TACTICAL PREVIEW: What should the CanMNT expect from Australia, Colombia in October friendlies?
The CanMNT’s journey towards the 2026 World Cup continues this week, as they get set to take on Australia and Colombia in a pair of friendlies in Montréal and New Jersey, respectively.
After a strong September window, one where they beat Romania and Wales in a pair of European-based friendlies, they’ll look to build on that in what’s expected to be two tough matches back on North American soil.
Unlike their matchups against Romania and Wales, however, who are still hoping to qualify for next summer’s World Cup, Australia and Colombia have already booked their spots at the 2026 tournament - one or both could very well end up in Canada’s group, in fact.
Yet, that shows why head coach Jesse Marsch and his staff wanted to book these friendlies against 25th-ranked Australia and 13th-ranked Colombia - they want to continue to push this side as they battle to ensure they’re as prepared as possible for next summer’s tournament.
With no World Cup qualifiers, they’re having to use friendlies like this to prepare themselves, which is less than ideal in some regards, but it’s offering Canada the flexibility to test themselves against a variety of different opponents they might’ve otherwise not been able to play.
Canada has seemed to find a good balance between varying their opponents and finding high-calibre tests so far in their scheduling, and this window is a prime example of that, as they take on a top AFC and CONMEBOL side in quick succession.
Ideally, they build on the momentum from the September window and pick up a pair of wins, but the big thing will be to continue to put in strong performances, especially given some of the injuries they’ve suffered in recent months. They do that, and the results should come, anyway, showing why this window will be as much about their process as anything - especially given that they’re facing non-Concacaf opposition ranked in the top 25 in the world for the first time since the 2024 Copa América.
With all of that in mind, here’s what to expect from Australia and Colombia in these matches - as well as how Canada themselves might look in this window, too.
Can Australia take a big leap ahead of a massive stretch?
With their qualification for next summer’s World Cup sorted, Australia can say they’ve become a bit of a regular at that tournament, as they’re set to play in their sixth straight World Cup.
Plus, to their credit, they took a big step forward in 2022, too, getting out of their group for just the second time in their history, falling 2-1 to eventual champions Argentina in the Round of 16.
Because of that, they’re looking to build on that as they head into next year’s tournament, one where they’ll feel well-positioned to reach the quarter-finals for the first time in their history.
Plus, it also can’t be forgotten that less than a year after the World Cup, they’ll also contest the AFC Asian Cup, where they’re looking to win their second trophy in six participations after joining the AFC confederation in the 2000s. Having followed up their victory in 2015, which came under manager Ange Postecoglou, with a pair of quarter-final exits, they’d love to make a deep run in this next Asian Cup, which will kick off in January of 2027.
Yet, that shows why this is such a huge stretch for manager Tony Popovic and his players, who will know what’s at stake for them in both of those tournaments, starting with the World Cup.
2006. 2010. 2014. 2018. 2022. 2026.
— CommBank Socceroos (@Socceroos) June 10, 2025
SIX. ๐ IN. ๐ A. ๐ ROW. ๐#Socceroos #ForeverGolden pic.twitter.com/EujwFtAKxd
Speaking of Popovic and this squad, it’s worth noting that this team is in excellent form at the moment, as they enter this window unbeaten in their last 10 games since he’s taken over, having won the last six of those matches - of which four were World Cup qualifiers. Given that he took over this side partway through the third round of AFC qualifiers, which Australia began with a loss to Bahrain and a draw to Indonesia, Popovic did well to steer his side to the World Cup in style, beating Japan and Saudi Arabia in their final two matches to get things over the line.
In particular, the big thing is that Australia managed to qualify with a round to spare, which has allowed them to book friendlies such as this one and a clash against fellow 2026 World Cup co-hosts US, instead of slugging their way through another round and potentially a playoff (which fellow group mate Saudi Arabia is doing this window) - although it’s worth noting that they only reached the 2022 tournament after beating Peru on penalties in the intercontinental playoff, for example.
When looking at this team’s style of play, however, one big thing stands out - they’re happy to play without the ball, averaging 44% of possession under Popovic, who encourages a low-event brand of soccer, while playing in a back three or back five (their preferred formations have been a 5-4-1 and 3-4-3 under his tutelage).
To that point, when diving deeper into the 10 matches Australia have played under Popovic, they’ve averaged just 7.3 shots and 0.91 xG per game - keeping their opponents to just 8.6 shots and 1.07 xG. Despite that, Australia have outscored opponents 20-7, showing the effect of their play, however. 
Here's Australia's xG against under Popovic - as seen by that chart, other than an outlier of a match vs. Saudi Arabia, they don't give up a lot of quality chances (WyScout)
Further to that point, despite averaging just 4.15 passes per possession and allowing 16.22 passes per defensive action, showing that they’re not pressing aggressively, they’re holding opponents to an average shot distance of 19.5 yards,
What that shows, though, is that this Australia side has no problem being pragmatic, which will be a good test for a Canadian side that has typically struggled more against these sorts of sides, doing their best work when they’re able to press teams without the ball.
Against an Australia side that sends almost 10% of their passes long, it remains to be seen how successful Canada’s press will be, which will put pressure on them to be more dangerous in possession.
As for Australia’s squad, they’ve called up a team with an interesting mix of experience, although it’s worth noting that it skews on the younger side. That’s reflected in the fact that while Australia has six players over 30 in this team, they’ve also got 12 players 25 and younger, including six players under the age of 23.
The CommBank #Socceroos squad for our North America tour is here! ๐ฆ๐บ๐จ๐ฆ๐บ๐ธ
— CommBank Socceroos (@Socceroos) October 2, 2025
๐ Tony Popovic has named a 25-man squad for our October FIFA International Window matches against #FIFAWorldCup hosts Canada and the USA starting next week.
๐ฐ Details: https://t.co/MTm2MtvPpW… pic.twitter.com/AxY0Vv4eJ4
Interestingly, they’ve got a strong European influence in the side - 20 of their 25 players play in Europe, including three at top five league clubs, with the other two playing in Japan and three in MLS.
Looking across the squad, the big names to watch at the back are goalkeeper Matthew Ryan (Levante), who has just hit 100 caps for his country, while defenders Miloš Degenek (TSC), Kye Rowles (DC United) and Jordan Bos (Feyenoord) are the three other defenders with more than 20 caps. In particular, Bos is an interesting player, as the left back is just 22, whereas Degenek is 31, Rowles 27 and Ryan 33 - Bos, along with 25-year-old Lewis Miller (Blackburn Rovers), and Alessandro Circati (Parma), will look to bring some youthful energy to that backline.
Moving up the pitch, Ajdin Hrustic (Heracles) is the main name in midfield, having amassed 33 caps, although Connor Metcalfe (St. Pauli) and Aidan O’Neill (New York City) also have 28 and 23 caps, respectively. Plus, it’s worth noting that Australia has a pretty young and inexperienced midfield group, with Hrustic at 29 years of age and everyone else 27 or younger, so expect them to experiment in this area, given that four of their other midfielders all have fewer than six caps.
Lastly, up front, Australia are led by two experienced players - the 34-year-old Mitch Duke (Machida Zelvia) and the 32-year-old Martin Boyle (Hibernian), as Duke has 13 goals in 48 caps and Boyle 10 goals in 36 caps. Given that the rest of their forward group has five combined goals, look for that pair to be productive, although the 19-year-old Nestory Irankunda (Watford) and the 21-year-old Mohamed Toure (Randers) could be names to watch, as Irankunda has two goals in seven caps, and Toure has two goals in four caps.
Yet, when looking at that group, you can see the identity of this team - they’ve got a solid veteran spine, and are looking to push themselves to the next level with the emergence of several youngsters, especially in the attack.
Colombia hoping to be back on track for next summer:
It’s been a wild few years for Colombia, who have qualified for their third World Cup in the past four editions, avenging the fact that they missed out on the 2022 tournament altogether after reaching the quarter-finals in 2014 and the Round of 16 in 2018.
Especially given that they’ve reached the 2026 tournament by finishing third in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying, it’s been a good run for Colombia, who had a record of 7W-7D-4L (28 PTS) in the gruelling 18-game grind that is South American qualifying.
Yet, it’s worth noting that after a hot start, one that saw them open qualifying with four wins and four draws (including wins over Argentina and Brazil), the wheels almost came off, as they lost four of their next five games, including a tough loss to Bolivia, along with defeats to Uruguay, Brazil and Ecuador.
To their credit, they bounced back from there, drawing their next three games before winning the last two, ensuring they qualified automatically quite comfortably.
¡๐ก๐ข๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ข๐ข๐ข๐ข๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐๐ ๐ ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐ก๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐! ๐คฉ๐คฉ๐คฉ๐คฉ๐คฉ
— Selección Colombia (@FCFSeleccionCol) September 5, 2025
๐๐๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ผ๐ de ๐๐๐ฒ๐น๐๐ฎ en la ๐๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฎ ๐ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐น๐ฎ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐ข๐ฏ๐ท๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐๐ผ ๐ฐ๐๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐ฑ๐ผ โ๏ธ#LaSeleNosUne๐จ๐ด pic.twitter.com/naCK4bimny
Interestingly, that slump came at a bit of a funny time for Colombia, however, as after reaching the final of the 2024 Copa América, falling to Argentina in extra time on that day, they then lost momentum despite even beating that same Argentina side in September of 2024, with their run of losses coming between October of 2024 and March of 2025.
Now, though, they feel that they’re back on track and are looking like the side that went undefeated in 28 games before they fell to Argentina in that Copa América final in Miami in July of 2024.
Yet, that’s a credit to manager Néstor Lorenzo, who has now been in charge since the summer of 2022, as he’s pushed Colombia to some big heights during his tenure. Because of that, they’ll feel confident ahead of next summer, where they’ll feel they could potentially make a deep run, fuelled by what they did in that Copa América, also held on North American soil.
Armed with a strong squad, Colombia are a side that likes to play on the front foot in matches, averaging 58.75% possession in the last year, taking 13.6 shots for an average of 1.85 xG, while allowing just 10 shots for an average of 1.03 xG, showing that they’ll be a bit more lively on the ball than Australia. 
Here's Colombia's xG from the last 12 months, showing that they generate a lot of shot quality (although they suffered a bit of a dip at the beginning of 2025), so look for them to be dangerous in transition against the CanMNT(WyScout)
In particular, what stands out is that while they hold a decent amount of possession, they don’t mind pressing a bit more - they have a PPDA of 9.18 - and they’re actually pretty direct on the ball, averaging 4.77 passes per possession and sending 9.27% of their balls long.
What that shows, though, is that they don’t like to hold the ball just to hold it - they want to funnel it towards goal whenever possible, and then try to win it back when they lose it. That should make for an interesting battle against a Canadian side that also wants to play that way, so don’t be surprised if this game ends up being a bit more open.
It’ll be tough for Canada to generate dangerous chances, as not only are Colombia’s defensive metrics strong in terms of the shots they allowed and the quality of those attempts, but they keep opponents to an average shot distance of 21.15 yards, which is very good.
At the same time, much like with Australia, that’s not a bad thing for Canada, who will get good reps at trying to break down a strong defensive unit, which they need more practice at, even if Colombia is arguably one of the best teams they’ll have played under Marsch.
Certainly, Colombia’s performances and FIFA rank speak for themselves, but so does their squad, as they’ve got a lot of top talent - they’ve got nine players in top five leagues, and a few others who are at tier one Champions League and Europa League clubs in other circuits.
๐ฅ ¡๐๐ฎ๐ฬ ๐ฌ๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ง๐ ๐ ๐๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐จ! ๐น๏ธ
— Selección Colombia (@FCFSeleccionCol) October 3, 2025
Ellos son los ๐๐จ๐ง๐ฏ๐จ๐๐๐๐จ๐ฌ por ๐๐ฬ๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ณ๐จ para los ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฌ ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฝ y ๐จ๐ฆ para esta ๐ ๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐ de ๐จ๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐๐ซ๐
๐ https://t.co/0T1MIsDfUG#LaSeleNosUne ๐จ๐ด pic.twitter.com/XUqrNAlKnF
Then, despite all that, they’re still getting elite performances from the 34-year-old midfielder, James Rodríguez, as he leads this team with 30 goals in 118 caps (along with 38 assists), remaining a figurehead in this team despite now finding himself in Liga MX with Club Léon.
No doubt, while Rodríguez is the heartbeat of this team (playing as the #10 in their 4-2-3-1), there are intriguing names at every other position. In goal, the veteran David Ospina (Atlécio Nacional) looks set to still lead the side, while defenders Davinson Sánchez (Galatasaray), Daniel Muñoz (Crystal Palace), Johan Mojica (Mallorca), Jhon Lucumí (Bologna) and Yerson Mosquera (Wolverhampton Wolves) will all battle for minutes in a competitive group (one that could've been even more competitive had Cagliari's Yerry Mina not pulled out of the camp last minute).
Then, in midfield, Rodríguez is joined by Jefferson Lerma (Crystal Palace) and Richard Ríos (Benfica) and Yásper Asprilla (Girona), along with a cast of intriguing players playing in the Argentine and Brazilian leagues.
Lastly, up front, Luis Díaz (Bayern Munich) is the name to watch, having scored 19 goals in 66 caps, although it’s worth noting that they’ve otherwise got no other attackers with more than six goals to their name, so look for the inexperienced Luis Suárez (Sporting CP) and Cucho Hernández (Real Betis), who have four and two goals in six caps apiece, to step up big this window.
Sitting with a squad mostly filled with prime-age and older players - they’ve got nine players 30 and older, compared to just two players under the age of 25 - this group knows who they are, and are looking to be at their best come next summer.
Yet, this shows why this is such a great test for Canada, once again, as this is a well-drilled team filled with talent, one that should hopefully give a better idea of how ready Canada is to make a run at next summer’s World Cup, as this is the sort of team that will dream of being capable of reaching the quarter-finals or semi-finals of that tournament.
What to expect from Canada?
To that point, what should one expect from Canada in these two matches?
The big match to watch will be the Colombia match, naturally, given what’s at stake, but don’t discount this Australia match, which will be a special one, given that it comes in front of a Montréal crowd that has gone a long time since watching this Canadian side play in person.
Given Canada’s excellent record at home over the last half-decade, keeping that up ahead of the World Cup is key, even if they won’t be playing any games in Montréal in the tournament itself (although they do have a big pre-tournament friendly planned).
From there, that would allow them to build momentum before the Colombia matchup, showing the importance of starting the camp strongly against Australia.
Plus, as Jesse Marsch pointed out in the last window, with the World Cup rapidly approaching, he wants to further stoke competition in his squad, so look for him to continue to roll out a similar lineup as long as they continue to perform.
Based on the last window, here's what the CanMNT's depth chart for this window looks like, giving an idea of what the positional battles are looking like
Done are the days of rotating just to rotate, in his words, so this will be a big camp for some of the individual standouts from the September window, such as Ali Ahmed, Richie Laryea, Ismaël Koné, Derek Cornelius and Niko Sigur, to continue to stake a claim for a starting spot going forward.
With some big names still out injured in Alphonso Davies, Alistair Johnston and Moïse Bombito, that’s opened the door for a lot of competition at the back, in particular, so keep an eye out for the likes of Luc De Fougerolles, Sigur, Cornelius and Laryea, specifically, who could very well form Canada’s backline in both matches and in the rest of 2025.
From there, there will be big battles to watch in midfield, where Koné, Nathan Saliba and Mathieu Choiniére are all fighting to start alongside Stephen Eustáquio, and up front, where Promise David, Tani Oluwaseyi and Cyle Larin will all push to pair with Jonathan David, with Oluwaseyi currently sitting in pole position in that race.
Lastly, of course, keep an eye for some clarity in net, with Maxime Crépeau and Dayne St. Clair both coming off decent performances in the September window - it’s expected both will split the net in this window again, with Crépeau a likely candidate to start in his home province (which would leave St. Clair the Colombia match), so keep an eye on that pair, too.
Otherwise, the big thing for Canada will be to continue to develop their tactical identity, even as they continue to develop these roster battles. For example, as mentioned earlier, being better at breaking down low blocks continues to be a priority, so look for them to build off some strong sequences of possession from the September window.
What should #CanMNT fans expect in the upcoming friendlies against Australia and Colombia? ๐
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) September 30, 2025
Head coach Jesse Marsch breaks down both opponents ๐ฃ๏ธ pic.twitter.com/iIrHAVFx6e
Canada had a lot of success with their press in September, so they’ll also look to build off that, but given that’s a big part of their identity, that’s almost a given - showing why it’ll be interesting to see how they adapt their game to tackle two solid defensive teams that don’t mind playing direct, which could cause that press some problems.
Given that’s been the sort of team that’s given Canada the most trouble in the past 16 months (think of Mexico, Côte d’Ivoire, Curaçao and Guatemala), what they do across the 180 minutes of action in this window will be very informative in terms of learnings, especially heading a November window that also features stiff tests against Ecuador and Venezuela.
These next two windows are crucial for this Canadian side, and they know that, so one thing’s for sure - don’t expect them to treat these games like friendlies, as there is plenty for them to learn and showcase.
