It has been a long time since we last saw the Canadian men’s national team on home soil. Remember that dreadful 3-2 loss to Jamaica in the Nations League back in November of last year? I’ll forgive you if you had forgotten about it — it was tortuous!
Of course, those were different days for this program. Ever since that fateful night, the men’s team has been on a very different trajectory.
Despite that loss, Canada would qualify for Copa América, where of course it earned accolades as THE surprise team in that brilliant and unexpected run to the semifinals under the guidance of new head coach Jesse Marsch.
As for the team itself, the meat of the squad that allowed Jamaica three second-half goals still makes up the current group that returns to the national stadium. In that defeat, Milan Borjan was in goal, Mark Anthony-Kaye came off the bench and Steven Vitoria was still on the roster. There has been some significant turnover since then. In fact, with 17 players under the age of 25 on the roster today, Marsch’s squad for the Panama match on Tuesday is dominated by youth.
We do need to remember that this test will be a friendly and, as is the case with friendlies, it does allow a coach to experiment and try some new things. The trouble is that with relatively few opportunities to gather as a group between now and next summer’s Gold Cup, and then of course the 2026 World Cup a year later, you can forgive Marsch for wanting to get his preferred group on the pitch at the same time as much as possible.
There is also the small matter of next month’s Nations League quarterfinals. Big! The Nations League provides Canada with a genuine opportunity to win a trophy and it needs to be taken seriously. With that in mind, I expect Marsch to field a strong team to start the match on Tuesday, but the likelihood of seeing some new and fresh faces as the match progresses is strong.
So, all that said, here are three managerial moves I am interested to see. To be clear, I do not necessarily think we will see these, but I would like to see these nonetheless:
• Kwasi Poku given some significant time to show the coaching staff what he has to offer. Call this purely selfish, but as a fan of the Canadian Premier League, I want to see a CPL product blast his way onto the big stage. Since his mid-season move from Forge FC to RWD Molenbeek in Belgium, the Brampton, Ont., native has not skipped a beat with three goals in six matches. With an ability to play across the front three, Poku offers Canada’s attack some real versatility, and attacking depth can never be taken for granted.
• Alphonso Davies and Sam Adekugbe reignite their bromance on the left. This would mean a couple of “massively” controversial changes. Firstly, it means Davies pushes further forward from his and Marsch’s preferred full-back position. Secondly, it means Jacob Shaffelburg loses his spot, which sounds ludicrous given his form for his country. And it is, but this is a friendly, right? Remember, Adekugbe was John Herdman’s go-to left-back for some of Canada’s most important matches in history. His lung-busting runs, brutal tackling, and the ability to dive into a snowbank have become part of Canadian soccer lore. Injury has prevented Marsch from utilizing the Vancouver man properly, but linking the two dynamic forces once again is worth a shot.
• Let’s just keep this Mathieu Choinière and Stephen Eustaquio central midfield partnership together for some more reps to let it marinate and mature, as it could be a key component in the coming years. This is no statement on Ismaël Koné, who misses out again through injury, but with Choinière now playing his football at stepping-stone club Grasshopper in Switzerland, he is officially on the scene. Against Mexico and the U.S. last month, he demonstrated versatility and a real desire to want the ball at his feet, even in a more advanced role at times. Koné still trends as the heir apparent to Atiba Hutchinson, but with the arrival of Adrien Rabiot at Marseille, he will be in a battle for minutes at his club. Canada’s midfield suddenly looks deeper than perhaps it ever has, and developing some new partnerships seems like a smart move on the coaching staff’s part.