Niko Sigur emerging as key player for Canada ahead of Gold Cup quarterfinals

Four years ago, a teenage midfielder named Niko Sigur was a budding U Sports prospect while playing for York University.

Today, at age 21, Sigur is a member of the Canadian men’s national team that is on the verge of advancing to the Concacaf Gold Cup semifinals. Sigur, a native of Burnaby, B.C., has featured in all three games at this year’s competition for Les Rouges, playing 250 out of 270 possible minutes and winning plaudits for his composed and mature performances.

Concacaf took notice of Sigur’s outstanding form this week when he was named to the Gold Cup group stage Best XI. Coach Jesse Marsch will be looking for more of the same from the Hajduk Split midfielder when Canada faces Guatemala in Sunday’s quarterfinal matchup at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

"[When] I watch Niko play week in and week out, I see how good he is. I see how important he has been to Split. I see how strong he is and how intelligent he is,” Marsch said on Saturday.

Sigur appears to be well on his way to establishing himself as a key player for his country ahead of next summer’s FIFA World Cup. If the young midfielder continues on his current trajectory, he could be starting in Canada’s opening match of the tournament on June 12 at Toronto’s BMO Field.

Other coaches might not have been so keen to give such responsibility to Sigur. But he has benefited from playing for a manager in Marsch who has always been keen to give youngsters a chance during his coaching career.

“I've heard along the way, sometimes, that national team managers say you can't develop players. And I totally disagree with that. I think anytime you're a coach, this is your job — to try to maximize potential at all moments that you're together,” Marsch explained.

“There have been a few guys that I've talked about that maybe I haven't always handled perfectly, because we have such competition in our squad that it's not always easy to give players the minutes that I would like to give them — and the minutes they deserve. … [And] that was the case with Niko.”

Things could have been very different for Canada had Sigur pledged his international allegiance to Croatia. Born to parents of Croatian descent, Sigur made his professional debut for Hajduk Split in Croatia’s first division in the spring of 2023. Internationally, he started for Croatia at the 2023 UEFA Under-21 European Championship and was being groomed for the senior team.

But he didn’t make the cut for Croatia’s final roster at Euro 2024 after being named to the team’s standby squad. That presented an opportunity for Marsch, who spoke to the youngster about representing his birth nation. Last August, Sigur committed to Canada after making a FIFA-approved one-time switch.

“After the Euros, I just took a step back. I asked myself, ‘What do I really want?’ I was hoping I'd get called in for the Euros, but after it didn’t happen, I had a deep think. I talked to my parents and my family, and I just thought that this was the right time to make the switch for Canada,” Sigur told Sportsnet after making the switch.

Croatia’s loss has turned out to be Canada’s substantial gain. Sigur debuted for the Canadian men’s team last September in an international friendly against Mexico and has gone on to earn eight caps under Marsch. Sigur had only one start for Canada prior to this month, but Marsch trusted him enough to include the midfielder in his starting XI for all three Gold Cup matches.

The Hajduk Split star, who appears destined for a transfer move to a big European club, has repaid Marsch’s faith with a series of outstanding displays at the continental competition. Operating as a right fullback, Sigur provided Canada with plenty of dangerous attacking play out wide and opened the scoring in Canada’s opening 6-0 win over Honduras in Vancouver.

Sigur picked up a loose ball from 25 yards out and played a pass to captain Jonathan David, who fed a return ball into the box for an onrushing Sigur. The youngster took a quick touch before firing a low drive past the Honduran goalkeeper for his first goal in six appearances for Canada.

He helped Canada keep a tight back line in a 1-1 draw vs. Curaçao in Houston in Canada’s second match and followed that up with his first international assist in a 2-0 win over El Salvador in the group stage finale. Early in the second half, Sigur pounced on an El Salvador giveaway inside its half, drove down the middle, and played a ball into the box for Tajon Buchanan to finish with a powerful shot.

The El Salvador match also showcased his versatility, as he shifted from right fullback into central midfield alongside Mathieu Choinière. Together, the pair helped Canada control the middle of the pitch in an ill-tempered match.

“I thought he played his first match in midfield for the Canadian national team [vs. El Salvador], and he was almost flawless in his performance,” Marsch said.

“For a young player, he's incredibly intelligent and savvy, and he has a really good combination of combativeness with footballing intelligence. It's something you can use at any position on the pitch. I really like him — I obviously like him when he plays right back — but I think his true best position is midfield, and I think he showed that last game.”

Guatemala is 106th in the current FIFA world rankings, well below 30th-ranked Canada, so Marsch's men have to be considered the heavy favourites. If Canada wins, it’ll advance to next week’s semifinals in St. Louis, where it'll face the winner of Sunday’s quarterfinal clash between the United States (No. 16) and Costa Rica (No. 54).

Canada leads the all-time series against Guatemala with 10 wins and three draws in 15 all-time meetings. Guatemala has lost four of its last six games vs. Canada, with its previous victory coming in a 2-0 road match on Aug. 18, 2004, in World Cup qualifying. This will be the third Gold Cup meeting between the two nations — Canada has one win and one draw.