KEY TAKEAWAYS: New faces galore for Jesse Marsch in October CanMNT squad
For the first time in 11 months, the CanMNT are set to return home, as they get set to take on Panama in a friendly at BMO Field on October 15th.
Their first match on Canadian soil since November 21st of 2023, when they fell to Jamaica in the second leg of the 2023-2024 Concacaf Nations League quarter-finals, it’s a long-awaited return home for this Canadian side, who has played 11 straight matches on the road.
This time, however, the team will feel in a much better situation than in November of 2023, when they were coming off a frustrating summer and fall, and were just looking to reach the Copa América. Instead, they hit arguably their low point in a tough 2023, falling to Jamaica on away goals (4-4 draw on aggregate) after once carrying a 3-1 aggregate lead.
Coming off a strong Copa América performance this past summer, where they reached the semi-finals, and having followed up with a promising September window, where they beat the US and drew Mexico on American soil, they’re certainly on the upswing at a key moment.
Having hit the ground running since Jesse Marsch’s arrival in May, they want to keep that momentum going as they get set to return to competitive action in November.
To do that, they’ve called up a strong squad for this October window, one filled with experienced names, but combined with several new faces.
Your 26 Player Squad for October 🍁
— CANMNT (@CANMNT_Official) October 2, 2024
Tickets for Canada's friendly in Toronto vs. Panama start at just $25 (plus applicable fees): https://t.co/sagEgttFiT#CANMNT | @CIBC
A young team in transition, however, that’s not surprising to see, as they continue to prepare for the 2026 World Cup as co-hosts. Ultimately, for all of their short-term goals, such as winning a trophy in Concacaf, their eyes remain fixed on that long-term objective of going on a run at that World Cup, and continue to balance that with what’s in their immediate future.
With that in mind, here’s a look at what stood out from their latest squad reveal this week.
Injuries open the door to several new faces:
Naturally, the attention with this sort of squad is usually focused on the new faces, and certainly, that’s the case in this latest release.
This time, five new faces have been called in, including three first-time call-ups, as Marsch has provided the opportunity for several new faces to step up and impress this month.
Of course, injuries are a big reason for this, as key regulars Ismaël Koné and Alistair Johnston suffered injury blows over this past week for their clubs, as they would’ve been locks to be in this squad normally.
Along with the continued recovery of Tajon Buchanan from the injury he suffered at Copa América, from which he is now only weeks away from returning, that’s opened the door for some new names to step up.
Plus, with the emergence of some intriguing new names, Marsch has also ensured to open the door for them to slot in, leaving behind some MLS names from the last camp, as Jacen Russell-Rowe, Stephen Afrifa and Kamal Miller all dropped out to make room.
In particular, Miller is a big surprise omission, as he’s made 46 appearances for Canada since the start of 2019, including 40 appearances since the start of 2021, having missed only two camps since his 2019 debut. Yet, having played just 76 minutes in four appearances across 11 games under Marsch, he’s already slid down the depth chart compared to where he sat under John Herdman, where he was an undisputed starter at centre back, so it’s not as big of a shock to see him miss out - even if it’s still a surprise.
With those absences, however, they’ve also paved the door for some intriguing new faces to step up.
First, in terms of the brand-new calls, Jamie Knight-Lebel leads the way at the back, as the 19-year-old centre back currently on loan to EFL League 2 side Crewe Alexandra from Championship side Bristol City is seen as one of the top long-term prospects in the player pool.
19 y/o 🇨🇦 defender Jamie Knight-Lebel, who made his Championship debut for Bristol City a few months ago, played his 2nd game for the 1st team today, coming off the bench in their FA Cup replay vs EPL side Nottingham Forest
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) February 7, 2024
They lost on PKs, but good to see him play#CanMNT https://t.co/a60LsRPay6
Having made his Championship debut last season, he was then sent on loan to develop in 2024-2025, having already picked up 772 minutes this season, a number sure to balloon to over 2000, which is exactly what Bristol will want to see as they look to integrate him into their squad in the years to come. A Canadian U20s alumni, one who featured in the 2022 Concacaf Championships, he’s already been on Canada’s radar for a while now, but hasn’t earned a senior look until now.
Then, sticking with capped Canadian U20s players, there’s Santiago López, who had some standout performances for Canada’s U20s at this year’s Concacaf Championships, earning him this call. Currently at Liga MX side Pumas UNAM, where he’s already made his first-team debut, he’s spent most of his time in their youth set-up this year, but remains on the cusp of breaking out and earning more senior minutes, and has caught the eye of many Canadians with some dominant showings at the U20 level, with many of them calling for him to earn a senior look.
Asked by @tv_jjd, Jesse Marsch mentions that he's initiated conversations with Santiago López after his strong #CanM20 performances, and that he wants him "to be part of the future plans" for Canada, so that those discussions will continue
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) August 27, 2024
Lastly, there’s Kwasi Poku, who after a standout season for Canadian Premier League side Forge, where he scored 10 times in 22 games, earned a move to second Belgian division side RWD Molenbeek this summer for a league-record fee.
So far, he’s hit the ground running to help his side hunt for promotion, too, scoring three times in five appearances in Belgium, with two goals in four games in league play. Also an alumni of the U20 team who played at the 2020 Concacaf Championships with Knight-Lebel, he’s another name who has been on the radar in the past, as well.
Continuing a good day for #CanMNT goals, Kwasi Poku found the net twice today for RWD Molenbeek vs Genk’s U23 team, his first 2 goals in the 🇧🇪 2nd division
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) September 21, 2024
He now has 3 goals in 4 games (all comps) for his new club - good to see him pick up where he left off with Forge#CanPL https://t.co/vaiyunLAGO
Yet, that’s what’s fascinating about this trio, as they’re all youngsters on the cusp or in the midst of breakout years at the professional level, all have experience at the youth levels, and in some cases, are dual or tri nationals. That’s key, as a call-up like this can both help them accelerate their breakouts, while also showing them that Canada is interested in their long-term futures having followed their development over the years, which is why it’s exciting to see them included.
Otherwise, the two other new names in this squad are a pair of familiar faces in Luc De Fougerolles, as the 18-year-old returns for the first time since he was included in the Copa América squad (even playing in their third-place match against Uruguay), and Zorhan Bassong, with the 25-year-old Sporting KC full back earning a CanMNT call for the first time since 2020 amid a strong run of form at the club level.
Overall, there’s lots to like with the new faces, too, who can slot in and push the team in the short-term, while offering a lot of potential in the long-term. 
Marsch continues to expand CanMNT talent pool:
Yet, to that last point, that’s exactly what you want to see from this sort of squad.
Ultimately, while friendly windows like this are important for senior players, who can use them to build chemistry, battle for places and more, friendlies are massive in terms of integrating newer faces.
Instead of dropping them into big matches with huge implications, they can use these friendlies to work them in slowly, helping them test the waters before getting them into bigger games.
That’s huge for Marsch, in particular, who is continuing to get a feel for this player pool with this technically being just his fourth camp with this team, having had one pre-Copa América, one during Copa América, and the September friendly window to work with this group.
As seen at the Copa América, where he was able to push the group to a top-four finish, he has a good handle on the core of this team already, having heavily relied on some familiar faces in that tournament. He relied on some new faces this summer, too, no doubt - Moïse Bombito was a big breakout star, while Jacob Shaffelburg, Ali Ahmed, Mathieu Choinière and Tani Oluwaseyi were fun surprises, but for the most part, the players who shone at Copa América have been key fixtures in the team for a while now.
But having seen what this core group can do, Marsch has been looking to find ways to push that core in different ways, and a big way to do that is by growing the depth around them.
Pretty good window all things considered for the #CanMNT:
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) September 11, 2024
-1 win, 1 draw vs Concacaf rivals
-Marsch's tactical blueprint continues to take hold
-Some big performances from key players
-Lots of guys made the most of audition opportunities
-3 new debuts (Afrifa, Saliba, Sigur)
That started in the last window, as new faces Niko Sigur, Nathan Saliba and Stephen Afrifa were all called in, with Sigur and Saliba retaining their places for this window, and he’ll hope that some of the five new faces can do something similar this time around.
And even if they don’t, they can use this opportunity as a springboard for the future. For example, it might be hard for the trio of Knight-Lebel, López and Poku to break into the squad for competitive games in the near-future, as all three have big steps to make at the club level first, but they can also see they’re not far off where they need to be after this call-up.
Having got a taste of senior international football, they can go back to their clubs and push to that next level, helping them accelerate their careers to then return to this level further down the road.
Saliba is a prime example of what that can look like, as he was only a last-minute inclusion in Canada’s September window, with his form being a bit topsy-turvy for CF Montréal this summer. A high-potential youngster, he’s shown glimpses at the MLS level, which is why he earned that September call when an injury opened the door, but a lack of consistency had been the only reason he hadn’t earned a call sooner.
Since making his Canadian debut last month, however, he’s gone back and put together his best stretch of play for Montréal, playing a huge role for them as they’ve made a surprise push for the MLS Cup playoffs. Thanks to that, he returns to this squad, having earned it through that run of play, and now Knight-Lebel, López and Poku will look to do the same in the months to come.
Nathan Saliba has been playing with lots of confidence since his #CanMNT call, and that continued today in a big #CFMTL win over Chicago
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) September 22, 2024
After a beauty of a goal in midweek, he played this DIME over the top for an assist, his 1st of 2024
Great to seepic.twitter.com/Tw18ifppXC
But that’s the beauty of where this Canadian team is at. As they showed at this Copa América and in September, they’re a team on the rise, one that is ready to push to be the top side in Concacaf in the short-term and become a top 20 team in the world long-term.
With a deepening player pool, including several top-end players in the top-five leagues, it’s getting tougher and tougher to claw into this squad, as top youngsters continue to emerge globally.
And by giving some of them a look in this camp, Marsch is hoping he can further widen that pool and open doors for them down the road, further adding to that depth, showing why their inclusion in these sorts of camps can be so key. 
Importance of preparing upcoming competitive games:
While Canada will be using this camp to audition some new names and faces, however, it’s also worth noting that they’ve got some big games looming, starting in November with the Concacaf Nations League quarter-finals.
After their surprise elimination in the quarter-finals of last year’s tournament, it feels like this Canadian team should at the very least be reaching the semi-finals again, with the ultimate goal being to reach the final for the second time and to win their first trophy since 2000.
On paper, it feels like this team made the step this summer towards becoming the second-best team in the region behind the US, and they certainly aren’t far off their neighbours, as a victory over them last month showed.
Movement in the Concacaf Rankings released yesterday as Canada moves past the #USMNT ahead of the Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal seeding pic.twitter.com/UJB3jSBHu0
— World of Concacaf Podcast (@podcacaf) October 1, 2024
At the same time, it’s one thing to look good on paper - it’s a whole other to go out and get the job done in competitive action, especially for a Canadian team that has gone so long without silverware.
Because of that, look for them to use this window to continue to prepare for those tests ahead, both in terms of the players they use, and how they treat the Panama game.
In terms of the former, look for them to continue to experiment with their best group, helping them build further chemistry, as that’ll be just as important as the auditions they’ll provide to the newer faces.
Then, in terms of the latter, it’s worth noting that a win over Panama would be huge, as Canada is also looking to improve their Concacaf ranking, given that it’ll be used to determine their seeding for the Nations League quarter-finals. Given that it can be the difference between playing Jamaica and Guatemala in the quarter-finals, and avoiding a US in the semi-final, it’s imperative that Canada pushes their ranking as high as possible in this window, and not dropping any further.
They did well to help their cases last window with that win over the US, but after drawing Mexico in a game they perhaps could’ve gotten more out of, they’ll want to ensure they get this win against Panama.
Yet, that’s another reason why this window will be so exciting to follow - not only are they focusing on the future, but the present remains quite important, so this friendly game will have the competitive edge that can sometimes be lacking in these sorts of matches.
For a team making its long-awaited return home, that’s good to see, as it’ll make for a good viewing experience as they take the field at BMO Field later this month.
Purchase tickets for the CanMNT’s match against Panama at BMO Field on October 15th at https://www.ticketmaster.ca/event/1000610E801F1078
