The Canadian men’s national soccer team has arguably never been more flush with talent than it is right now.
From players like Alphonso Davies, Jonathan David, Tajon Buchanan, Stephen Eustáquio, Ismaël Koné, Moïse Bombito and Derek Cornelius, the country has plenty of quality all over the pitch.
At least, that’s the belief of national team manager Jesse Marsch, who is feeling very confident in his team ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
“We are truly a stacked squad now,” Marsch said Friday on Sportsnet's The FAN Morning Show. “One of the biggest challenges is who to play week in and week out, but making sure that all the players are ready, (be it that) they’re from the bench or if they’re unused or if they start, that they’re all ready to perform and commit to everything we do at the highest level.
“ ... We’re all uber excited about the potential of what we can do this summer.”
Leading the way for Canada at the World Cup will be Davies, Team Canada’s captain and all-around best player.
“Alphonso is massively important for us, we’re not afraid to say that,” Marsch explained. “He’s our captain, he’s our most experienced player in terms of the level that he’s played at over the last seven years, so we know we need him, we know how important he is. I spoke with him today and he’s in really good spirits.”
Davies has yet to suit up for Canada this year, but has recently returned from injury with club team Bayern Munich.
Time away from the pitch, Marsch believes, will only serve Davies better in his role as Canada’s captain.
“I think he’s grown up as a person a lot more,” the bench boss added. “The challenges of being injured and the fear of what it means for your career and your life and those things that you go through, like the doubts, I think all of it has led to him being really excited about football again, being excited about leading his country, being excited about being back with the national team and representing at the World Cup.
“He’s a much more mature person than he was a year ago, and I think that will benefit him on the pitch and benefit our team.”
Along with Davies’ leadership, David’s finishing touch is something that the Canadians will likely need.
With 39 goals scored for the red and white, David is Canada’s all-time leading goal-scorer, including the two penalties in Canada’s friendly against Iceland on March 28.
Finding the back of the net has been a concern for Canada for a little while now. The team hasn’t scored more than two goals since a 3-0 win over Romania in September, and no more than three goals since its 6-0 eruption against Honduras during last year’s Gold Cup.
Marsch acknowledged this issue, but said it’s also part of the club’s tactical philosophy.
“There’s been a lot of questions about the team not getting enough goals and 'are we using Jonathan David the right way?' I think those are all fair enough questions for people to ask,” Marsch said. “I feel strongly that we have enough firepower and, of course, I would have liked us to execute a little bit more in the final third and convert more of our chances into goals, but we’re creating chances every game and we’re getting to the point where we’re actually dominating many matches against very good opponents.
“I think that, coupled with the fact that we hardly give any chances away – like we hardly even allow opponents into our own box, let alone chances and goals – those are the trends that I think are really important.
“Scoring goals at the World Cup is, obviously, very difficult, but not giving them away is of incredible importance. … So, I’m always thinking about ways to make us better, but I’m really reinforcing every day the idea of how hard Canada is to play against and how much can we make the life of the opponent miserable so that when they see us play and when they know they have to play against us they know they’re in for a long day.”
Marsch’s theory held true against Tunisia in the team’s most recent friendly as far as dominating that game. The Canadians held possession for 58 per cent of the match and had an expected goal rate of 1.96, regardless of never managing to find the back of the net.
Canada next plays Uzbekistan and Ireland on June 1 and 5 in its final two friendlies before it begins its World Cup campaign against Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 12 at BMO Field in Toronto.
