Who is new CanMNT call-up Promise David? What you need to know about the other David tearing up Europe
Over the years, Canadians have become accustomed to seeing a striker named David scoring goals for their national team, as Jonathan David has been a key part of the squad for over a half-decade now.
Over that span, David has become the team's all-time leading scorer with 31 goals, all before his 25th birthday – it's why he's expected to continue adding plenty more goals to his total in the years to come, given that he so quickly became the team's most important offensive player.
But now? He won't be the only David looking to score goals for his country.
Enter one Promise David, the 23-year-old striker currently in the midst of a breakout season for Union St-Gilloise in Belgium's Jupiler Pro League. Goal after goal after goal has pushed Promise onto the radar for his first CanMNT call-up, and after filing his one-time switch last month, he earned his debut call-up for Canada's Concacaf Nations League finals roster.
He's not related to Jonathan, but he's found a similar path into the CanMNT – before J. David became one of the hottest strikers in Europe at Lille OSC, he also made a name for himself in Belgium with some strong individual seasons at KAA Gent.
While both Davids have a knack for goal, it's worth noting that both players are also quite different – Promise is an out-and-out striker with the physical tools to dominate games, while Jonathan is more of a second-striker who can drop deeper and help link up play like an attacking midfielder, before operating as a forward to finish actions.
That last point is key: Given how both players play (and that Promise is no slouch when it comes to linking up play, either), there's a reality where both can fit together quite nicely up front for Canada – a duo that would be a nightmare for defenders and commentators alike.
Here's a look at what we can expect from the new David set to rock Canada's colours under Jesse Marsch.
Physical tools make him stand out
While Promise David's goalscoring ability has been the biggest standout attribute from this breakout season, it's worth noting that he also quite literally stands out from his peers on the field due to his size.
Listed at 6-foot-5, Promise towers over a lot of the players he goes up against – including defenders and goalkeepers – which can make for one heck of a sight when watching his matches. Naturally, this makes him a target for a lot of physical play; that's always a trade-off that big forwards will face. To his credit though, and despite his height, Promise can hold his own in physical duels.
More importantly, he makes sure to not rely on his size too much, as he instead has a few other skills in his locker which he prefers to use.
First, there's his pace – another of his standout attributes. Oftentimes, strikers of his size can look gangly, with their running styles usually looking strange and uncoordinated. Promise, however, displays an effective long stride, making him a threat in offensive transitions for USG. As a result, a lot of goals come in situations where he can punish teams who try to get close to him, with an eye on engaging him in a physical duel.
While his size and speed are key attributes, don't discount his footwork, either. It's the skill that ties everything else together for him.
Promise is very comfortable receiving the ball in his feet, doing well to dribble without losing speed, while having the deft touch to be comfortable in holding up the ball and finding teammates. He essentially dares defences to pick their poison: Mark him too tightly, and he risks beating you for pace... but if you leave too much room, he's comfortable receiving the ball and attacking the space in front of him, too.
That's reflected in his goal catalogue. There are plenty of examples of him getting in behind defences and finishing, but there are also examples of him finding ways to score against low blocks, be it on runs where he attacked flat-footed defenders on the dribble or at the end of crosses.
As seen by his handful of assists (he has five assists in all competitions to go along with 16 goals, by the way!), he also does a good job of finding his teammates, too, which gives opposing defenders yet another thing to worry about.
Not a bad set of skills, eh?
So what do the numbers say about him?
The biggest standout point from Promise David's season has been his numbers – naturally, that's what strikers are judged on.
Not only does he have 16 goals and 5 assists in all competitions, but he's done well to step up and score at key moments for USG too, with goals against top Belgian sides like Genk, Gent and Liège, as well as in Europa League against Ajax Amsterdam.
It took a while for him to find his feet – he only became a full-time starter in November after bouncing in and out of the squad before then – but once he got his full-time shot, Promise hasn't looked back, scoring 13 of his goals and adding all 5 assists in 20 appearances across all competitions since November 1st.
What's fascinating about USG is that they're one of the best sides in Europe at scouting by using analytics, scouring lesser-known leagues for talent. Promise David's signing is a prime example of that: He was playing in Estonia last year, but USG wanted him as he was tearing that league up, scoring 14 goals and adding three assists in 16 league games to start 2024.
For those who have followed him since his Estonia stint, they won't be surprised to see how he's done in Belgium, although it's still fascinating to see how seamlessly he's transitioned to playing at a higher level.
A deeper look at his numbers just shows how seamless of a transition it's been, too - he has scored his 11 goals on 11.25 Expected Goals in JPL action, showing that he generates chances at a strong rate, which indicates this current scoring rate is sustainable long-term.
That's further reflected in other offensive numbers across all competitions (via WyScout) - he generates 2.56 shots, 0.95 key passes, 4.92 touches in the box, 3.71 dribbles and 1.51 passes into the box per 90 minutes, as well as 0.69 xG +0.12 xA and 0.70 goals+0.20 assists per 90 minutes showing that he knows how to get into dangerous areas, where he creates chances for himself and teammates.
For comparison purposes, if you look at forwards in the top five leagues, David's 0.9 goals+assists per 90 would put him in the top 30, in the same bracket as forwards such as Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland. Of course, there's the caveat that the Belgian league isn't as strong as the top five leagues, but given that it's his first season at this level, that makes his numbers still look quite impressive.
Plus, it's not as if he can't replicate these numbers at a higher level - take Victor Boniface, as an example. The Bayer Leverkusen striker is averaging 0.8 goals+assists per 90 in 24/25 and had 1.2 G+A per 90 during Leverkusen's title-winning season in 23/24, having made that move after a 0.6 G+A/90 campaign (16 goal and 10 assists in all competitions) with none other than USG in 22/23, showing that David could very well follow in his footsteps in making a move to a top five league given his output this season.
Still with us? Good. In simpler terms: Promise David, at 23 years old, is showing all the, well... promise you'd hope to see out of a striker who teams at an even higher level would be looking to pick up.
A perfect fit with Canada?
For the immediate future, Promise David won't be thinking about making that jump to a higher level (although Jesse Marsch wouldn't be mad about it), as his focus will be in cracking this Canadian squad long-term as a starter.
He has every chance of doing so, as the striker position remains quite open... for the most part.
There is one lock up front – Jonathan David – but given that Marsch has preferred to play him underneath an out-and-out striker, the big battle ahead of the 2026 World Cup will be to see who that other striker is.
For the most part, Cyle Larin has been that guy, but given that he's in the midst of another hot-cold season for RCD Mallorca and has struggled to score as consistently as hoped for Canada over the past two years, the door is open for someone to overtake him. So far, no one has yet staked a firm claim to Larin's spot, but Promise David could be the one to do so given his form and his potentially harmonious skill-set.
To do it, Promise will need to make the most of substitute opportunities to start, before potentially earning a longer look at the Concacaf Gold Cup later this summer, or in friendlies in June and in the fall. He won't be the only one looking forward all the way to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, though: While Larin could use the motivation to secure his starting role,Tani Oluwaseyi, Jacen Russell-Rowe, Theo Bair, new commit Daniel Jebbison and others will also figure into that battle.
But... given that this group of striker options have combined for just one goal since Marsch's hiring (coming from Larin in a friendly vs. Panama last fall), the door is still wide open for David - at least, for now. Can he seize the opportunity?
