KEY TAKEAWAYS: Aggression, wide overloads power the CanMNT to 'Camp Poutine' win vs. Guatemala
The CanMNT have kicked off 2026 on a positive note, as they defeated Guatemala 1-0 in a ‘tier-two’ friendly at BMO Stadium on Saturday.
It wasn’t quite a vintage performance from the Canadians, who used a squad mixed with veterans and youngsters alike for this January Camp matchup in Los Angeles, but they managed to secure a victory in the end, showing good commitment and fight despite the occasion, too.
First dub of the year! 🔥
— CANMNT (@CANMNT_Official) January 18, 2026
Première victoire de l’année ! 🔥
🇨🇦 🇬🇹 #CANMNT pic.twitter.com/KAt6rXgnXm
Considering the number of new faces in the team, they’ll more than take that outcome, as they also had several moments where they looked like the exact sort of side that head coach Jesse Marsch wants them to be heading into the World Cup.
Ultimately, that was always going to be the objective of this friendly - for Canada to embed new players into the fold while staying true to their principles - so when considering that, this game will feel like a job well done.
With that in mind, here are three KEY takeaways from this one.
Priso, Russell-Rowe, Henry headline impressive performances:
Naturally, given the nature of this camp, the key thing to watch in this game was always going to be the individual performances of players, given the opportunities that were available to those participating.
With the World Cup around the corner, time is limited for players looking to impress Marsch, making it quite valuable to have a camp like this where they were able to work together in an environment designed to elevate players who might’ve otherwise struggled to earn such an audition in a World Cup year.
At the same time, it’s not as if this was a camp where players were going to waltz in and take anything they didn’t earn, either - with the presence of several key veterans, and Marsch’s commitment to push this team to maintain their standards, new players knew that they were going to have to rise to the occasion if they were to stand out.
What was Jesse Marsch's key impression from this younger CanMNT 🇨🇦 squad and a 1-0 win over Guatemala 🇬🇹?
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) January 18, 2026
"That it looked like us... we really want all of our teams, first team through youth teams, to look like us." pic.twitter.com/eJ63SMha5U
Safe to say, a couple of newer faces did that when called upon.
Firstly, the big winner of this game appeared to be Ralph Priso, who had an impressive 70-minute cameo at centre back. Much as he has when playing that position for the Vancouver Whitecaps, he was extremely aggressive on both sides of the ball, doing well to step up on attackers when he needed to defend, while showing good composure on the ball as he tried to break through Guatemala’s press.
Considering his lack of experience at the position, it was yet another reminder of how good he could be there long term, which could open the door for more opportunities with Canada down the road - perhaps, a March window call-up doesn’t seem so far fetched with all of Canada’s defensive injuries, especially if he gets off to a flying start to 2026 with the Whitecaps. 
Here's a prime example of the sort of play that Ralph Priso has been known for at centre back - he makes a great recovery run to cover for Kamal Miller, and then he shows good physicality to win the duel (OneSoccer)
Otherwise, Toronto FC’s Malik Henry was another big surprise standout, as despite being a late inclusion in the camp due to an injury to Jacob Shaffelburg, he came off the bench and delivered an excellent substitute appearance, one that he capped with an assist. And, more importantly, he was dangerous every time he got on the ball, too, showing the sort of aggression that Marsch likes to see from his wide players.
Yet, that was the theme of the night for Canada - those who were aggressive seemed to be rewarded, and that rang true for debutants such as Priso and Henry as much as it did players like Jayden Nelson and Jacen Russell-Rowe, who have had more experience in this environment, as that pair were also quite good on the day thanks to their aggressive play.
Russell-Rowe, in particular, ended up stealing the show with his goal, one that shows how clinical he can be in the box when called upon, capping off a night in which he had four shots and created two chances. Similarly, Nelson was lively in his 81 minutes on the pitch, taking one shot and creating three chances, as he did well to drive play with his aggressive attacking play - the lone complaint he’ll have with himself is his decision making, as he probably could’ve had a goal contribution or two based on how he played.
In the end, though, Nelson’s performance serves as a good barometer for what some of the younger players, who weren’t able to impress as much as hoped, will look to follow going forward. 
Here's the sort of aggressive play Jesse Marsch will like to see form Jayden Nelson - on this play, he wins the ball back high up the pitch, and drives into the box with the ball. He'll regret not finding a passing option, but it's a good play nonetheless (OneSoccer)
Overall, it wasn’t as if the likes of Rayan Elloumi, Shola Jimoh, Marius Aiyenero and others had poor performances - each had lively moments, in fact - but they were timid at times, as youngsters can often be. For example, some of Jimoh’s best plays were when he ditched safe options for aggressive ones, which is no small detail, as those are the sort of things that stick with Marsch in games like this.
“What I wanted was a performance that looked like our team, that looked like our identity, and that was the challenge I put forward for the players,” Marsch said. “I think that all of them delivered in a really good way.”
Canada continues to stay true to principles - at all costs:
Despite it now almost being two years since Jesse Marsch was hired, it remains fascinating to see how this Canadian side approaches games.
It doesn’t matter if it’s a friendly or a knockout game - this Canadian side likes to impose itself on matches, whenever possible.
Tier 2 friendly vs. Guatemala outside of an international window?
— Ben Steiner (@BenSteiner00) January 18, 2026
Some winter Concafery at its finest.#CanMNT pic.twitter.com/ItLKqYM3Ar
That much was once again clear in this game, as despite it being a January Camp friendly, Canada was playing like it was a World Cup knockout match. For example, had you not known this game was on before coming across it, you would’ve been quite surprised to see some of the challenges that were being made, which raised the temperature of the game early on.
Given that this was a tier-two friendly, that will have been quite a shock for many unfamiliar with this Canadian team to see, but that just shows what this team can be all about.
Now, it must be said, there is an important distinction between playing hard and playing over-aggressively, and that’s a line Canada continues to toe.
For example, across the first 20 minutes of this game, they struck the right balance. Off the ball, they were extremely aggressive, pressing Guatemala at every opportunity, but they showed good quality and composure on the ball, too, doing well to break lines and drive the ball into space whenever the opportunity presented itself.
Then, though, they started to become a bit over-aggressive as the game got hot, and that’s where things got dangerous for them, as they started to be less effective in their press, and lost their rhythm on the ball. In that period, Guatemala really started to grow into the game, having looked completely out of sorts earlier in the match. 
Here's Ralph Priso with a thunderous challenge, one that led to a yellow card for the centre back, after having incited a bit of a coming together between both sides (OneSoccer)
The good news for Canada is that they recovered nicely from that period, leading them to take the lead in the second half and cruise to victory. When they needed to, they reverted to what they did best, and that allowed them to shine, cruising to victory as they outshot Guatemala 14-6, holding 58% of possession and generating 1.13 xG to their 0.15 (via OPTA).
But what that small period of struggle showed is where Canada will want to be careful going forward. In 2025, their overaggression was their biggest enemy in key moments - in some of their most important losses, such as the Nations League semi-final matchup against Mexico or the Gold Cup quarter-final matchup against this same Guatemala side, they were overaggressive at the wrong moments, and it hurt them.
At the same time, some of their best performances of last year, such as a 4-2 win against Ukraine, a 6-0 win over Honduras or a 3-0 win versus Romania, Canada did well to overwhelm their opponents with the exact sort of aggressive play that they want to be known for under Marsch.
Yet, that’s the line they must toe going forward. Call it the conflicting duality of their identity.
If they navigate things properly and play their way, they can cause fits for a lot of teams at the World Cup, as they’ve shown. If they don’t, though, that could open the door for them to concede a cheap goal, earn a red card (which they had three of in 2025) or lose rhythm in the game, among others, and that can be all the difference between a group stage exit and a deep run at a tournament like that.
#CanMNT were very aggressive in that second half. Plenty of individual moments to like from Nelson, Russell Rowe, Coimbra, Rutty, and Choinere. Marsch lit a fire under his team to cap off this "development camp" and 1-0 win is fitting @TSN_Sports @TSNSoccer https://t.co/h8jSrdxCUU
— Matthew Scianitti (@TSNScianitti) January 18, 2026
Wide overloads make a difference in possession:
When watching back this game, one has to imagine that Marsch will be quite pleased with some of the work his team did on the ball, specifically, as that’ll be a big area of focus for his team heading into the World Cup. In particular, his team was quite good down the flanks, which is worth noting.
Why, one might ask? Given the talent that Canada has out wide, that’s going to be a key area of strength for them this summer.
From wingers such as Ali Ahmed (who made his Championship debut for Norwich City earlier on Saturday, earning an assist), Tajon Buchanan, Liam Millar, Jayden Nelson and Jacob Shaffelburg, to full-backs such as Alphonso Davies, Alistair Johnston, Niko Sigur, and Richie Laryea, Canada has no shortage of dangerous options to rely upon out wide.
Of course, of those names on that list, just two featured in this game - that was Nelson and Laryea, who were both quite good.
That’s worth noting, because despite trying out newer or lesser-used options such as Shola Jimoh, Malik Henry, Marius Aiyenero on the wing, and Zorhan Bassong, Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty and Matteo de Brienne at full back, Canada had some excellent wide play in this game.
GOAL 🇨🇦
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) January 18, 2026
JACEN RUSSELL-ROWE opens the scoring for the CanMNT with a PERFECT header off Malik Henry's cross, for a 1-0 lead over Guatemala 🇬🇹
🔴 Watch LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/iG0OQ2cBKy
It didn’t matter that there was a lack of chemistry between players and a lack of experience at the international level, as Canada caused problems for Guatemala out wide all evening, thanks to some great combination play and overloads, and that helped them win in the end. 
Here's an example of the CanMNT using a wide overload down the left-hand side to create a dangerous crossing opportunity, as Zorhan Bassong does well to overlap with Jayden Nelson on the play (OneSoccer)
Throughout the 90 minutes, they had some great 1v1 play from their wingers, who attacked Guatemala’s backline whenever possible, which, combined with some good support play from their full-backs, allowed Canada to both stretch the length and width of the pitch. 
Here's another wide overload, from the other side, as Richie Laryea does a great underlapping run to help offer support to Shola Jimoh, and this nearly leads to a Canadian goal (OneSoccer)
Safe to say, that’s good news for Marsch, who noted after the game that his team looked “exactly” like he wanted on the ball, too, as they showed a good understanding of the fluid back three and back four shape they operated in.
“If the opponent tries to contain us in that way, we try to create overloads on one side, and then maybe to get to the other and force them to have to widen the way they defend, and then hopefully open up more things for chances to score goals and find ways to penetrate in the middle,” Marsch offered when asked about those combinations.
“In a way, and it wasn't perfect because it was a little bit of a duel that got Malik (Henry) free for the goal, but even that was a version of how we were able to find the goal, in how we want dynamic movement in the box and dynamic runs.”
“I thought it was amazing that we have this group that's literally never been together, we had nine new guys that have never been in with the national team, and yet we still managed to look exactly like we wanted to look like - that made me proud as their coach.”
JACEN RUSSELL-ROWE, CanMNT goal-scorer 🇨🇦
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) January 18, 2026
"We have a World Cup in our home country, and that's my goal this year: Find my way onto the roster and do something great for Canada." pic.twitter.com/CiTySwNa3t
Because of that, look for Canada to use that sort of wide play to their advantage going forward.
We’ve seen it in glimpses in the past, but they’ll know they have another level to hit given the players they have at their disposal, with this game offering a bit of a blueprint of what it could look like when it all clicks.
Certainly, though, a few of these players will fancy their chances at clawing their way into the fold long-term as supersubs off the back of this performance, that’s for sure - even if Marsch will be looking for those not in this camp to emulate what they showed, first.
