Marcelo Flores officially files one-time switch: What can the promising Tigres UANL youngster bring to the CanMNT?
The paperwork has been filed - Marcelo Flores is now officially a member of the CanMNT.
Keen refreshers of FIFA’s ‘Change of Association’ platform will have been rewarded for their persistence on Wednesday morning, as Flores’s name finally popped up at the top of the list of new names, attached to the confirmation that he has indeed filed his switch from Mexico to Canada.
For those unfamiliar with the one-time switch, it’s worth noting that there is no going back on this now, either - once you have filed the switch, you can only represent your new country going forward.
Welcome home, Marcelo! 🏡
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) February 11, 2026
Marcelo Flores' one-time switch with FIFA has officially gone through: The Tigres UANL star can now play for the CanMNT 🇨🇦 instead of Mexico 🇲🇽 pic.twitter.com/rSv5XJtO4b
Yet, this shows why this is such a big decision for Flores, who will now only play for Canada. Having previously represented Mexico three times, he was provisionally cap-tied to their National Team, but was not yet a permanent member due to a rule change a couple of years ago.
That rule, for those unfamiliar with it, is that a player is now only cap-tied if they either make one competitive appearance after turning 21, or more than three appearances (including one competitive appearance) before 21. Previously, the rule was simple: if you made a competitive appearance at any age, you were cap-tied, but this new rule helped resolve issues of players being cap-tied by teams at a young age before featuring minimally long-term.
Because of that, Flores had remained eligible to switch to Canada despite making his Mexico debut as an 18-year-old in 2021, as he ended up featuring only three times for El Tri, with his last appearance coming in June of 2022, when he was still not even 19.
From there, he never saw the pitch again for Mexico, only earning two more call-ups to their squad (and none were at the Gold Cup or World Cup, which would’ve also cap-tied him), and that opened the door for him to switch his allegiance as early as 2025, which is when Canada began circling.
It started slowly, with CanMNT head coach Jesse Marsch offering the opportunity for Flores to be a training player at Canada’s camp last November, and it quickly snowballed from there, as Marsch then attempted to bring Flores into Canada’s January camp to kick off 2026 (although Flores didn’t end up participating due to a multitude of factors).
Soon after that, though, despite his inability to bring in Flores for that January window, Marsch’s pursuit reached the final stage, and it has now paid off in the form of Flores filing his switch. 
Now, he’ll look to represent Canada as early as March, when they’ll take on Iceland and Tunisia in a pair of friendlies as part of their penultimate window before the start of the World Cup.
Safe to say, Flores’s short-term goal is simple, too - he wants to crack Canada’s World Cup squad this summer. While he’s a big long-term addition to this Canadian team - he’ll only be 26 by the time the 2030 World Cup rolls around - he’ll hope that he’s able to have an impact in the short-term, too.
¡Correa responde para los locales! 🫡 pic.twitter.com/ce4sME4YJb
— Concacaf Champions Cup (@TheChampions) February 11, 2026
Clearly, he thinks he’ll be able to do that pretty soon, so it’ll be fascinating to see if he can quickly carve out a role on Marsch’s side.
Speaking of, however, that leads to the important questions that many will be asking in the wake of Flores’s commitment - what can he bring to this Canadian side, and where does he fit in on this team?
To begin with the first question, the answer is clear - Flores is a dynamic, attacking talent with a unique profile, one who is a #10 who can also play as a winger. For those who have watched him, he’s eager to take players on 1v1, is creative on the ball, and has a good left foot - there’s a reason why he was in Arsenal’s academy at one point. 
Here's Flores's heatmap from 2025-2026, showing that he's played more as a left winger, but one that has the freedom to drift inside a bit more (WyScout)
Just look at his numbers for Tigres UANL from 2025-2026, which help showcase some of his best skills. He doesn’t have a huge sample size to draw from, as he’s only played around 800 minutes as a winger, with most of them coming in the last month, but a few numbers stand out there.
Marcelo Flores put on quite the show tonight for Tigres, scoring a brace in a 2-1 win over Atlético San Luis.
— Ben Steiner (@BenSteiner00) January 12, 2026
Lovely left-foot finish on his second goal.
He’s off to join the #CanMNT January Camp in LA and could play v Guatemala.
pic.twitter.com/YlcjBvzjPT
Naturally, the big one is his dribbling - he is averaging an impressive 5.66 dribbles per 90 minutes, which is pretty good, even if he’s only completing 49% of them. Half of the skill of dribbling comes from confidence, and he doesn’t lack that.
Plus, it’s worth noting that his dribbling is helping him bring the ball to dangerous areas - he has 4.44 progressive runs and 4.11 touches in the box per 90 - showing that he’s bringing the ball to dangerous positions on the pitch, which is exactly what you want to see.
Now, the big development will be for him to turn that into more final product. He’s doing solidly in that area, sitting with four goals and one assist in all competitions in 2025-2026, after generating three goals and two assists in 2024-2025, although it’s worth noting that he had seven goals and two assists in 2023-2024, showing that he still has more to unlock there.
At the same time, the numbers suggest that he’s on the right track in that department, as he’s averaging 0.29 xG and 0.11 xA, giving him 0.40 xG+xA per 90, which is not bad at all for a winger. If he were a 2000-minute player, that would put him at around 8.8 xG+xA, suggesting that he could return to the heights he hit in 2023-2024 (and even improve on them). 
Here's Flores's radar from the 2025-2026 Liga MX season. As seen above, his ability to generate quality shots and to get the ball up the field and towards the box stands out. Surprisingly, so does his defensive ability. Where he'll want to improve, though, is with his shot volume, and his chance creation (WyScout)
Naturally, as is the case with a lot of young players, a big thing that stands out is the volume of his shot contributions, as he’s averaging 1.89 shots and 1.00 key passes per 90. The latter isn’t a bad number, to be fair, but the former is a bit lower than he’d like, especially when considering that he’s averaging 0.16 xG per shot, which is quite good.
Because of that, look for him to improve in the volume department. Considering that he’s driving the ball up the pitch and into the box with regularity, it’s not outrageous to suggest he turns those runs into more shots for himself and his teammates, which will be the final layer to add to his offensive game. In particular, on top of more shots, look for him to make more passes into the box, having so far averaged 1.89 per 90, which is good, but can still be improved on.
Marcelo Flores hoy salió inspirado. 🐯💙
— Liga BBVA MX (@LigaBBVAMX) February 1, 2026
Tremenda contra de @TigresOficial para abrir el marcador.
Y el pase de Lainez... ¡Uff! 😏👌#LaLigaDeLaAfición | #ConMéxicoC26 | #J4 | #LEOTIG pic.twitter.com/cmHJ3Lt1Qn
Otherwise, the big thing to watch, which is unsurprising to see for a young player, is his defensive game. He’s done well to average 2.55 interceptions per 90, but he’ll want to have more than 3.66 recoveries and 3.88 defensive duels (even if his numbers rate well compared to other wingers).
Especially considering that he’s just committed to a Canadian side led by a coach in Jesse Marsch that pushes his team to defend aggressively, it’ll be imperative that Flores continues to improve in that area if he wants to earn minutes on this Canadian team.
Yet, that’s one thing worth watching now that he’s officially committed to this Canadian side. He’s always been seen as a dynamic offensive talent - it must be remembered that his seven-goal and two-assist season for Tigres in 2023-2024 came when he was only 20 - but as is often the case for young attackers, his overall consistency and his work on both sides of the ball have maybe made it harder for him to stick in the lineup. 
Here's Flores's radar from 2023-2024 Liga MX action - as seen above, a lot is similar to 2025-2026, and he's even improved in some key areas, although he has regressed a bit in terms of chance creation (which is why that'll be an area of focus) (WyScout)
Clearly, he’s turned the corner as of late, hence an uptick in minutes for Tigres, and perhaps this commitment to the Canadian team can further push him to improve, especially defensively.
Now, on that note, that’s a good transition to the other question from earlier - where would he fit in on this Canadian team in the near future?
As it stands, based on his play for club, he’ll be battling out for a spot as a winger on Canada’s World Cup team. There, though, he faces stiff competition, with Canada employing the likes of Ali Ahmed, Tajon Buchanan, Liam Millar, Jayden Nelson and Jacob Shaffelburg at that position. 
For what it’s worth, though, Flores’s unique profile does help him compete - his ability to play more centrally as a #10, in particular, could really help him in the long run. He hasn’t played there as much with Tigres, featuring in just over 350 minutes as an attacking midfielder since 2023, but it’s clearly a key part of his game.
That could be of benefit to Canada, who despite mostly sticking with the famed Red Bull 4-2-2-2 since Marsch’s arrival, has sometimes also used a 4-2-3-1, a formation that would allow Flores to play more centrally as a #10.
Perhaps, there could be a world where Flores makes Canada’s squad as a winger, but one that also gives Canada the flexibility to play with a #10 if needed, which could be useful if faced off against a team playing a low block, or if they need a goal late in a game.
Of course, though, if Flores is to make Canada’s squad, the big thing he’ll need to do is continue to perform for Tigres, and to keep racking up goals and assists. He won’t pass Buchanan or Ahmed before the World Cup, and Millar’s likely out of his reach, too, but he has every chance of battling with Nelson and Shaffelburg if he can produce good numbers in Mexico, given how the league compares to MLS, where Nelson and Shaffelburg play (the rest are all in Europe).
Plus, if he does well, his positional flexibility could also just push Marsch to bring one fewer forward or midfielder to include him, showing why his ability to play multiple positions is valuable. In the same way that Ralph Priso’s recent emergence as a reliable centre back and midfielder could open the door for Marsch to bring him in to free up a spot in the attack, Flores’s flexibility could further change the equation for how Marsch constructs this squad.
Therefore, while Flores is clearly on the bubble as it stands, he could stand to really make some noise over the next few months, first with Tigres, and then with Canada, as you have to imagine he earns the opportunity to at least showcase his skills in camp during the March window.
Across that period, the mission will be simple for Flores - he’ll want to show that he’s not just a new piece worth watching for the future, but one who can have an impact in the here and now. Clearly, the numbers show that he’s capable of doing so, but now he’ll need to build off the growth he’s made as of late, which has come just at the perfect time with him filing his switch.
