YEAR IN REVIEW: What's next for Jesse Marsch and the CanMNT in 2025 after remarkable 2024?
It was a remarkable year for the Canadian Men’s National Team.
After entering 2024 reeling following a tough end to 2023, they turned things around, in a big way, en route to one of the best years in their history.
From their historic qualification and participation at the Copa América to some big friendly performances in the spring and fall, and capped off with an important result in Nations League action in November, not much went wrong for this Canadian team this year.
With that, they’ve now reset their course en route to the 2026 World Cup, looking like a team ready to capitalize on that unique opportunity, instead of dragging themselves through the mud en route to potential disaster.
Yet, big credit for that can go to head coach Jesse Marsch, who has come in and provided a much-needed boost of energy to the program.
Armed with a style of play that has suited this team perfectly, he has proven to be a strong fit and will look to build off that going forward. Having been able to integrate some new faces while finding ways to get more out of familiar names, he’s done well to quickly mould this team into his image.
Now, he’ll look to continue that process in 2025, which can potentially be another massive year for this program. If all goes well, they could snap a lengthy silverware drought, all while continuing to recruit some new faces and taking another step towards 2026.
With that in mind, here’s what will be next on Marsch’s checklist as he heads into 2025.
Win a trophy:
Having perhaps learned a lesson from how things went the last time they were in this position, this Canadian team has been careful not to set expectations too high heading into 2025.
But make no mistake - while this team isn’t publicly chatting about becoming “the Kings of Concacaf” and getting their hands on a trophy, it has to be a big goal in 2025 - if not their most important objective.
For this team to take the next step, which is to officially mark their status as a Concacaf giant and crack the world’s elite, they must get their hands on silverware, which is the lone piece missing for them to become current “Kings of Concacaf”.
That will do it, the #CanMNT will play Mexico in the CNL semifinals. Difficult matchup considering Canada finished in 1st place.
— Josh Deming (@tv_jjd) November 20, 2024
If Canada want to win their first trophy since 2000, they are going to have to do it the hard way 🇨🇦
No doubt, they’ve already proven they’re among the best in Concacaf - other than their slip-up against Jamaica in the 2023-2024 Nations League quarter-finals, they’ve been among the best sides in the region over the last five years. Plus, as they’ve proven with wins over the US, Mexico and Panama, and their success in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, they can go head-to-head with anyone in Concacaf and feel confident.
Unfortunately, however, they’ve come up short in several key matches where they could’ve staked out their claim for Concacaf dominance in this decade. Take the 2021 Gold Cup semi-final against Mexico, the 2023 Nations League final against the US and the 2023 Gold Cup quarter-final against those same Americans as an example, as they fell short in each of those games despite entering them with a chance to pick up a statement victory.
Armed with the scars from those losses, however, they’ll have to feel they’re now ready to finally get their hands on a trophy, starting with the Nations League in March and then continuing into the Gold Cup in the summer.
In particular, the Nations League represents an excellent opportunity - by facing Mexico in the semi-final, and either the US or Panama in the final, Canada hasn’t been handed an easy route to the trophy, but it’s still one they can look at and feel confident in navigating.
Given that Canada was arguably the most in-form Concacaf team of 2024, that isn’t an impossible challenge for them to deal with - they beat the US and drew Mexico in friendlies just this year.
So look for them to try and touch that elusive trophy in 2025. If they’re to prove that their run to the semi-finals at the Copa América wasn’t a fluke and that they’re ready to compete and make a run at the 2026 World Cup, going out and winning the Nations League or the Gold Cup (or both) would be a pretty big sign of intent from Marsch’s group, helping build some more momentum on their journey to 2026. 
Continue to widen the player pool:
At the same time, while a trophy is a big goal, there’s a reason why this Canadian team has been reluctant to place too much pressure on it - ultimately, the main mission remains the 2026 World Cup.
And while winning a trophy would be a great way for them to boost their confidence as a group and prove what they’re capable of in tough situations, there’s a lot that needs to go right for them to make that happen, with some of that being out of their control.
No doubt, given that this is arguably the most talented and deepest team this program has ever produced, they’ll feel that they have the skills to overcome those obstacles, but that’s easier said than done.
Every Jesse Marsch presser, it's so clear he just 'gets it.'
— Ben Steiner (@BenSteiner00) November 20, 2024
He talks about how important it was for the #CanMNT U17s to beat Costa Rica this week and how much the next few months mean to build the programs.
"My goal is obviously with results, to go after the trophy in March,…
Because of that, a lot of the focus will also be placed on controlling what they can control, and one of those things they can do is to further expand their player pool.
For all of the success they achieved in 2024, a big reason for that was the work they put in to recruit and embed some new or lesser-used pieces such as Moïse Bombito, Derek Cornelius, Mathieu Choinière, Jacob Shaffelburg, Ali Ahmed, Maxime Crépeau and many more, who all helped play a big role in Canada’s success in 2024.
From names that weren’t at all on anyone’s radar heading into 2024, to names who had been in the system but in smaller roles, Marsch did a great job of turning all of those names into regular contributors, giving this team depth it’s never had.
And that’s proven to be a big difference-maker. Without the play of those players, Canada wouldn’t have made a deep run at the Copa América or have found the success they did in their fall friendlies and Nations League matches.
Now, the goal needs to be to find more difference-makers to further add to that depth.
The top-end hierarchy of this team remains clear - Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David are world-class players who are the heartbeat of this team, Stephen Eustáquio and Moïse Bombito are integral pieces who aren’t far behind them in terms of importance, while the likes of Tajon Buchanan, Ismaël Koné, Alistair Johnston, Richie Laryea, Cyle Larin, Cornelius, Choinière, Ahmed and Shaffelburg are all key contributors. Then, in goal, the race for Canada's #1 spot is as open as ever between Crépeau and Dayne St.Clair.
GOAL🍁🍁🍁
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) November 20, 2024
JACOB SHAFFELBURG LOVES A #CANMNT GOAL!🇨🇦
Make it a brace for Shaffelburg tonight, who puts his team up 3-0 in this game, and 4-0 on aggregate
🔴Watch the #CanMNT LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/SiTQTz5323
After that, there’s room for new faces to step up, helping elongate that list.
For example, Niko Sigur feels like one to watch - after securing his high-profile commitment as a dual-national after he had represented Croatia’s youth teams, Marsch has done well to slowly ease him into Canada’s fold, and his recent play for club and country suggests a big breakout could be coming for the 21-year-old in 2025. Based on his potential, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him step up and become a key part of this team going forward.
Yet, that’ll be the big thing to watch out for, the fact that Canada has options to pick from when looking at names who could step up in 2025.
First, there are the names who are already in the fold but growing into bigger roles, such as Sigur, Nathan Saliba, Tani Oluwaseyi, Theo Bair, Jacen Russell-Rowe, Luc De Fougerolles, Jamie Knight-Lebel and Kwasi Poku, and then there are those who could still commit to the team and help, like dual nationals such as Promise David, Jovan Ivanisevic, Santiago López, Shola Jimoh, Grady McDonnell and others that might not even be known yet.
The hunt for new talent is on, as Jesse Marsch reveals his strategy for recruiting dual nationals to play for the #CanMNT 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/ZDAaXj2DCt
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) July 16, 2024
Some might look at that list and see a lot of names that are still a while away from contributing, but that’s the thing it’s important to remember in this sport - things can happen quickly, especially when it comes to player development.
A year ago, Bombito was entering his sophomore season in MLS with the Colorado Rapids and was just looking to stake out a regular role at that level, let alone earn a regular role with Canada. Now, less than 12 months after he kicked off the 2024 season with the Rapids, he’s a key part of Marsch’s defence and has been a revelation in Ligue 1 with OGC Nice after a big transfer this summer.
Now, Marsch will look to find other youngsters who might be charting a similar path in North America or Europe and look to embed them into his team, helping further grow that depth while opening the door for another key contributor to emerge from out of nowhere like Bombito did.
Evolve the identity:
Otherwise, one key aspect Marsch will look to focus on is the next step of this team’s evolution on the field.
Tactically, Marsch hasn’t been one to hide his plans for this team - he wants them to play aggressively and directly, making opponents comfortable with their press, high line and direct possession play.
And to his credit, it’s proven to be a good fit for this team - armed with athletic and technical players, they’ve proven capable of fulfilling the physical, mental and tactical components of this team with ease.
The #CanMNT high press (we're calling it Mäplepressing?) worked wonders against the #USMNT... but why (and how) does it work so effectively?
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) September 10, 2024
Here's what Stephen Eustaquio and Jesse Marsch had to say 🍁 pic.twitter.com/neJQ2eHuxK
As a result, they’ve already been able to put together some big performances despite being so early into Marsch’s tenure, after there was some worry about how his system would work in international football.
But now, they face a big challenge. In 2024, they were a big surprise - there’s no better example of that than their run at Copa América, where they didn’t just catch the attention of Canadians, but impressed several onlookers with how they went about their business.
For people who hadn’t heard of this Canadian team, or had only seen them at the 2022 World Cup, it was easy to be impressed by how this group went about their business on the pitch, not shying away from tough tests.
Unfortunately for Canada, that success comes with a cost - they’ll now lose their element of surprise. Having seen what this team can do when they play the way they want to, teams will now start to do what they can to stop that.
We’ve already started to see the effects of that in recent matches - after watching the US seemingly play into Canada’s trap in a famous 2-1 Canada win over the US in Kansas in September, Mexico responded by playing a physical, low-event game later that week that finished 0-0.
Then, in matches against Panama and Suriname, Canada faced similar resistance, as despite being teams that can play expansive, free-flowing soccer, both teams elected to use a chippy, physical approach that saw them sit deeper on the field and forced Canada to adjust their style of play.
Yet, that’ll be the next step in Canada’s evolution - finding a way to still impose their style of play even when teams set up to nullify their strengths.
To their credit, they gave a glimpse of what that might look like in that two-legged Nations League quarter-final against Suriname - after putting up one of their worst pressing performances under Marsch in leg one, they responded with their best showings, which was positive to see.
Now, however, they must find different ways to attack teams that might see what Mexico, Panama and Suriname did and mimic that approach.
NEW FEATURE 🚨
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) September 15, 2024
✍️ by @AlexGangueRuzic
Wait.. what's 'Maplepressing'!? 🍁
Breaking down Jesse Marsch's high-press tactical system for the #CanMNT (with 𝗔 𝗟𝗢𝗧 of visual examples) 👀 🇨🇦
READ 👉 https://t.co/phMXRleo6y pic.twitter.com/dlPW5zBWF7
In particular, Canada must find a way to be more dangerous in possession, especially when facing low blocks, while figuring out the best way to create those transition moments where they’re so dangerous, be it through their press or other avenues.
To do that, it might require some tactical tweaks, be it in terms of the formation they employ, or the players they use. Marsch has started to experiment with both of those things, so it isn’t as if he’s proven to be someone who will only use one formation with a certain set of players, but that experimentation will need to continue in 2025.
Because of that, look for this Canadian team to make the most of their chances to try out something new. They might not tweak much for the Nations League semi-finals, for example, but summer friendlies or the Gold Cup could be a good opportunity, among others.
If they can do that, it could be crucial heading into 2026, helping give them the flexibility to help navigate games where they won’t be able to do what they do best under Marsch - which is to press teams high and hit them in transition. 
Further prove themselves against giants:
Lastly, a big thing this side will want to do is to package all that they’ll take from these previous points, and apply it in some matches against top sides.
Even though Canada won’t have the luxury of another Copa América to provide them with matchups against top opposition, they’ll look to schedule some friendlies, with windows in June and the fall looking like strong opportunities to play some of the bigger teams.
That’s huge, as friendlies against the Netherlands and France in 2024 proved to be very important learning lessons for this team, and that was despite playing them very early into Marsch’s tenure.
By playing them, they were able to directly put their learnings into practice against two top teams, giving them a proof of concept that fuelled their success at the Copa América.
So if they can find a way to schedule some more friendlies against top 20 opposition, this could now serve as a chance to see how far they’ve come in learning that proof of concept, one that will have evolved significantly already, and will only continue to grow if they have success in the Nations League.
Maxime Crepeau comes up HUGE on Kylian Mbappe late and the #CanMNT 🇨🇦 pick up a 0-0 draw vs. France 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/RJCMRKc3xQ
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) June 9, 2024
Naturally, the big challenge with these friendlies will be finding opponents who are available to play - all Conmebol teams are booked until at least September, the top AFC teams are locked in until June (but could be free in September), the CAF teams will be free in June, and UEFA teams will be mostly locked in from March onwards except for a select few who are available in June.
But as long as Canada is willing to be flexible, they should be able to put something together. They might not be able to chase their ideal scenario of having several high-profile friendlies on Canadian soil, but they should at least be able to have one or two big matches in Canada, and then can fill the gaps by heading out on the road.
Ultimately, they can only stand to gain from these friendlies, especially those at home - they’ll learn from playing this calibre of opposition no matter what, and can help generate buzz for 2026 by playing at home - so there are plenty of good reasons to want to make this happen.
Because of that, look for them to make the most of this opportunity - as an upcoming World Cup co-host, a team on the rise and a team in need of high-calibre tests for their two 2026 stadiums, there should be a chance to put together some intriguing matches, ones that will help them on and off the field.
