Diving into 5 players who could benefit MOST from the CanMNT’s January Camp
The CanMNT have wasted no time in revealing their squad for their first camp of the year, as they get set for a friendly against Guatemala as part of a January Camp that kicks off later this week.
Naturally, there aren’t many surprises on that list, which was revealed on Tuesday. Last month, we previewed what a potential January camp squad could look like, and everyone who was named in Jesse Marsch’s squad on Tuesday all featured in that earlier piece.
CAMP POUTINE ROSTER DROP 🍟
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) January 6, 2026
Here is the 20-player CanMNT 🇨🇦 squad for the first camp of 2026, where they play Guatemala 🇬🇹 on Jan. 17 ✨
MORE DETAILS: https://t.co/A2sk3yokvv pic.twitter.com/Sq6XUEPyqQ
At the same time, it’s not as if this camp was expected to provide many surprises. While it will provide a great opportunity for some new players to showcase themselves, it’ll also allow some more established players to further cement their status within the squad.
In particular, the most fascinating group of players are those who are yet to establish themselves as locks in Canada’s 2026 World Cup squad, as this camp can be a great chance for them to start staking their claim towards that spot going forward.
Because of that, it’s worth diving into some of the players who could stand to benefit most from this camp when looking through that lens of trying to crack the 2026 World Cup squad.
Here’s a look at five of those players who will hope to shine in this camp.
Jayden Nelson:
After not featuring for the CanMNT much in previous years, Jayden Nelson became a bit of a regular in 2025, becoming a key squad player for Jesse Marsch.
Having not earned a call since the 2023 Gold Cup, he returned to the CanMNT for the first time in the June window and didn’t miss a camp the rest of 2026 from there, making seven appearances along the way.
Considering he entered 2025 with just five appearances to his name, it’s been a big leap for Nelson, and now he’ll look to take another leap by cementing himself in Canada’s 2026 World Cup squad.
If he’s going to do that, though, he’ll want to prove that he can be a reliable option off the bench, which is where he could provide true value to this team. With Tajon Buchanan, Ali Ahmed and Liam Millar vying for starting minutes out wide (and you can’t discount Alphonso Davies as a potential wing option), Nelson’s best chance at making the team will be a supersub who can stretch games in the last 30 minutes.
With his speed and creativity, he can bring the sort of relentless running on both sides of the ball that Canada could use later in matches - there’s a reason why Marsch has been such a fan of Nelson’s play last year.
GOAL 🏔️🏔️
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) August 13, 2025
Tristan Blackmon ➡️ Jayden Nelson ⤴️ Brian White 🟰 💥#VWFC go up 2-1 over Forge FC in this TELUS #CanChamp semi-final LEG 1 clash 🇨🇦 🏆
🔴 Watch LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/dhZsP5rxEt
Unfortunately, Nelson wasn’t able to generate any goal contributions in his 2025 appearances with Canada, but he has had some lively performances, which was encouraging to see, showing that he can potentially play that exact sort of supersub role.
Because of that, look for him to try and generate some offence against Guatemala. Having made a big move to Austin FC to help raise his stock at the club level, Nelson is setting himself up for a good year, and a good January camp would further back up that notion.
Jacen Russell-Rowe:
After not earning a single call-up in 2025, Jacen Russell-Rowe is back in for the first time since September 2024, as he looks to make a late push to crack an already busy Canadian striker group.
Having suffered significantly from the arrivals of high-profile dual nationals Promise David and Daniel Jebbison in March 2025, which deepened an already competitive striker pool, Russell-Rowe will look to take advantage of a camp where all of Canada’s other main options are unavailable due to their club commitments in Europe.
While he’ll be in tough to get ahead of the likes of P. David, Jebbison, Jonathan David, Tani Oluwaseyi, Cyle Larin and Theo Bair, at the end of the day, any striker will have a chance if they can find form at the right time.
And quietly, all Russell-Rowe has done at the club level is produce solid numbers, as he followed up an eight-goal, three-assist season in 2024 with a 10-goal, three-assist campaign in 2025.
OH MY. 4-0. IT'S OVER.@ColumbusCrew // Audi MLS Cup Playoffs pic.twitter.com/M8zwSsEekg
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) November 3, 2025
Still just 23 years of age, Russell-Rowe still has growth to come in his game, too, as he has yet to fully hit his potential with the Columbus Crew, as he’s struggled to nail down a consistent starting role despite his consistent production.
Perhaps, 2026 can be the year he does that, especially if he can find some confidence in this camp, one that reinvigorates his once distant World Cup dreams.
As many will tell you, strikers are quite volatile, so all it’ll take is Russell-Rowe getting hot and a couple of factors falling his way, and he could burst into the picture just at the right moment ahead of the World Cup.
Marcelo Flores:
Once upon a time, Marcelo Flores seemed unlikely to ever play for Canada, given that he was already earning appearances for the Mexican National team as a teenager.
Fast forward a few years, though, and a 22-year-old Flores could make a surprise move in 2026, as he’s now eligible to file a one-time switch from Mexico, given that his last appearance with them was more than three years ago (in June 2022), and that he hasn’t made more than three appearances before turning 21.
It’s a surprise turn of events, but one that appears to benefit Canada - that’s why Marsch wasted no time in inviting Flores to a camp last year as a training player. Typically, players with a profile like Flores’s don’t grow on trees, especially for a Canadian team that doesn’t seem to produce a lot of attacking midfielders.
Therefore, while Flores may not have yet hit the heights many thought he would when he was still at Arsenal’s academy, as his move to Liga MX hasn’t yielded the return most would’ve hoped, it’s hard to turn your nose up at a 22-year-old who has almost 100 professional appearances under his belt.
Certainly, Marsch seems to see a lot of potential in Flores, and maybe that can be what sparks Flores to hit another level as a player. There’s no doubting his talent, but as is often the case with young attackers, there are questions about his play off the ball, especially defensively.
"Alfie Jones? He's maybe even more Canadian than he knew!" 😅
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) November 12, 2025
Jesse Marsch offers his assessment of Alfie Jones, Owen Goodman and Marcelo Flores – the 3 new dual-nationals called up to the CanMNT 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/iBvfCDkCxg
Typically, though, Marsch has done a good job of coaxing that sort of work out of players, for both country and club, and Flores can benefit from that.
Therefore, for Flores, there’d be no better way for him to show that than with a strong performance against Guatemala. Given that he appears to need to file a switch to play in that match, since it was designated as an “A” friendly, it’d be a good opportunity for him to show his commitment to this team on and off the field, which could jumpstart a big breakout year for him.
Given that he has just one goal and no assists so far in the 2025-2026 campaign, he’ll certainly be hoping a big breakout is coming, no matter what happens with his international future, but Canadians will hope that he’ll be representing Canada by the time that happens, should it be this year.
Ralph Priso:
One of several first-time CanMNT call-ups for this window, Ralph Priso might genuinely have the best shot of all of them at cracking the World Cup squad, which is a testament to the work he put in last year.
Heading into 2025, he would’ve been happy just to be earning semi-regular minutes for the Vancouver Whitecaps - by the end of the year, 46 appearances later, he was an undisputed starter… at centre back.
Yet, that last point is a big reason why Priso could have a shot at making this World Cup squad. Canada’s depth is quite good at centre back now, thanks to the emergence of new names such as Moïse Bombito, Luc De Fougerolles and Alfie Jones, but Canada has several injury concerns at the back heading into next summer.
Because of that, you have to think that Priso has an outside chance at making the World Cup squad, even as outlandish as that proposition may sound at first.
RALPH PRISO CAME IN CLUTCH! 😤#VWFC | #DALvVAN pic.twitter.com/9rOrJsgV6I
— Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) November 2, 2025
Firstly, his style of play is a big reason why. Despite being quite undersized for a centre back, he showed excellent strength and aggression when playing centre back, doing well to handle the physical challenge of playing big centre forwards. His play across the 2025 MLS Cup playoffs speaks for itself in that regard, as he was one of the Whitecaps' best players during their run to the MLS Cup final.
Secondly, there’s the fact that he can cover in midfield, which is quite valuable for a Canadian team that could always use protection at that position. Plus, more specifically, they don’t have many true #6s, as most of their midfielders are #8s, so it wouldn’t hurt to have someone who could go and shut down the game as a #6, in the mould of a modern Samuel Piette.
Plus, to further add to his case, Marsch has really seemed to like centre-backs who have converted to the position after playing in midfield. For context, Bombito, De Fougerolles and Jones all fit that description, and so does Joel Waterman.
With how aggressively Marsch wants his defenders to play, defenders who have played in midfield seemed to be more comfortable with making the sort of aggressive lunges and tight-touch marking that this system needs from them, which is to Priso’s benefit.
Because of that, look for Marsch to give Priso a look in this Guatemala game, even if it means sacrificing someone like Kamal Miller, who has gone from regular to rotation piece ever since Marsch’s arrival.
Zorhan Bassong:
To be honest, this last player could also be Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty and Matteo de Brienne, so while Bassong’s name headlines this section, all three will be mentioned here.
The reason for that, however, is due to the injury trouble Canada has had at full back, which has opened the door for some new faces to slot in at the position.
Zorhan Bassong pulls one back for @SportingKC. 👀
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) April 26, 2025
GAME ON! pic.twitter.com/PO5lzXD5jG
In 2025, Bassong benefited most from that injury trouble, as he was in every squad Marsch named last year after not being included in a Canadian squad since a January camp call-up in 2020. He saw the field, too, making five appearances (two starts), not looking out of place in any of those cameos.
Because of that, it feels like he has the lead in this hypothetical race, as Marsch has seemed to trust him ahead of the other options.
At the same time, Marshall-Rutty and de Brienne have every opportunity to supplant them, starting in this camp. At the club level, both had strong 2025 seasons - Marshall-Rutty with Charlotte FC, and de Brienne with GAIS - with Marshall-Rutty even earning a CanMNT senior call-up in the fall off the back of that play.
Pep Biel brace alert! 🚨
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) July 17, 2025
He doubles @CharlotteFC’s lead! pic.twitter.com/j6bMcqrcat
Interestingly, all three of these full-backs have the versatility to play elsewhere on the pitch, as Bassong has played in midfield, Marshall-Rutty can play anywhere out wide, and de Brienne has had stints as a winger and a striker, but how they play will be the thing to watch.
Bassong is probably the more well-rounded name, Marshall-Rutty is more offensively inclined, and de Brienne has the work rate on both sides of the ball, so it’ll be seen which of those skillsets stands out to Marsch when he evaluates them.
1-0 GAIS mot Häcken! Amin Boudri nickar in bollen vid bortre stolpen 👀
— Sports on HBO Max 🇸🇪 (@sportshbomaxse) August 31, 2025
📲 Se matchen på HBO Max pic.twitter.com/cCKIpw9OWf
Certainly, though, look for spirited performances from all three of them, as they’ll have seen the opportunity that is there for one of them to potentially make some noise, given the uncertainty Canada has at the full-back position due to injuries.
