AGR: Promise David adds to growing case for a CanMNT starting role with goal vs. Venezuela
Given the impressive catalogue of goals he’s amassed over the last few years, Promise David’s marker against Venezuela wasn’t exactly one to write home about.
If anything, it could be argued that he benefited from the excellent work of teammate Niko Sigur, who made an impressive, gut-busting run down the right flank before teeing up an open David with a perfect low cross into the box. Because of that, it’s hard to rank this marker ahead of David’s other two Canadian goals, which were an impressive solo effort in a friendly vs. Ukraine and a deft chip in a Gold Cup match against Honduras.
Yet, there was something about the way David took this goal against Venezuela, as he calmly controlled the ball on his first touch, before passing the ball into the bottom left corner.
GOAL 🇨🇦🇨🇦
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) November 19, 2025
PROMISE DAVID finishes a perfect low cross by Niko Sigur to give the CanMNT a 2-0 lead over Venezuela 🇻🇪
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For a Canadian team looking for answers up front, it was a finish that appeared like a mirage in their goalless desert - and that can’t be ignored.
Having entered this Venezuela match on a run of three games without a goal, this Canadian team would’ve taken just about anything in terms of offence, to be fair - that there was palpable relief after Ismaël Koné’s first-half opener against Venezuela, which took a heavy deflection en route to the goal, speaks for itself.
GOAL 🇨🇦
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) November 19, 2025
Ismael Kone gets the scoring started for the CanMNT 🇨🇦 vs. Venezuela 🇻🇪 with a great first touch setting up his finish 🎯
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With David’s goal, however, which put Canada up 2-0 late in the match, there was extra joy, and for good reason.
Given that he was making just his eighth appearance with the CanMNT, having only debuted in June of this year, it was a reminder of a growing school of thought - that David might be deserving of a bigger role in a Canadian shirt going forward, perhaps as a starter.
Certainly, when considering that his three CanMNT goals have now come in just 201 minutes of work, his numbers are starting to speak for themselves, too.
With that third goal, David has now scored the fourth most goals of any player since Jesse Marsch has taken charge, with only Jonathan David (11 goals), Tajon Buchanan (4 goals) and Jacob Shaffelburg (4 goals) sitting ahead of the 6’5” Union St-Gilloise striker.
For context, that’s more than Tani Oluwaseyi (2 goals), who Marsch said last week is in the ‘pole position’ to start alongside Jonathan David at the World Cup, and Cyle Larin (1 goal), who has been the other name to earn the bulk of starts up front in Marsch’s tenure - in fact, David (Promise, that is) now has as many goals as Oluwaseyi and Larin, combined.
Jesse Marsch on Tani Oluwaseyi being his preferred starter up top alongside Jonathan David for the CanMNT 🇨🇦
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) November 13, 2025
"Tani has established himself right now... but whether you start or come off the bench, you will play a massive role." pic.twitter.com/SZAJBGcOYx
All of a sudden, for a team looking for answers up front, it’s becoming hard to ignore David, who has started just twice in his eight CanMNT caps, with his average appearance lasting around 25 minutes.
No matter how long he’s on the pitch, he creates goals, as he once again showed vs. Venezuela.
Just look at those 201 minutes that he’s now played for Canada, which help paint a picture of how productive David has been despite his limited role.
In those 201 minutes, not only has he scored three times, but he’s generated 13 shots worth 3.31 xG, while taking 14 touches in the box (all data via OPTA).
When converting that to a per-90 basis, he’s averaging 1.34 goals, 5.8 shots, 1.48 xG and 6.27 touches in the box per 90, which is quite prolific, especially when you pro-rate it across bigger samples. 
Promise David's per game stats with the CanMNT (OPTA)
For example, had David played just 45 minutes in every Canada game this year (14 games), which is 630 minutes (or equivalent of seven full 90-minute starts), David would’ve generated 9.38 goals on 40 shots worth 10.36 xG had he kept up the same numbers, which is quite frankly absurd (a reminder that Jonathan David has a team-leading 11 goals in the Jesse Marsch era, as seen above).
To be fair, it’s not always just to use rate stats like this, as it’s important to note that David’s minutes are skewed, given that he’s come off the bench six times.
Ultimately, it can be easier to rack up good per 90 numbers when coming into games late, especially when considering that all six of David’s substitute appearances have come in games Canada was either leading or drawing, meaning that he was entering typically stretched-out matches that benefit a striker more. He wouldn’t be the first striker to struggle and replicate impressive per 90 stats as a substitute when shifted to a bigger role as a starter, after all.
GOAL 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) June 18, 2025
PROMISE DAVID MAKES IT 5 🔥
Look at the footwork on this effort as the #CanMNT go up 5-0 over Honduras 🇭🇳 amid chants of "We want six!"
🔴 Watch Gold Cup on OneSoccer & TSN pic.twitter.com/sYz01FfKjx
At the same time, you can only play with the hand you’re dealt - and it’s not as if David’s been constantly thrust into ideal situations, either. For example, in Canada’s loss to Australia in October, a match in which David entered in the 63rd minute while the game was still 0-0, he ended up being quite instrumental in Canada’s attempts to equalize once Australia went up 1-0 in the 71st minute.
On that day, he generated four shots worth 0.41 xG and had five touches in the box, as he was quite unlucky not to find the net on the day - showing that he was still able to be impactful despite spending most of his stint off the bench trying to break down a low Australian defensive block.
Plus, you can also look at David’s two starts, where he was also quite dangerous, as a reason why he could be primed to earn a bigger role.
First, he went 45 minutes in his first-ever appearance in a friendly vs. Ukraine in June (only coming off at halftime with a hamstring problem), scoring a goal while generating two shots (worth 0.51 xG) and taking one touch in the box.
Then, he went 62 minutes in a start vs. El Salvador at the Gold Cup, generating three shots worth 0.59 xG and taking two touches in the box (although it’s worth noting that El Salvador went down to nine players in that game due to a pair of red cards).
Yet, that’s the thing that stands out with David’s numbers - whenever he’s on the pitch, he makes things happen, no matter if it’s as a starter or off the bench. Of his eight appearances, he’s only failed to generate a shot twice - against Guatemala at the Gold Cup (where he came on in the 89th minute), and against Colombia in a friendly in October. 
Now, though, it leads to the big question - why has David not earned more minutes despite those impressive numbers?
There, though, the answer is simple - he’s not earned Jesse Marsch’s trust in the same way as fellow strikers Oluwaseyi and Larin due to the work (or lack of) he does defensively.
And when seeing some of the shifts that Oluwaseyi and Larin have put in off the ball, that’s not an outrageous argument to make. For example, in Canada’s draw against Ecuador last week, Oluwaseyi put in a huge performance defensively to help Canada scratch out a 0-0 draw despite an early red card, doing so as a makeshift winger.
Given Marsch’s affinity for pressing and defensive solidity, a shift like that from Oluwaseyi can go a long way towards earning his trust, which helps show why he’s taken pole position in the CanMNT’s striker race.
By comparison, David’s not been the most prolific of defenders, as he’s not capable of pressing with the same intensity as Oluwaseyi or reading passing lanes the same way Larin does.
Yet, that’s the debate that Marsch will now face over the next few months, as he gets set for the next CanMNT camp in March - will it be worth accepting the sacrifice of David’s play off the ball for what he brings on it?
GOAL 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) June 7, 2025
PROMISE DAVID SCORES FOR THE #CANMNT 💥
🇨🇦 Canada go up 3-0 over Ukraine in the 1st half 🇺🇦
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At this stage, there’s no doubt that this team can keep the ball out of their net - they’ve now conceded just 21 goals in 27 games under Marsch, and four of those came in their first match against the Netherlands. In 2025 alone, they conceded just eight goals in 14 games, keeping eight clean sheets, as they’ve blossomed into a formidable defensive unit - one that shouldn’t whither if David starts.
Offensively, though, things have been less smooth, as they’ve scored just 34 goals in those 27 games, and 16 of them came in the four games in which they scored three or more goals. Otherwise, they’ve been shut out in 11 games and have scored just once in six other games, meaning they’ve been held to one goal or fewer in 17 out of 27 games (62.9%).
Because of that, you can see why it’s so tantalizing to insert David as a starter, as it feels like he could definitely help them improve those offensive numbers, based on what he’s been able to produce in his limited appearances so far.
Either way, Canada will have a lot of questions to answer offensively, such as how to reignite Jonathan David after a five-game goalless drought, how to break down low blocks better and how to get their midfielders and full backs more involved in the attack, but the Promise David question will only continue to grow, especially if he continues to score at a strong rate for Union St-Gilloise between now and February.
With his latest goal against Venezuela, he’s already made that argument all the more convincing, which offers Marsch plenty to ponder with the World Cup rapidly approaching - showing why this latest marker from him was so important.
