starting role in 2024.
So far, Nancy’s agreed with that, too, as with this latest Russell-Rowe start, his eighth of the year, he’s already cleared the 772-minute mark for the year and has more starts (8-6) than he did in 2023, and is up to three goals and one assist on the year.
But when seeing that, it leads to the all-important question - what has Russell-Rowe been able to do with those minutes? Has he been able to grow off the promise he showed in limited opportunities in 2023?
And when diving in, it appears that Russell-Rowe has been able to maintain the production he had last year, which despite seeming underwhelming when first looking at this chart, is pretty solid. 
Why? Because he had limited minutes last year, meaning he was often coming on against tired defences or starting in lower-pressure situations, which can help players put up good numbers despite limited minutes, especially when adjusting them on a per-90 basis.
To his credit, Russell-Rowe did exactly that, putting up some strong numbers and doing well to push for more minutes - you couldn’t ask for more from a young striker.
Thanks to that, he’s earned his more extensive opportunity, where the real challenge lies - could he maintain some of his strong offensive numbers with a heavier workload and with more starts against top opposition?
There, he’s done quite well when looking at a chart comparing the two - he’s not averaging the elite 0.60 xG+xA/90 he had last year, say, but 0.33 xG+xA/90 is nothing to scoff at given some of the games he’s played in.
Make it 2 goals in 2 games for Jacen Russell-Rowe with the #Crew96, who slotted home this breakaway today vs the Red Bulls
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) March 17, 2024
Nice to see him finding his form ahead of #CanMNT camp next week, giving Mauro Biello another striker option to look atpic.twitter.com/dcC4SXBDPk
Plus, he’s had an uptick in some key categories, too, such as his dribbling and passes to the final third, and has maintained a good level in terms of shots and touches in the box.
That’s encouraging, as those are good numbers, and there is still upside for him to grow into an elite force.
Yet, that’s what’s most exciting about Russell-Rowe’s game - that upside. It’s clear when watching him play - he has all the tools to be a dangerous #9. He’s a natural goalscorer, one who can score from anywhere with both feet and his head, but he does a lot of little things quite well, which isn’t always the case for young strikers.
What an entrance off the bench for Jacen Russell-Rowe, as he finds the net from distance with a great strike for the #Crew96 vs Chicago
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) March 10, 2024
Nice to see him open his 2024 account, as he battles for mins on a deep Crew side. This will help his case#CanMNT pic.twitter.com/wQ81qmhy4U
For example, his hold-up play is quite solid, as he doesn’t mind mixing it up physically, and he can pass the ball quite well, allowing him to play fluidly in the attack. That’s been a perfect mix for the Crew’s front three of Hernández and Diego Rossi, who love to roam the final third, with Hernández operating as more of a finisher and Rossi as more of a creator, although they have no problem swapping roles between them and with Russell-Rowe.
Therefore, keep an eye on him going forward, as he continues to unearth his potential under Nancy, who has proven to be a good mentor for young Canadians to make that next step (just ask Ismaël Koné, Alistair Johnston, Kamal Miller and Joel Waterman, among others).
Already producing at a solid rate on arguably the best team in MLS, there’s no reason why he can’t become a 10-goal and 5-assist player, at the minimum, with the upside there for him to score more, perhaps similarly to those numbers he had in MLS Next Pro in 2022, which could lead him to perhaps even move up to a bigger league.
And that’s something that the CanMNT will be keeping an eye on, because while they’re loaded at the #9 position, you can never have too much striker depth, especially when it’s someone with the upside that Russell-Rowe has shown. 
Quick hits:
Derek Cornelius has gotten off to a strong start to the season for Malmö, who are through to the final of the Svenska Cupen next week and are yet to drop points through their first five games of the Allsvenskan season.
Cornelius had played a big role in that, and he showed that in Malmö’s latest win, in which he helped create the winning goal and put in a massive defensive shift in a dramatic 1-0 result over fellow title threats Djurgårdens.
Malmö are still perfect in the Allsvenskan, making it 5 wins from 5 to start 2024 with a late 1-0 win vs Djurgården
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) April 25, 2024
Cornelius helped create the goal and was otherwise solid at the back with 2 tackles, 2 blocks, 12 clearances and 7/9 duels#CanMNTpic.twitter.com/jjn1oOTc6c
Yet, that’s just been a continuation of his strong start to 2024, as he’s already got two goals through five league games, and he’s put up some gaudy defensive numbers, winning 81.8% of his defensive duels and 70.8% of his aerial duels while averaging 7.31 interceptions, 12.38 recoveries and 3.38 clearances.
Along with a pass completion percentage of 92.3% on an average of 63 passes per game, it’s a dream start for a centre back, helping fuel Malmö’s strong start.
Now, the goal will be for Cornelius to maintain that, starting with the Svenska Cupen final on May 1st, as they look to avenge a quarter-final loss from last year, and then continuing that into the rest of the season as they chase a second straight Allsvenskan title, and a return to the Champions League qualifying rounds in the fall.
Malmö's cruising to start 2024, as they've made the Svenska Cupen final and are flying in the Allsvenskan
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) April 15, 2024
Derek Cornelius has been a key part of that defensively, and now he's chipping in offensively, scoring his 1st of 2024 today vs Varnamo 🔥#CanMNTpic.twitter.com/1UfhqgOBC8
If he can, one has to imagine eyes will quickly start to look at the 26-year-old, who could be primed to make a jump up a level, perhaps to a league like the Belgian, Dutch, Portuguese or French top flights, for example (for context, Malmö has sold players to the English, French, German and Dutch top flights over the past three seasons, so that’s not a stretch to suggest).
Meanwhile, look for him to leverage this into some big starts for Canada this summer, where one has to imagine he deserves a look in friendlies against the Netherlands and France, as well as in the Copa América. Given what he’s shown so far, he could be a perfect fit alongside the likes of Moïse Bombito, Kamal Miller and Joel Waterman as they continue the race to lead Canada’s new backline.
Meanwhile, Janine Beckie continued her strong start to the NWSL season, scoring her third goal in five games for the Portland Thorns as they thumped the Houston Dash 4-1 for their first win of 2024.
Given that she’s coming off a major injury, it’s been remarkable to see Beckie hit the ground running as she has, yet it shows why she’s set to have a big Olympics for Canada this summer.
Playing on the right for the Thorns, she has the freedom to cut inside and operate as more of a forward, averaging an impressive 4.26 shots and 0.54 xG per 90 minutes, showing that this purple patch isn’t an anomaly. Her scoring rate may drop slightly, but typically those who average those sorts of shots and xG numbers find the net with regularity, as Beckie has, so don’t be surprised if she keeps scoring, either.
ICYMI, Janine Beckie continued her strong start to 2024 for the Portland Thorns this weekend, scoring her 3rd goal in 5 games with this great run and finish
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) April 22, 2024
Fitting to see her and Sinclair score in the Thorns 1st win of 2024#CanWNT/#CanXNTpic.twitter.com/VJGU8xupnF
Interestingly, how she’s been playing for the Thorns has been quite different from her role with Canada, as she was deployed as a left wing back in their last window, but one can wonder if she gets a chance to play a similar attacking role next camp, especially with Gabrielle Carle’s strong play at full back for the Washington Spirit and Canada so far in 2024, which could free Beckie to get a shot up front.
For example, as Nichelle Prince continues to return from injury, a front three of Beckie, Cloé Lacasse and Adriana Leon could be intriguing, and there are several other combinations that could be tested if you throw Prince, Olivia Smith, Jordyn Huitema and Evelyne Viens into the mix.
Speaking of, Olivia Smith is now up to 13 goals and nine assists in her debut season for Sporting CP after scoring against Benfica in cup action this past weekend, as she continues to shine. Expect her to cross the 10 assist mark soon, and make a late push for 20 goals, as she looks to claw out a spot in Paris this summer for Canada, something she continues to do a good job of making more and more of a reality each week.
