Squad Battles: How’s the CanMNT’s World Cup squad shaping up after March friendlies?
For the final time before they name their World Cup squad, the CanMNT took the field together, as they played Iceland and Tunisia in a pair of friendlies in Toronto at the end of March.
Well, at least those who were healthy enough to play took the field for those matches. As has been the case for the last few months, Jesse Marsch’s Canadian side was severely shorthanded for those friendlies, which they played without key players such as Alphonso Davies, Stephen Eustáquio, Moïse Bombito, Alistair Johnston and Promise David, just to name a few.
Yet, that’s the challenge that this Canadian side has faced lately. While they’ve got a strong idea of what their World Cup squad looks like in an ideal world, it’s looking more and more likely that they won’t be able to rely on the entirety of that squad for their World Cup opener against Bosnia & Herzegovina on June 12th, for a multitude of reasons.
Because of that, it’ll be interesting to see how that affects the squad that Marsch names for the World Cup, as he must have his roster for that tournament finalized by the end of May. He has said that he wants to give all of his injured players every chance to make it, and while that shouldn’t be a worry for most players, the likes of Promise David face a tough turnaround when it comes to meeting that May deadline, for example.
What that means, however, is that the next few weeks will be crucial for some players. With no more in-person auditions left to complete, the next stretch will be about getting injured players healthy - if not, there are players ready to step up in their place. And knowing what’s at stake, you have to imagine that those fringe players will be pushing to put in top performances at their clubs to improve their stock, too, something we’ve already seen occur in the week since the March window. 
With that in mind, here’s an updated look at how Canada’s depth chart is looking after these most recent games. Having last updated this depth chart in November, this should help take a look at who is rising and who is falling after the last few months.
*Changes to the depth chart will be reflected in bold*
Goalkeepers:
Locks: Dayne St. Clair, Maxime Crépeau
Frontrunner: Owen Goodman
On the bubble: Tom McGill, Jayden Hibbert, James Pantemis, Jonathan Sirois, Grégoire Świderski, Luka Gavran
At the surface, not much has changed here - Marsch remains undecided between Dayne St. Clair and Maxime Crépeau when it comes to choosing a number one goalkeeper, especially after both have had slower-than-expected starts to life at their new clubs, and the race for a third goalkeeper remains open.
Yet, while Marsch might not know who his starting goalkeeper for the Bosnia & Herzegovina game is until June, it’s worth noting that his third choice option has become clearer in recent months - it’s becoming harder and harder to envision a scenario where Owen Goodman doesn’t end up at the World Cup.
His call-up to Canada’s most recent camp showed that, and when you consider he’s also been playing regularly on loan at Barnsley in England’s third tier, that has likely pushed him ahead of the contending pack. Given that Jayden Hibbert and Jonathan Sirois aren’t even playing in MLS, Grégoire Świderski and Tom McGill are riding the bench in Europe, all of their World Cup odds look long - and even while James Pantemis and Luka Gavran are doing well in MLS, Goodman’s age and pedigree have kept him ahead of both by a considerable margin.
Yet, that shows why it was such a big coup for Canada to earn his surprise commitment last fall, as Goodman looks to be a potential long-term starting option for this team, especially if he keeps moving up the English pyramid.
In the short-term, though, St. Clair or Crépeau will start for this team at the World Cup, barring something unforeseen - so it’ll be fascinating to see who wins that battle. Perhaps, how they settle into life at their new clubs - St. Clair with Inter Miami, Crépeau with Orlando City - could sway Marsch, because letting them split games for Canada over the last few months hasn’t changed their coach’s mind quite yet. 
Centre-backs:
Locks: Moïse Bombito, Derek Cornelius, Luc De Fougerolles, Alfie Jones
Frontrunner: Joel Waterman
On the bubble: Ralph Priso, Kamal Miller, Jamie Knight-Lebel
Heading into the World Cup, centre-back is both the most settled and most volatile position on the CanMNT right now.
If everyone is healthy, there isn’t much of a debate about Canada’s best options - Moïse Bombito, Derek Cornelius, Luc De Fougerolles and Alfie Jones would be locks in a World Cup squad, with Bombito and Cornelius as Marsch’s preferred starting pair (with De Fougerolles and Jones right behind them). From there, it would be up to Marsch to decide whether or not he’d bring a fifth centre-back to support that group.
Yet, things aren’t so straightforward. Bombito hasn’t played for Canada since March of 2025 after a few different injuries, Cornelius has also dealt with injuries and might not play again in 2025-2026 despite returning to full health (due to a lack of available minutes at Rangers), Jones is coming off surgery and hasn’t featured in months, and De Fougerolles has dealt with a couple of small injury issues of his own.
Because of that, the likes of Joel Waterman and Kamal Miller have played bigger roles than expected as of late for Canada, and while the pair are more than capable of stepping up if needed, you could see how much Canada missed the likes of Bombito, Cornelius, Jones and De Fougerolles when watching Waterman and Miller play together in the last window.
Then, just to accentuate Canada’s injury woes, Ralph Priso, who wasn’t even on the radar at this position in the last depth chart update, injured his hamstring during a start against Tunisia. Based on his play at centre back for the Whitecaps, and how he fared in limited minutes in the March window, you could argue that he’s become Canada’s fifth choice centre back when healthy - but instead, he also faces a tight recovery timeline to make the World Cup, too.
Ultimately, though, that’s the story of the centre-back position for Canada right now. If everyone were healthy, things would be quite clear. Instead, there is the chance that the likes of Waterman, Miller and even someone like Jamie Knight-Lebel might be tasked to play a bigger role at this World Cup than hoped, depending on how the next few months go for everyone else. 
Full-backs:
Locks: Alphonso Davies, Richie Laryea, Alistair Johnston, Niko Sigur
Frontrunner: N/A
On the bubble: Jahkleele Marshall-Rutty, Zorhan Bassong, Sam Adekugbe, Matteo de Brienne
Despite the ongoing injury woes of Alphonso Davies and Alistair Johnston, not a lot has changed here, as the quartet of Davies, Johnston, Richie Laryea and Niko Sigur all look set to head to the World Cup.
Given that we haven’t seen Davies in a Canadian shirt since March of 2025 and Johnston since last summer, it remains to be seen what their return to this Canadian fold will look like, however.
Davies will return and start immediately if healthy, no doubt, but debate continues to rage on about whether he’s best suited to play as a left back or a left winger (although the form of Ali Ahmed on the wing has made it harder to suggest Davies should play higher up the pitch). Meanwhile, Johnston faces a tougher road back - while there’s no doubting how important he is to this team when healthy, the play of Laryea and Sigur for Canada over the last year could see one of them start ahead of Johnston at right back even if healthy, especially if Johnston is unable to get many minutes under his belt for Celtic before the World Cup.
Yet, that’s not a bad thing - that Canada could be in a position to bench two of Johnston, Laryea or Sigur at the World Cup shows how much their depth has improved at this position.
Otherwise, Jahkelee Marshall-Rutty appears to have quietly vaulted up the depth chart with his play for the New York Red Bulls, making him the name to watch if Canada’s full-back injury woes continue - especially with his ability to play as both a right back and left back. Although considering his experience and leadership, Sam Adekugbe could quickly pip him if he makes a smooth return to action after his long-term absence with an Achilles injury - elsewhere, Zorhan Bassong and Matteo de Brienne will also push to be ready should Canada need some more left-back options. 
Midfielders:
Locks: Stephen Eustáquio, Ismaël Koné, Nathan Saliba, Mathieu Choinière
Frontrunner: Jonathan Osorio
On the bubble: Jeevan Badwal
It’s hard not to feel good about Canada’s situation in midfield, at least compared to how it looked at the last World Cup. If everyone’s healthy, Marsch has some real headaches when it comes to picking his midfield, which is why some have suggested Canada could benefit from a switch to a formation that employs three midfielders like a 4-2-3-1, 4-1-4-1 or a 4-3-3.
Given Marsch’s desire to stick with a 4-2-2-2, though, it appears likely that Canada will rely on only two midfielders to start games - and if healthy, that will be Stephen Eustáquio and Ismaël Koné, who have both been in excellent form for club and country (although Eustáquio is out right now with an injury, which is something to monitor).
From there, though, Nathan Saliba and Mathieu Choinière will have a huge role to play, both off the bench and in rotation to help deal with rest and suspensions, as both have been great at the club level and dependable whenever called upon for Canada. And, if needed, Canada also has Niko Sigur ready to step into midfield - another reason why he’s a lock at full back is the positional flexibility he offers through his ability to play as a midfielder.
Otherwise, the one big change here is that Jonathan Osorio improved his World Cup stock massively with an excellent March window - it looks more likely than ever that he’s included in Canada’s World Cup squad thanks to his ability to come off the bench as a super-sub, along with his leadership.
Meanwhile, if needed, Jeevan Badwal could be a name to watch if Canada deals with any injury woes in midfield, as he’s been excellent for the Vancouver Whitecaps to start the year - although he looks to be more of someone for the 2030 World Cup at this stage, given his age. 
Wingers:
Locks: Tajon Buchanan, Ali Ahmed, Liam Millar, Marcelo Flores
Frontrunner: N/A
On the bubble: Jacob Shaffelburg, Jayden Nelson, Junior Hoilett
Finally, there’s a lot more clarity at the winger position after how the last few months have gone, and for good reason.
Given their play for Canada, Tajon Buchanan and Ali Ahmed are locks to be in the squad, and look set to start the first World Cup game, while Liam Millar is also a lock to be in this squad, having shown that he could be set to earn more minutes than expected this summer after a good March window.
Yet, that’s nothing new - those three were all locks in the last update, with the only thing changing being that Ahmed further reinforced his already-strong stock with an excellent start to life at EFL Championship side Norwich City after moving there from the Vancouver Whitecaps in January.
Instead, the big development here is the emergence of Marcelo Flores, who got off to a good start to 2026 with Tigres UANL, before having a breakout performance for Canada in this March window. There, he showed off an ability to disrupt games with his dribbling ability, which is something Canada could use more of. Plus, with his ability to play centrally as a #10, his inclusion in the squad offers a bit more tactical flexibility to Marsch, which is a bonus.
Because of that, it feels like Flores, who only filed his one-time switch from Mexico to represent Canada earlier this year, now seems certain to head to the World Cup - something that would’ve been impossible to imagine 12 months ago.
Now, it’ll be fascinating to see what sort of trickle-down effect that has on the rest of the wingers. At one time, it appeared both Jacob Shaffelburg and Jayden Nelson could crack the Canadian squad, and there might only be room for one of them, if at all, after Flores’s emergence. Safe to say, with both having good performances for their clubs since the March window, that Marsch faces a tough decision there if he’s to bring one of them to the World Cup.
And, of course, you can’t forget Junior Hoilett, who is always dependable when called upon, as he’ll remain in the mix until the very end due to his leadership and unique style of play.
Safe to say, a lot could still change here, even if Marsch has a lot more clarity at this position than he did a few months ago. 
Strikers:
Locks: Jonathan David, Tani Oluwaseyi, Cyle Larin
Frontrunners: Promise David, Daniel Jebbison
On the bubble: Theo Bair, Jacen Russell-Rowe, Aribim Pepple
It’s been a rough stretch for Canadian forwards, as most have either struggled for form, minutes or with injuries.
Except Cyle Larin, that is, as he’s been in excellent form for Southampton since joining the EFL Championship side on loan in January - his great play has helped power their Premier League promotion push, and a surprise FA Cup run, which is huge to see.
As a result, the only thing that has changed here is that Larin is now a World Cup lock - while most would’ve suggested that is the case for the last few years, it’s worth noting that his past form for club and country, along with the emergence of other names, had genuinely put that in doubt. Now, those doubts are gone, especially after the injury to Promise David, which further helped Larin’s odds of cracking the World Cup team. 
Of course, it remains to be seen whether or not it’s Larin or Tani Oluwaseyi that starts alongside Jonathan David if Canada sticks with their 4-2-2-2, as Larin and Oluwaseyi have had mixed results when playing alongside Jonathan David for Canada, but that appears to be the battle to watch for now - pre-injury, Promise David would’ve also been in that mix, for example.
Speaking of Promise David, he’ll be given every chance to make the World Cup squad after his hip injury, but even if he’s healthy enough, you have to imagine he only plays a supersub role - a role he’s comfortable playing, to be fair.
Otherwise, Daniel Jebbison improved his stock with a solid March window, setting him up to be the main benefactor from Promise David’s injury - even if his club form has been mixed. If Jebbison can find a bit more rhythm for Preston North End, he seems to be in a good position to improve his World Cup odds.
Lastly, Theo Bair, Jacen Russell-Rowe and Aribim Pepple will look to remain in the World Cup conversation, even if things are extremely crowded in front of them - although Bair and Russell-Rowe, in particular, have a good chance of making the squad outright if they catch form at their respective clubs, as Marsch has always liked Bair’s profile and would be unlikely to ignore an in-form Russell-Rowe if he was in good form in Ligue 1. As for Pepple, though, while he’s been in outstanding form for Plymouth Argyle in England’s third tier, his best route towards the World Cup remains if there’s an injury in front of him, no matter how in-form he is.
