Standing on the pitch at BMO Field is a little bit different these days.
For Canada men’s national team head coach Jesse Marsch, the towering new stands on either end of Toronto FC’s home ground start to make things feel more real.
Injury challenges
This month was supposed to be about beginning the fine-tuning for Canada’s 2026 FIFA World Cup opener on June 12, with friendlies against Iceland (March 28) and Tunisia (March 31) at Toronto’s lakeside stadium.
And in a way, seemingly as fast as his team’s counter-pressing attacks can be, the situation changed.
With former Vancouver Whitecaps defender and FC Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies injured, along with LAFC midfielder Stephen Eustáquio and several other key players, Canada’s March camp pivoted from World Cup preparation – and an expanded roster plan of up to 30 players – to what Marsch calls a “performance camp,” focusing on the larger pool and healthy options.
"If everybody's 100% fit, I could probably pick 24 or 25 guys right now for a World Cup squad. But the reality is not everybody will be in 100% form and fitness,” Marsch told reporters on Thursday after naming a 26-man roster.
“We didn't want to have a camp that was full of 10 or 11 injured guys. This will be an opportunity for some new faces to be in the camp and learn what we do and make a case for themselves, and an obvious chance for everyone to make one last impression.”
New faces
When the team gathers in Toronto, there will be three players who have never played an official CanMNT match.
Striker Aribim Pepple enters after scoring 10g/0a in his last 11 games with English third-tier side Plymouth Argyle, while Tigres UANL winger and former Mexico international Marcelo Flores arrives following his club’s Concacaf Champions Cup victory over FC Cincinnati. Additionally, goalkeeper Owen Goodman returns to the mix.
While it won’t make squad selection any easier, the players sitting on the fringes will get an opportunity to impress, whether for this summer or in the future.
“It was relatively easy once the injuries started to add up, that this was the right strategy to have,” Marsch said.
“I don't want to put too much pressure on anyone. I want them all to commit to the continued process that we've put in place and make sure that when they're called upon, they're ready to perform.”
Ralph Priso’s rise
Ex-Whitecap Derek Cornelius, now with Scottish powerhouse Rangers, returns from injury at center back and will likely see minutes alongside Chicago Fire FC’s Joel Waterman, Vancouver’s Ralph Priso and Portland Timbers’ Kamal Miller, all contending for just one or two World Cup spots.
After impressing with the Whitecaps and in Canada’s 1-0 win over Guatemala in the January camp, Priso offers an intriguing profile. His pace, freshness to the position and age are to his advantage
“[Priso] may have found a really good home for himself [at center back],” Marsch said of the 23-year-old.
“What I like about Ralph is that he has an ease to him, a natural fearlessness, and still a lot of football that no matter how you use him, he winds up inserting himself in the game and being a positive.”
MLS goalkeeper battle continues
If there’s one question that has defined Canada since 2022, it’s goalkeeping. Who will be the World Cup starter, between Inter Miami’s Dayne St. Clair and Orlando City’s Maxime Crépeau?
As has been the case across the past year, Marsch will give both a game in the window. A World Cup No. 1 decision could come “in May and even get closer to June,” but Marsch will be “ready to make a decision at some point.”
It appears St. Clair has the inside track. Since the March 2025 Concacaf Nations League finals, he has been given the higher-ranked opponent in each two-match window. If that continues, expect to see the 2025 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year against World Cup-bound Tunisia.
“I can just say that I think both of them have continued to show their form there,” Marsch noted of the goalkeepers at their new Florida clubs. “Both of them, I think, continue to push themselves at the highest level to qualify themselves as the starting goalkeeper.”
Luckily for Marsch, the goalkeeper question sees his two best options available, and both have been injury-free for an extended period.
There are likely only a handful of places still unclaimed on Canada’s World Cup squad, and this camp will be vital for some, even if it is far off the initial plan for the penultimate camp.
