THE BREAKDOWN: Ismaël Koné is re-finding role on CanMNT after Sassuolo move

It was a strong September window for the CanMNT, who picked up a pair of back-to-back victories in friendlies vs. Romania in Bucharest and Wales in Swansea earlier this month, winning those matches by scores of 3-0 and 1-0, respectively. 

Thanks to those victories, they’ve since climbed up the FIFA Rankings, now sitting 26th in the world after the latest update - their highest-ever ranking. All of a sudden, with the World Cup now less than a year away, it’s clear that they’re trending in the right direction once again, having done well to erase the frustrations of earlier-than-anticipated exits from the Nations League in March and the Gold Cup in July. 

To return to this September camp, though, one that head coach Jesse Marsch called “the best 10 days” he’s had with this group, it’s worth noting that it was just as big a window for several individual players as it was for Canada as a collective, too. 

From the performances of Ali Ahmed out wide, Nathan Saliba and Ismaël Koné in midfield, and Derek Cornelius at the back, among others, it’s safe to say that most Canadian players who saw the field seemed to raise their stock this window. 

That’s key, as the next 10 months are going to be crucial for these players, as they battle for their spots in Canada’s World Cup squad next summer. With an ever-growing player pool, it’s becoming harder to crack this roster, creating the sort of internal competition that Marsch has wanted to foster within this group since his arrival. 

To stick with that theme of individual standouts from this camp, however, one player that was quite fascinating to follow was Ismaël Koné, who had two excellent starts across both games this window. 

He also had a moment to forget after coming off vs. Romania, as he was caught arguing with Marsch, but after apologizing for that outburst, both internally and publicly, he did well to bounce back with a strong showing vs. Wales. 

Ismael Kone addressing fans & media for 1st time since CanMNT 🇨🇦 vs. Romania 🗣️

"As a man and as a player... this is something I shouldn't do. I spoke with my teammates & my coach - they know how much I appreciate them. I made sure to tell them that it will never happen again." pic.twitter.com/oN5ozjP6PI

— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) September 8, 2025

After a tumultuous 2024-2025 club season, which culminated with him having a quieter Gold Cup, a loan move to C.D. Sassuolo appears to have him back at his best for club and country, and Canada really benefited from that this window. 

That’s huge, because there’s no doubt that this Canadian team is better off with an in-form Koné in its ranks. When looking at this side, no one else can match his unique skill set, one that places him among the most crucial players in this squad.

Due to the inconsistency that he continues to battle in his game, that’s stopped him from joining the likes of Alphonso Davies, Jonathan David, Stephen Eustáquio, Moïse Bombito and Tajon Buchanan in terms of Canada’s core players, but perhaps that could change this year - he certainly has the talent to do so.  

Here's how Koné compares to other midfielders in the top five leagues over the past 12 months. As seen here, in terms of his ball progression, he's quite strong - and his chance generation isn't bad, either. (FBRef)

It’s still early, so he’ll have to prove that these last few weeks aren’t just a blip, but the signs are looking positive for him. 

To that point, though, it’s worth diving in - what did Koné do well in this window for Canada, and how did that help Marsch’s side? 

Naturally, a big aspect was his play in possession, which is his bread and butter. When Koné is on his game, he can glide on the ball, dictating the tempo of play with the way he can dribble and pick out passes.

In this camp, he wasn’t able to fly past defenders as much as hoped, attempting just one dribble and completing two progressive runs across both games, but there were several moments in games where he had the confidence to wait a second or two longer before making a pass, instead of just rushing things.

Here's an example of Koné gliding through the midfield for the CanMNT vs. Wales, setting up a dangerous chance afterwards (via OneSoccer/TSN)

That’s a small detail, as Koné is at his best when he gets to really settle on the ball, and he seemed to be able to do that in this camp. 

Unfortunately, he wasn’t as sharp as he would’ve hoped to be in possession, completing just 36 of 50 passes across both games, but that was because of some of the risks he took on the ball, which allowed him to be dangerous when they came off.

And here's another example of Koné taking his time to beat a player before playing a simple but effective through ball (via OneSoccer/TSN)

For example, he created two chances against Romania and had four successful passes into the final third against Wales, showing that he was able to when he started to pull the strings for Canada in the attack. Really, the only big area where he let himself down in possession was that he completed just two of seven long balls attempted in this camp. 

Here's one of the rare moments from this past CanMNT camp where Koné was able to pick out a long ball, a staple of his game otherwise (via OneSoccer/TSN)

Considering that he’s typically completed over 66% of his long balls in his career, while averaging over two dribbles, both those numbers appear to be a bit of an anomaly, however. What that shows, though, is that the quest for him to rebuild his confidence isn’t always going to be straightforward - and shows why this camp was an important first step in that regard.

Here's another great moment from Koné on the ball, as he takes his time on the ball before playing a dangerous through ball (via OneSoccer/TSN)

Otherwise, he finished this camp with two shots, both coming against Wales -  there, he came close to adding his fourth goal for Canada, striking the post with an early attempt, which would’ve rounded off a strong window for him.

Here's Koné's shot that hit the post vs. Wales, which all started with a nice defensive read in midfield from him (via OneSoccer/TSN)

At the same time, even without that goal, it feels like his play on the ball was overall quite positive - he’ll know that he can hit another level in that area, but he found a good balance between taking risks and not making bad mistakes, which can be hard to do, as he’ll attest to. 

Of course, in a Jesse Marsch system, what you do on the ball is half the battle, however. With Canada’s desire to press high, all players are expected to play a big role defensively, and that’s been an area where Koné’s struggled a bit at times. 

Naturally, given his skills on the ball, it’s not as if he needs to be a defensive ace to maintain his spot, but there’s a balance to be found, and Koné hasn’t always found it - although that seemed to change in this camp. 

Across both games, Koné had five interceptions, seven recoveries, and won 12 out of 26 duels, including eight out of 12 of his duels against Wales.

Here's Koné's duels won from the Wales game, showing how he was able to have a defensive impact in different areas of the pitch (WyScout)

It wasn’t a defensive masterclass, per se, especially not when compared to the typical 'Marsch midfielder' - but it was solid, and that’s exactly what you’d want to see.

Here's a dangerous attacking sequence from Canada vs. Romania, that all started with Koné winning the ball in a good position in midfield (side note, you can also admire Canada's relentless press in the rest of the sequence)(via OneSoccer/TSN)

In particular, his play against Wales stands out, as he was tasked with a bit of a bigger role off the ball, and responded by winning a lot more duels. Against Romania, Koné had more freedom as he was paired with Stephen Eustáquio, who does a lot of dirty work off the ball, freeing up Koné to play more in possession. Meanwhile, against Wales, Koné was instead paired with Nathan Saliba, who is more of an attacking #8, in a far different midfield set-up. 

That was a big ask for both Koné and Saliba, who were challenged off the ball, and they responded quite well - Saliba filled in nicely for Eustáquio, putting in a monster defensive performance (11 recoveries, eight interceptions, 10/17 duels won), while Koné more than shouldered his fair share of the defensive load on his side, as seen above. 

At the same time, those are the small details that help show the success Koné had at this camp, even if the numbers don’t pop as much. 

For Marsch to trust Koné and Saliba in a midfield pivot is a big vote of confidence, and he was rewarded with a strong midfield performance in a good Canadian victory. Marsch could’ve easily gone for a safer option in midfield for that game, such as the reliable Mathieu Choinière, so it’s no small detail to see him take that risk, especially in an away game. 

That’s important to note, as when talking about Koné’s quest for more consistency, little details matter a lot, such as the role he plays, the minutes he earns and the trust he has from his coaches - the latter, in particular is quite key after how 2024-2025 went for him with Olympique de Marseille, where coach Roberto De Zerbi didn’t appear to trust him a whole lot. 

Yet, it’s worth noting that while Koné was solid this camp, the perception around his performances was also helped by his play at the club level over the last few weeks, where he’s done well to start the next chapter of his career after his tough year at Marseille. There, he has helped his case to play more minutes for the CanMNT quite significantly with his play at Sassuolo, where he looks set to figure prominently for the club as they push to stay up in Serie A following their promotion last season. 

Even though he’s made just three appearances for the club, there’s a lot to like in each of them, as he was strong in a 87 minute run vs. Catanzaro in the Coppa D’Italia, had a good 81 minutes vs. Napoli in Serie A (only spoiling that performance with a pair of yellow cards), before putting in a strong 90 minute showing in a 1-0 win vs. Lazio this past weekend.

In particular, the Lazio win stands out, as it was his first game after serving a one-game suspension following his Napoli red card, meaning it was quite good to see him be trusted to play the full game in an important fixture so soon after a moment of adversity. When speaking of trust, that’s a big detail. 

Overall, though, he’s looked quite good in all three fixtures, on both sides of the ball.

Koné's heat map so far with Sassuolo (left) vs. his 2024-2025 heat map with Marseille and Rennes. As seen here, he's getting on the ball a lot more in central areas this year (WyScout)

Offensively, he’s completed 95 out of 105 passes (90.5%), including six out of nine long balls, 13 out of 13 passes into the final third and 23 out of 27 forward passes, while also completing three out of four dribbles and winning four fouls. He’s yet to generate a shot, which he’ll want to change, but other than that, he’s been quite good on the ball, playing a little deeper as a tempo-setting midfielder.

Here's a great clip from Koné's recent match vs. Lazio, as he shows his confidence with a nice switch of play, nearly creating a dangerous attack (via Serie A)

Then, defensively, he’s won 17 out of 38 duels (44.7%), and has made eight interceptions and 15 recoveries, which is not bad, even if he’d want to win more duels, given his position. 

At the same time, when considering that he’s now played longer in each of his three Sassuolo appearances than he did in all of 2024-2025 with Marseille or Rennes, and that’s also huge, as it’s once again showing the trust that Sassuolo coach Fabio Grosso has in him.

Here's Koné's pass map from that same game vs. Lazio (WyScout)

Much like with Marsch, that’s no small detail, as Grosso isn’t going to play favourites as he looks to help his team survive in Serie A.

Here's Koné doing something he's already done a lot of with Sassuolo - dancing through the midfield on the ball, shedding defenders as he goes (via Serie A)

Once again, though, this shows why this move made a lot of sense for Koné - he’s now at a good level, at a club that trusts him, but is also in an environment that will challenge him to get better. 

After the instability he dealt with at Watford and then the chaotic year he had at Marseille, this seems to be a good balance, and the early returns reflect that.

Here's Koné once again dancing on the ball, this time against defending Serie A champions, Napoli, on Serie A's opening weekend (via Serie A)

Now, the big goal for Koné will be to build on all this, as a big part of consistency is maintaining certain levels of play across an extended period of time, but he’s off to a good start. 

That’s good news for Canada, as him keeping up this play will only help Marsch’s side. In fact, it’s safe to say that if he keeps this up, a starting spot at the World Cup is his to lose, something that hasn’t always been so sure over the past 12 months. 

Yet, when speaking of his potential earlier, these are the small things that will help push him towards his best level, showing why this early start is so encouraging to see.