Here’s why James Pantemis has shaken up the CanMNT goalkeeper discussion heading into the World Cup
Could the CanMNT be about to leave their most in-form goalkeeper at home during the World Cup?
As it stands, with Canada less than two weeks away from naming their World Cup squad, there’s a strong likelihood that James Pantemis, who has been having a strong campaign for the Portland Timbers, might not crack this Canadian squad.
Considering his form, that’s a big surprise, yet it helps explain the conundrum that the CanMNT faces in goal heading into the World Cup.
Already faced with a tough decision when it comes to deciding between Maxime Crépeau and Dayne St. Clair for a starting role this summer, Pantemis’s form has given something else for head coach Jesse Marsch to think about, as he ponders who to bring as a third goalkeeper to this tournament - given their experience and pedigree, Crépeau and St. Clair will make this squad, no matter what happens.
Yet, given that Crépeau and St. Clair are 32 and 29, respectively, logic dictates that for that third goalkeeper spot, Canada might be better served to bring a young player to soak up the experience of being at a World Cup. With a third goalkeeper unlikely to play unless something outstanding happens, it’s a perfect role for a young player, especially in a situation like Canada’s, where they’ve already got two veteran players in their goalkeeping group.
CANMNT 🇨🇦 SQUAD PICKS 🙋♂️
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) May 18, 2026
👀 James Pantemis or Owen Goodman as the 3rd choice goalkeeper?
🧤 Who will be on the starting XI come June? Maxime Crépeau or Dayne St. Clair?#CanMNT pic.twitter.com/4MBZJKdct7
At the same time, given Pantemis’s form, logic also suggests that it’d be unwise to leave a player in such good form at home - especially considering that on paper, there’s an argument that Pantemis could be earning Canada’s starting role right now based on his form. Sometimes, picking a World Cup squad is all about picking the players who are in form, instead of overthinking things, even if there’s a lot more nuance behind choosing a starting goalkeeper than any other outfield position.
Plus, it’s not as if Pantemis is a goalkeeper who is inexperienced or playing in an inferior league - this is a player with almost 100 professional appearances under his belt, who is playing in the same league as Crépeau and St. Clair. Because of that, it’s made it easier to compare the trio, given that they’ve faced a lot of the same shooters every week - and they’ve even faced off against each other, as seen recently when Pantemis and Portland took on St. Clair’s Inter Miami.
Then, when you add that Pantemis is the reason that Crépeau is currently facing shots while playing for Orlando City, as Crépeau was the starting goalkeeper at Portland before Pantemis earned the spot (leading Crépeau to leave as a free agent this past winter), that adds to the discussion, as Pantemis has already shown himself capable of pushing his Canadian peers when put in the same environment as them.
A moment for this Pantemis magic at the death 🙏 pic.twitter.com/KGOaCIBSTY
— Portland Timbers (@TimbersFC) April 26, 2026
Certainly, when looking at that discussion of how they all stack up, the numbers speak for themselves. The beauty of all three of Pantemis, Crépeau and St. Clair all playing in the same league is that it helps give an idea of how they stack up against each other, and right now, Pantemis is leading the way based on his 2026 form.
For example, in terms of goals prevented, which shows how many goals a goalkeeper has saved relative to expected, Pantemis is at +5.0 per FotMob, which is 4th in MLS - Crépeau is 18th in MLS with -0.6, while St. Clair is 23rd with -2.0. Then, in terms of save percentage, Pantemis is tied for 6th with 72.5%, while Crépeau is 19th with 64.0%, and St. Clair is 24th with 59.3%.
Pantemis denies Messi the free kick. 🚫 pic.twitter.com/Nr9GGXZUHv
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 18, 2026
Yet, that shows why Pantemis’s form has stood out lately, as his numbers show that he’s been playing at a top level, one that he’s shown off with some of the saves he’s made in recent months. 
Here's Pantemis's shot map from this season - as seen here, he's done a great job of making several saves he's expected to make, and several more he wasn't supposed to make (FotMob)
Of course, though, as is the case with any goalkeeper statistics, there are some caveats to note with all of their numbers. For example, it’s worth noting that Portland’s defensive environment is quite leaky, which is why Pantemis is second in MLS with 5.1 shots faced per 90 - Crépeau, who is also in a leaky environment at Orlando, is third with 4.7 shots faced, while St. Clair, is 22nd with 2.7 (#s are via FotMob) as Miami are better at shot suppression (although, as anyone who has watched them will know, the shots they allow are usually high quality ones).
James Pantemis broke records in Salt Lake City today with 13 saves. #RCTID
— Adam Susman (@Adam_Susman) May 2, 2026
1️⃣Most saves in an MLS game this year
2️⃣Most saves in Timbers MLS history (prev record 11 saves by Jake Gleeson in 2016)
3️⃣Pantemis was three saves shy of the all-time MLS record set by Max Crepeau in… pic.twitter.com/IFCgiK4mwB
Otherwise, when speaking of shot quality, Pantemis has faced 30 xGOT (xG on target), Crépeau has faced 31.4 xGOT, and St. Clair has faced 22 xGOT, which shows how leaky the environment has been for each goalkeeper. Given that each has played 13 games, that shows that both Pantemis and Crépeau have faced over 2 xGOT per game, which is extremely high, as well as that St. Clair has faced a lot of shot quality, given that he’s still facing an average of 1.69 xGOT per game despite facing nearly half the number of shots as Pantemis and Crépeau. (#s via FotMob). 
Here's how Pantemis stacks up against his peers in MLS in 2026 - as expected, his shot-stopping metrics really stand out (FotMob)
Overall, though, when considering those stats, things are quite favourable for Pantemis, who has stepped up in a big way despite playing behind a leaky Timbers defence.
At the same time, while Pantemis’s stats help give an idea of how good he’s been this season, they’re only part of the equation when it comes to his candidacy to crack the CanMNT. For example, it’s worth taking a look at how he’d fit behind Canada’s defensive group, given that they play with an aggressive defensive line that asks a lot of their goalkeepers.
Because of that, Marsch doesn’t just expect his goalkeepers to stop shots - he wants them to be aggressive off their line, helping clear out danger before it even reaches the box.
When looking at some of Pantemis’s sweeping numbers from this season, he’s been solid, if not unspectacular - per FotMob, he’s acted as a sweeper on eight occasions (placing him in the 69th percentile among MLS goalkeepers), and has made nine high claims (59.5th percentile). By comparison, Crépeau has acted as a sweeper eight times (69th percentile), but has 15 high claims (95.2nd percentile), while St. Clair has acted like a sweeper 17 times (100th percentile) and has eight high claims (47.6th percentile). 
Here's how Crépeau stacks up against his peers in MLS in 2026 - unsurprisingly, his sweeping numbers are solid, even if some of the others are league average (FotMob)
From his perspective, those numbers certainly don’t hurt his case, although they show one of the reasons why Crépeau and St. Clair are highly rated by Marsch, given Crépeau’s number of high claims (which are balls claimed from crosses in the air), and St. Clair’s sweeping actions (showing why he moved to a club like Miami despite being the MLS Goalkeeper of the Year for Minnesota United in 2025, as he wanted to play in a system where he got to play more aggressively). 
Here's how St. Clair stacks up against his peers in MLS in 2026 - his sweeping and passing numbers stand out, likely due to the system he's playing in with Miami (FotMob)
So when seeing all of that, it’s important to ask the question - why does Pantemis look unlikely to earn a fair shake at the starting role heading into the World Cup, as mentioned at the beginning of this piece, with his best outcome appearing to be to earn a third goalkeeper spot? And there, multiple factors stand out.
Namely, a big one is experience with Canada, where Crépeau has 30 caps, and St. Clair has 19, with Pantemis yet to make his Canadian debut - it’d be extremely hard to imagine Pantemis making his first CanMNT start in one of Canada’s two pre-World Cup matches, before making his first competitive start at the World Cup, even if he’s been part of several Canadian camps in the past decade. For example, had this been a Gold Cup coming up this summer, instead of the World Cup, you'd have to think Pantemis would be set to play a big role at such a tournament, but because it's the World Cup, experience has ended up being a bigger factor than it might've typically been.
Otherwise, as mentioned earlier, age also plays a big role. Had Pantemis, who is 29, been a bit younger, it would’ve been a no-brainer for Marsch to move away from the familiarity of Crépeau or St. Clair, knowing that he’d be investing in a goalkeeper who could lead this Canadian team for this World Cup and a few others to come.
Logically, there’s no reason why Pantemis can’t be Canada’s #1 at the 2030 World Cup, where he’d be 33 (which is still a good age for a goalkeeper), but given the presence of someone like the 22-year-old Owen Goodman, who looks to be the frontrunner to be Canada’s #3 goalkeeper this summer, the more likely outcome is that the Crystal Palace loanee takes over the net from Crépeau and St. Clair by 2030 instead of Pantemis, which is why it appears Marsch is likely to choose Goodman ahead of Pantemis for a third goalkeeper spot.
Sometimes, when making decisions on the fringes of a squad, that sort of future planning is often important to do - it can be immensely valuable for young players to experience a tournament like this, which is why Goodman would likely join other youngsters such as Luc De Fougerolles, Niko Sigur, Nathan Saliba, Marcelo Flores and Daniel Jebbison, who will all be 26 or younger by the time the 2030 World Cup rolls around, in this Canadian squad.
On the other hand, there are convincing reasons to suggest that Pantemis could still be a logical choice to call up, so it’s not as if this case is cut and dry against him, either. Naturally, his form is the big thing working in his favour, but it’s also worth noting that while Pantemis lacks experience on the pitch with the CanMNT, he’s been a part of this team before, and was even on their 2022 World Cup squad. To that last point, that’s worth noting, as all of Crépeau, St. Clair and Pantemis are yet to play in a World Cup game, with Milan Borjan playing all three of Canada’s games in 2022, so Pantemis’s experience as part of that 2022 team actually plays in his favour. 
Otherwise, you have to speak about the complicated nature of the goalkeeping position, where momentum and confidence are so important. With Pantemis putting in assured performances for Portland, could he not just replicate that play with Canada, provided he gets the time in camp and in their two pre-tournament friendlies to acclimate himself with the team?
It’s far from the same situation, but after showing some excellent club form, Emiliano Martínez actually made his Argentina debut in two World Cup qualifiers in June of 2021, before starting six of their seven games in the Copa América that summer, helping them win that trophy - doing so at the age of 28, ironically. Since then, he’s been locked in as Argentina’s starter, helping them win the 2022 World Cup and 2024 Copa América. And there are other examples of goalkeepers in good form replicating that play when thrust into surprise roles for their countries in major tournaments, no matter their age.
Yet, that’s the reality that Marsch ponders when exploring this Pantemis decision.
On one hand, if Marsch chooses Pantemis as a surprise starter, he replicates his Portland form, helping this Canadian side answer the big question mark they’ve had in goal for months, Marsch would be seen as a genius. But on the other hand, there’s a world where Marsch makes that choice, Pantemis struggles as he tries to quickly get up to speed heading into a major tournament with his lack of experience, which would be disastrous to see.
Of course, there are risks with every outcome Canada has in goal - there are a lot of question marks surrounding Crépeau’s inconsistent club form despite probably being the best fit in Canada’s system, while it remains to be seen whether or not St. Clair can replicate his 2025 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year form in a Canadian shirt - so it’s not as if Marsch isn’t taking a risk either way.
What that shows, though, is why this Canadian goalkeeper debate remains as complicated as ever heading into the World Cup, with Pantemis’s form proving to be yet another reason why deciding a Canadian starter remains such a hard decision a month out from their World Cup opener against Bosnia & Herzegovina on June 12th.
No matter if it’s Crépeau, St. Clair, Pantemis or even Goodman (who had an up-and-down season on loan from Crystal Palace to Barnsley and Wimbledon in EFL League One), each decision comes with all sorts of risk, risk that Marsch must navigate through to find the right payoff.
