Strongest team ever: Marsch explains balance, flexibility in 23-man CanMNT ROSTER for Concacaf Nations League finals 🇨🇦
Canadian men's national team coach Jesse Marsch addressed the media on Wednesday after revealing his 23-man squad for the upcoming Concacaf Nations League Finals.
With plenty of buzz surrounding Canada's semi-final clash with Mexico, and a potential final against the United States, Marsch was bullish on his team's talent, calling it "the strongest the Canadian national soccer team has ever looked."
He also discussed how Canada will relish stepping into a hostile environment at L.A.'s SoFi Stadium, particularly with what will be a heavily pro-Mexico crowd next Thursday.
Plus, with two high-profile dual nationals joining the team for the first time in Promise David and Daniel Jebbison, Marsch explained his thinking behind calling both players up immediately, saying it's crucial to integrate them quickly with an eye to 2026.
Here are some of the highlights of what Marsch had to say.
Fitness concerns for key contributors?
While this 23-man squad is a strong group, with very few obvious names omitted (save Sam Adekugbe), one concern might be the match sharpness of a few of Canada's usual starters.
A handful of players have dealt with injuries recently, and either missed their club's most recent match entirely or were limited to a small cameo. Jacob Shaffelburg, who started eight of the last nine games for Canada, has yet to feature for Nashville SC this season. Mathieu Choinière, meanwhile, played seven minutes for Grasshopper Zurich over the weekend -- his first game since Dec. 7 -- and Richie Laryea missed Toronto FC's last match with injury. Maxime Crépeau hasn't played for Portland Timbers in two weeks, either.
Meanwhile, Tajon Buchanan and Cyle Larin have been late substitutes for Villarreal and Mallorca recently.
On Laryea, Marsch said he was comfortable bringing him into camp to assess, but isn't sure if he'll be ready to go, admitting it "could be a little bit of a long shot."
He confirmed that Shaffelburg and Choinière aren't fully 100 per cent healthy, but are important enough to the group that they need to be involved in camp.
Considering both players' recent contributions, Marsch would likely want to have them available even if they can only provide limited contributions.
Meanwhile, Marsch revealed that Crépeau is in full training this week after his leg injury and is "really close" to 100 per cent, but that he's not going to settle on a starting goalkeeper for Mexico until training begins, especially given Dayne St. Clair's strong start with Minnesota.
Photo courtesy of Concacaf
Marsch seeks balance between in-form standouts and 2026 potential
No doubt about it, Canada are heading into these Nations League Finals with every intention of winning the trophy. So, much of this squad is made up of players in good form at club level who can help this team right now.
That said, Thursday's game will also mark 450 days until Canada's first match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. With time slipping away before that all-important campaign on home soil, Marsch has limited opportunities to get new players incorporated in his group.
"I'm always looking at the balance of what's necessary for each window and each match, and then having a long-term approach and view for what's going to be most helpful and necessary for this team come next summer," Marsch said.
He later added: "I'm always making decisions on the potential of each individual and where they are in their overall development path, and then what it means to the balance of the group as a whole and what we need in each window, and then what the outlook will be as we look forward six months, one year, two years, all this."
The two newcomers in this camp are high-profile dual nationals Promise David and Daniel Jebbison, who are definite hopefuls for the 2026 team; Marsch said it's imperative that Canada get them both assimilated to the group as quickly as possible, and that he'll be relying on his veteran players to help ease that transition. However, with David in particular, the opportunities to contribute on the pitch may arrive quickly.
Marsch mentioned that he's prioritizing positional flexibility with certain decisions; given the limited 23-man squad, it's helpful to have played who can cover multiple positions. He specifically mentioned Jonathan Osorio, Niko Sigur, Ismaël Koné and Tani Oluwaseyi as players who might be favoured for that versatility.
Marsch mentioned that opportunities to break into the team will certainly exist for the likes of Nathan Saliba, Theo Bair, Kamal Miller or Jaden Nelson, all of whom missed out on this camp.
"The good thing is that this is the hardest squad I've had to put together, and that's a great development for us, that we're leaving quality players in good form off the list right now because we have so many options," he said. "That was my goal when I first started the project, and it's good to already be in a place where we feel like we have a bigger pool than just 11, 15, 20 guys."
With the World Cup looming, though, it does feel like Marsch is starting to zero in on a few big decisions.
Photo courtesy of Concacaf
Midfield depth, flexibility developing around Eustáquio
There's one name carved in stone in the Canada team sheet when it comes to the midfield, and that's Stephen Eustáquio. He's currently in the midst of an excellent season at club level with Porto, and he has started all but one of the 13 games Canada have played under Marsch.
Around him, however, it feels like Marsch finally has a wealth of options to choose from when it comes to the centre of the park. Of course, Ismaël Koné is an almost guaranteed starter, having done very well for Canada at the Copa América, but there's serious competition around him, both now and for the foreseeable future.
"Bringing Mathieu Choinière was based on the fact that I think he's an important guy for the future," Marsch said. "He really fits with everything that we're doing, he's a really intelligent player, he has a lot of qualities that fit into the way we want to play and the balance that we need in the midfield."
Marsch went on to mention Jonathan Osorio, who started ahead of Koné in two Copa América games, as well as Niko Sigur, who -- given his current fitness as a week-in, week-out starter for Hajduk Split -- could even be a candidate for his first start for Canada.
"Oso winds up being a guy that we can use in the six, in the 10, in the second striker position, so he gives us a lot of flexibility," Marsch explained. "And don't forget about Niko Sigur, with Split now he's played right-back, six, eight, and right midfield. He's also a guy that I think gives us a lot of support, and he's clearly 90-minutes fit and having a really good season at Hajduk Split, so he becomes a guy that could even be potentially someone we could use from the start."
