KEY TAKEAWAYS: The CanMNT balance high press with patient attacking play in 3-0 win vs. Romania
The CanMNT have marked their return to action in style, as they defeated Romania 3-0 in a friendly match in Bucharest on Friday.
Their first match since being eliminated by Guatemala in the quarter-finals of the 2025 Gold Cup, Canada made sure to put that performance behind them, quickly, as they came flying out of the gates in this game.
As a result, they went up a goal after just 11 minutes, after Jonathan David nodded home a perfect set-piece delivery from Ali Ahmed, before Ahmed himself won the ball high up the pitch and scored into a gaping net to make it 2-0 in the 22nd minute.
GOAL 🇨🇦
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) September 5, 2025
JONATHAN DAVID heads home to give the CanMNT an early 1-0 lead over Romania 🇷🇴
🔴 Watch LIVE on TSN & OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/wkqp1MdCBr
From there, Canada managed to see out the game, surviving a strong Romania push in the second half that nearly saw them halve the deficit if not for a great save from Maxime Crépeau in the 69th minute, before Niko Sigur sealed the game with a beautiful finish on a fantastic team move to make it 3-0 in the 77th minute.
What a HUGE save by Max Crepeau 😱#CanMNT 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/cOQpqLv8Pq
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) September 5, 2025
Now, Canada will cap this September window with a matchup with Wales in Swansea on Tuesday, as they look to build off their first win over European opposition in Europe since 2011, and their first win over European opposition in their home country since 2009.
Here are some KEY takeaways from this one.
Ali Ahmed shows a reminder of importance - on both sides of the ball - in return from injury:
Ironically, despite how their last match against Guatemala went, Canada didn’t actually tweak their team a whole lot from that game, making just four changes, with two of them being forced.
Out came Alistair Johnston due to an injury and Jacob Shaffelburg due to a suspension from a red card earned in that match - Dayne St.Clair and Mathieu Choinière were the other two players removed - and in came the quartet of Maxime Crépeau, Ismaël Koné, Stephen Eustáquio and Ali Ahmed - with the latter two being big additions after they missed out on that Guatemala match due to club commitments (Eustáquio) and injury (Ahmed).
While most would’ve suggested that the return of Crépeau, Koné and Eustáquio were quite key, in particular, it ended up being the last name that stole the show, as Ahmed put up a player of the match performance in this game.
To be fair, it must be noted that Crépeau, Koné and Eustáquio were all excellent - in fact, not many Canadians had bad performances - but Ahmed was outstanding as he continues to step up whenever he takes the field for Canada.
Not only did he chip in with a goal, his first for Canada, along with a wonderfully delivered assist, which was his fourth with Canada, but he was arguably at his best off the ball, too.
That’s shown in his defensive stats, as he had an astonishing six tackles, six recoveries and won 10 out of 12 of his duels in just 64 minutes on the pitch, seemingly finding himself everywhere he needed to be off the ball.
That’s huge, because his defensive contributions helped spark several key attacks for this Canadian team, including his goal, which came because he hunted down Romanian goalkeeper Horatiu Moldovan, dispossessing him before potting the ball into an empty net.
GOAL 🇨🇦🇨🇦
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) September 5, 2025
ALI AHMED presses and then snatches the ball off the Romanian 'keeper to tap in for a 2-0 lead 😎
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If anything, it can be argued that Ahmed, who also had three shots, created four chances and completed one dribble, was actually better that he was defensively than offensively despite the chances he generated and goal contributions he collected.
On a few occasions, he could’ve perhaps had another goal or assist if he had found the right execution, as he continues to progress in that area of his game.
He’s taken big strides forward on the offensive side of his game over the past 12 months, as all of his five goal contributions for Canada have now come in his last nine appearances dating back to October of last year, while at the club level he’s having a career season with one goal and six assists for the Whitecaps despite missing a significant chunk of time with the Gold Cup and an injury, but he still has another level to hit in that department.
Yet, when seeing what he can do defensively, that’s where he seems to be most valuable, as he has such a strong understanding of where he needs to be on the field, and how to make the right actions. In particular, he seems to have a great awareness of how to defend in Jesse Marsch’s system, which isn’t easy for wide players to do.
Because of that, it’s given him a key edge in the battle out wide, one that is quite fierce when considering the competition between him, Jacob Shaffelburg, Liam Millar and Jayden Nelson to compete alongside Tajon Buchanan (who was excellent again in this game as he cements his spot as a lock to start at next summer’s World Cup).
While he might not have the pace of Shaffelburg, the goalscoring of Millar, or the trickery of Nelson, Ahmed’s defensive impact is quite significant, and it’s not as if he can’t emulate some of those other skills, either, given how well-rounded he is. 
To get an idea of how confident Ahmed was on the ball in this game... here's him gliding through Romania's midfield on the ball (Clip via OneSoccer/TSN)
Certainly, he did well to show off the versatility in his game in this performance, and that powered Canada to a big victory.
“We know that Ali (Ahmed) is really important to us,” Marsch said of Ahmed. “He's one of our most complete wide midfielders; he understands the behaviours that we want, our tactics.”
“He's an incredibly important player, so I knew that when he went down at the Gold Cup, it was going to hurt us.”
“He played great today. With the goal he scored, as a pressing coach, those are the goals that make me the happiest, so it was really well done by him - I thought he had a great performance.”
Sigur shines as full backs make a statement:
On paper, Canada’s two main full backs under Jesse Marsch have been pretty straightforward - he’s preferred to start Alphonso Davies and Alistair Johnston at those two positions when both have been available, with Richie Laryea otherwise right there with Johnston, and Niko Sigur now in the mix as of the last 10 months.
With Davies and Johnston both dealing with major injuries this fall, however, that offered Laryea and Sigur a chance to slot in at full back and to improve their stocks, and after both shining at the Gold Cup, both continued to impress with their performances in this game.
On one side, Sigur was a big, bright spot in possession, completing 25 out of 26 of his passes before capping off his performance with a beautiful goal. He was also quite good defensively - he made two tackles, four interceptions, three recoveries and one clearance - but what he brought on the ball was quite key, as it helped give Canada an outlet to play with when building out of the back.
GOAL 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) September 5, 2025
Niko Sigur STARTS and FINISHES the counter-attack with a BANGER 🚀
Those CanMNT starting XI locks are starting to look a little flimsy, no? 🔓
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Then, on the other side, as he tends to be, Laryea was a sparkplug for Canada, linking up well with Ahmed and doing well in his bursts forward on the ball. He wasn’t as clean in possession as he would’ve wanted, completing just 65% of his 23 passes, but he won four fouls and made three passes into the final third, and then had five tackles, two interceptions, five recoveries and won 10 out of 14 duels defensively.
Of course, it’d be one thing if these performances were one-offs from Sigur and Laryea, but as mentioned earlier, this has been building for both, which is key to see.
In particular, what Sigur continues to bring to the table is quite fascinating, especially given his unique profile as a player, as he seems to make it harder to drop him with every game he plays.
At this stage, what Richie Laryea brings is quite well known, which is why he’s continued to play a big role in this Canadian team, but Sigur’s emergence is fascinating because it truly gives a big conundrum for Marsch to think about.
With Laryea, he can either push Johnston for minutes at right back or perhaps push Davies up the field if he stays at left back, but with Sigur, there’s the question of whether he should play in his natural position, in midfield, or if he should stay at full back.
Either way, his inclusion at either position leads to interesting debates, with the full back position being less crowded but filled with more established names, and with the midfield group being more crowded but filled with less proven players.
Certainly, one thing’s for certain - Sigur’s going to make it hard for himself to get dropped if he keeps playing like this, which would push Marsch to have to make a tough decision down the line.
Yet, that’s not a bad thing, as that’s exactly what Marsch wants to see when players go down, and that’s to see players step up and seize the opportunity, and that’s what Sigur has done - following in the footsteps of someone like Laryea in that regard, fittingly.
“They both played really well,” Marsch said of his full backs. “They were both very aggressive, they were good on the ball, so I thought that they delivered big games, and were a big reason why we were able to control their attacking players for most of the match.”
Koné brings the fire - for better or for worse:
After a tough few months, as he struggled for playing time at the Gold Cup and then dealt with the aftermath of a viral clip of a confrontation between him and head coach Roberto De Zerbi last season at Marseille (which helped explain why he fell out of favour at the club before heading on loan), this was a big chance for redemption for Ismaël Koné.
Having made a loan move to Serie A side CD Sassuolo, he’s been given a fresh start at club level, and it was hoped that could elevate him for Canada, helping him regain a starting spot in this team.
Certainly, there’s no doubt that when he’s in form, he’s one of Canada’s best players, and the good news is that he offered a reminder of what his best looks like, as he reunited alongside Stephen Eustáquio for their first start together since March of this year.
Not only did Koné glide through the midfield on the ball this game, but he also made some good decisions with his passing, helping create two chances despite having just 33 touches in the 64 minutes he played.
That’s key, because so far with Sassuolo, he appears to have regained the confidence he’s known for on the ball, something that he hasn’t shown a lot of in the past 12 months. Ultimately, it’s that confidence on the ball that got him that move to Marseille, which came shortly after a wonderful performance in a 0-0 draw vs. France in a friendly in June of 2024, but he hadn’t shown enough of that level lately, which is why it’s key to see him refind it.
He might’ve missed some actions that he’ll want back, as he completed 17 out of 22 of his passes (77%), but overall, it was hard to fault much of his play on the ball - and he also did well to chip in with one tackle and six recoveries defensively, too. 
Here's a great example of Ismaël Koné gliding through midfield on the ball, picking out a dangerous pass to nearly create a CanMNT goal (Clip via OneSoccer/TSN)
Therefore, when he came off, it felt like it was overall a good showing for the young midfielder - one he can build off of.
“I thought he was really good,” Marsch said of Koné. “He had a lot of good solutions on the ball in the first half, especially when they were trying to press us, and his way of moving around in the midfield and finding little spaces was really good.”
“I thought he was very responsible in midfield in terms of understanding his defensive role and being disciplined, as well, so I thought he had a good performance.”
Of course, though, as has been the case with Koné over the last few months, this game couldn’t come without drama, as he was captured having an intense discussion with Marsch following his exit.
Ultimately, it was a bit of a nothing moment, as Marsch confirmed post-game, but given the aftermath of Koné’s argument with De Zerbi, it naturally rang some alarm bells for Canadians.
Ismael Kone not too pleased as he exits this match... 👀#CanMNT 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/UNKZ358zdD
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) September 5, 2025
What that shows, though, is the work Koné is going to have to do over the next 10 months as he regains his confidence. When it rains, it pours, and Koné seems to be dealing with that adage at every corner.
For example, in a recent Sassuolo game, one where he was excellent against defending Serie A champions Napoli, shining on the ball, he then picked up a red card for earning two yellow cards, spoiling that performance and denying him a chance to build off it as he dealt with a suspension.
Therefore, while this argument will (and should) be quickly forgotten - Koné will hardly have been the first player to have been frustrated to come off early (and it’s not a bad thing to see him feel that way) - it’s just a reminder that the microscope he currently finds himself under.
If he keeps playing like this, though, that microscope will quickly go away, so look for him to build on what he showed in the match itself going forward.
“He was asking if I took him off because he lost one pass,” Marsch said of his discussion with Koné. “And I said no, we were trying to stabilize the game by putting (Nathan Saliba) on as he's a little bit more defensive minded, and with us defending a 2-0 lead, it was important to be able to stabilize things defensively.”
“He was obviously emotional about it, but I don't mind that - you'd rather have players that don't want to come off than those who are happy to come off, right? The key is that he understands that still showing respect to the team is important.”
“He's young, still maturing and has some things to work on, but we really like him, and he's really important to us, so no one’s taken any of this personally.”
Canada shows calm in final third, despite mixed execution:
As they’ve become known for under Marsch, Canada’s press caused all sorts of problems for Romania in this game - in fact, they were downright dominant in that area of the game for large stretches.
The numbers show that, as they had an astonishing 30 tackles to Romania’s 11, making 15 interceptions to Romania’s six and winning 48 of 82 ground duels (59%). 
Here's 1 minute of Canada absolutely hounding Romania for the ball, leading to some dangerous opportunities to score (Clip via OneSoccer/TSN)
When Marsch talks about wanting this Canadian side to impose themselves on their opponent, this feels like a textbook example of what that looks like, as they made a Romanian side playing in front of their own fans look surprised and rattled.
Where Canada have sometimes struggled, though, is what they do when they win the ball back; they haven’t always been the sharpest with their execution in that area.
In this game, though, they took a big stride forward in that regard, as they struck a good balance between playing rushed but staying calm. 
Here's 1 minute of the CanMNT being extremely patient on the ball, spreading play and finding space, showing what it means for them to play 'rushed but patiently' as they look to attack (Clip via OneSoccer/TSN)
With how they want to play, they don’t want to slow things down too much, but they’ve been guilty of rushing things too much, which is a dangerous game to play against top opponents.
On the flipside, there were times at the Gold Cup where they slowed things down too much, too, which doesn’t benefit them as much, either.
Against Romania, however, they seemed to find the right balance, which allowed them to generate 16 shots, including two big chances, with eight of those shots finding the target - Romania, by comparison, had just 11 shots, with only two of them reaching the target, despite having 60% of possession.
Plus, Canada also might’ve scored their best team goal under Jesse Marsch, too, as Sigur’s goal was a work of art that they’ll use as an example of what it means to ‘rush patiently’.
On that play, which started with a Sigur interception at the edge of his own box, Canada did well to carve directly up the pitch, nearly creating a dangerous chance for Jonathan David.
When that didn’t lead to a shot, however, Canada did well to patiently recycle play before Jayden Nelson found Sigur with a carved pass, and then they came to life again from there, as Sigur bounced a one-touch pass into Tani Oluwaseyi, who teed him up with a nice lay-off for the finish. 
Here's the full clip of the Sigur goal, showing how impressive it was to see Canada fly up the pitch, before eventually finding their goal after showing some good patience on the ball (Clip via OneSoccer/TSN)
That wasn’t the only dangerous attack that came off strong build-up play, either, as they had several other opportunities to score another goal like that, usually finding themselves coming up short on the last pass or on the shot.
Because of that, Marsch was actually left wanting more from his team on the ball after the game, noting that he felt they had another level to hit in possession, feeling that they had a few sloppy moments when building up. That they completed just 78% of their passes backs up that sentiment, too, as they did have some careless moments in possession.
At the same time, when it all clicked, it was hard to stop them, so look for them to build on those positive moments of rushed but patient play - such as Sigur’s goal - while trying to limit those errors going forward.
“The third goal is probably the best example of that, right?” Marsch said of his team’s patience on the ball. “Niko Sigur wins the ball, Stephen (Eustáquio) decides not to play the most threatening pass, but then it leads to a second action, which is something we talk about.”
“When the first action is on, we want to get the timing right, but when it's not on, we can hold on and wait for the second wave, as we call it.”
“I also thought that if we could have been a little bit sharper in a lot of those transition moments, that we could have created a lot more big chances, and probably got some more goals even out of it, but obviously, I’m very pleased with the overall performance.”
