What could a potential CanMNT January camp roster look like? Here's a look👀
It’s official - for the first time since 2020, the CanMNT will host a January camp in 2026, as they’ll play Guatemala in a friendly to wrap up a 10-day camp held in California.
The return of ‘Camp Poutine’, as many call it, comes at a great time for this Canadian team, too, as there are several players who will stand to benefit from this chance to gather ahead of the start of a busy World Cup year.
WELCOME (BACK!) TO CAMP POUTINE 🍟
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) December 22, 2025
The CanMNT 🇨🇦 begin their 'Road to 2026' with a January camp in California featuring North American based players, and will play Guatemala 🇬🇹 on Jan. 17 🏕️ pic.twitter.com/1qTn55nnnK
It won’t be Canada’s best squad, as it won’t include any of Canada’s European-based players who are currently in-season, but given the strong representation this Canadian team has in MLS, there should still be a strong contingent of players in this team.
Along with the opportunity for some other lesser-known players in MLS and the Canadian Premier League, as well as some intriguing prospects in Liga MX, this should make for an interesting squad, one that looks set to be made up of ‘North American-based’ players, in Canada Soccer’s words.
Of course, something to watch is whether that language excludes players in a European-based league like Sweden’s, which is currently out of season, but no matter if they’re included or not, Canada should have a good group of players to pick from, regardless.
At the end of the day, no matter if it’s a veteran who is a lock to go to the World Cup or a younger player with a point to prove, this camp will be quite valuable for all involved, too, as it’ll give them all the time together to further improve their understanding of Jesse Marsch’s system - and impress him in the process.
With that in mind, here’s a look at some names who could headline a potential team, and some other new faces vying to earn a spot, helping give an idea of who to watch out for when this team is named next month.
Goalkeepers:
Regulars: Dayne St. Clair, Maxime Crépeau
Hopefuls: Jayden Hibbert, James Pantemis, Luka Gavran
Given that both remain locked in a battle to become Marsch’s #1 next summer, it’s expected that Dayne St. Clair and Maxime Crépeau will be at this camp, even as both figure out the next steps in their respective club careers, with both likely to end up back in MLS (St. Clair has been linked with a move to defending MLS Cup champions Inter Miami, while Crépeau’s future is uncertain).
This camp won’t decide that race for a #1, but it’ll be a good opportunity for both to showcase themselves - and to that point, it’ll be fascinating to see who starts the one game of this window, given that both have split the net in the last six games of the year.
Otherwise, it’ll be fascinating to see who Marsch selects as a third goalkeeper. On paper, Jayden Hibbert makes the most sense to be included, as he appears to be the player with the highest upside, but James Pantemis and Luka Gavran will want to show why Marsch has called each of them in lately. All three are unlikely to pass Owen Goodman in the depth chart ahead of the World Cup, but perhaps that could change if they get off to a hot start to the MLS season, and this camp will give a bit of runway for whoever it is to do that. 
Centre-backs:
Regulars: Joel Waterman, Kamal Miller
Hopefuls: Ralph Priso, Noah Abatneh, Dan Nimick, Nikola Markovic, Zac McGraw, Kyle Hiebert
At the back, it’s expected that Joel Waterman and Kamal Miller start together against Guatemala, as both have done well to step up when called up for Canada. In particular, this could be a big camp for Miller - Waterman appears to be ahead of him in the pecking order, so Miller will want to impress as he makes a push for Canada’s squad, which will not be easy to do with the emergence of Luc De Fougerolles and the commitment of Alfie Jones.
Meanwhile, Ralph Priso will be a name to watch after a breakout 2025 season. At first, it was expected that he could perhaps crack a squad like this as a midfielder, but after his excellent play at centre back for the Vancouver Whitecaps, who look set to keep him at that position going forward, you have to imagine he earns a look at this position for Canada, as his style of play at the position matches what Marsch likes (and it doesn’t hurt that he can offer cover in midfield, either).
The thing to watch here, however, is to see who else earns a call at centre back. Given the nature of this camp, it’s expected that Marsch looks long-term with these selections, which could be good news for Noah Abatneh and Dan Nimick, who had standout seasons in the Canadian Premier League. If not, there are also some veteran centre-backs to watch in MLS, such as Zac McGraw and Kyle Hiebert, although with Miller and Waterman’s likely inclusions, it’ll be a surprise to see Marsch bring in a third veteran centre-back.
One wildcard to watch, however? Nikola Markovic, who was recently drafted first overall by DC United in the 2026 MLS Super Draft. Given Canada’s great history with Super Draft picks, his profile could be of interest to Marsch, as he could be a long-term option to watch for the CanMNT at this position if he can crack DC’s roster this spring. 
Full-backs:
Regulars: Richie Laryea, Zorhan Bassong
Hopefuls: Jahkleele Marshall-Rutty, Luca Petrasso, Adam Pearlman, Matteo de Brienne
Seeing that he was arguably Canada’s best player of 2025, Richie Laryea will be leaned on heavily this camp, although there are a lot of intriguing names to watch around him at full back. For example, Zorhan Bassong could earn a bigger role this camp, as he’s been a preferred injury call-up for Marsch as he’s navigated a litany of injuries at this position over the past year, making him quite familiar with this team and system.
Elsewhere, Jakheele Marshall-Rutty and Luca Petrasso will want to earn shouts after solid MLS seasons - in particular, Marshall-Rutty is one to watch, as he’s already earned a call-up under Marsch, and has the upside to crack a World Cup roster.
Similarly, though, it’ll be interesting to see if Adam Pearlman can earn a call after a great season on loan in the CPL, as he is young, versatile and can play a multitude of positions - that’s the sort of player who could thrive in a camp like this.
In terms of wildcards, keep an eye on Matteo de Brienne, who would otherwise be a no-brainer selection at this position if not for the asterisk of this being more of a North American-based camp. With his club side, Swedish side GAIS, currently out of season, it’d be a great opportunity for him to come into this camp after a good debut campaign in Sweden, making him a deserved call-up. 
Midfielders:
Regulars: Mathieu Choinière, Jonathan Osorio
Hopefuls: Jeevan Badwal, Victor Loturi, Markus Cimermancic, Malik Henry
While Mathieu Choinière and Jonathan Osorio lead the way here, with Choinière a lock to be in the World Cup squad and Osorio a strong candidate to earn a role alongside him, there isn’t a lot of depth beyond the two, with most of Canada’s best midfielders all playing in Europe.
At the same time, Jeevan Badwal would be more than deserving of a call-up after a good season for the Vancouver Whitecaps, while Victor Loturi had a solid season with CF Montréal and has earned looks with Canada in the past - and Toronto FC’s Markus Cimermancic and Malik Henry will also push for calls after earning first-team minutes this year.
One thing to watch, however, is the fact that some other players on this roster, such as Bassong and Priso, can also play in midfield, so Marsch could also just lean on their expertise in those positions if he doesn’t like his other options in this area of the pitch. 
Wingers:
Regulars: Ali Ahmed, Jacob Shaffelburg, Jayden Nelson
Hopefuls: Marcelo Flores, Santiago López, Theo Corbeanu, Stephen Afrifa, Shola Jimoh
On paper, this is probably the outfield position with the highest number of CanMNT regulars, as Ali Ahmed is a strong candidate to start World Cup games next summer, while Jacob Shaffelburg looks set to play a prominent role at that tournament as a supersub. Then, while Jayden Nelson isn’t as solidified as them in Marsch’s squad, he’s earned a lot of call-ups this year, and his stock should go up after a trade to Austin FC.
Because of that, it’ll be hard for other names to crack this squad behind that group. All of a sudden, when considering that Marcelo Flores will also be a strong shout to be in this squad after joining Canada as a training player in November, things look tough for someone like Theo Corbeanu, who had some good moments for Toronto FC this year.
Some good news for players like Corbeanu, Santiago López, Stephen Afrifa and Shola Jimoh, who are all considered hopefuls here? Canada’s striker options are lacking, so Marsch may consider bringing one of them instead of another forward, which throws them all back into the mix. 
Strikers:
Regulars: N/A
Hopefuls: Jacen Russell-Rowe, Deandre Kerr, Rayan Elloumi, Owen Graham-Roache, Tiago Coimbra, Sam Salter
With Canada’s large contingent of European strikers (which we recently dove into here), that leaves the door for some surprising names to step up here, which will be exciting to see.
For example, Jacen Russell-Rowe will get the chance to impress after struggling to crack the Canada squad in 2025, which is exciting given his consistently good play up front for the Columbus Crew. Meanwhile, Deandre Kerr will look to show that the glimpses of good things he’s done up front for Toronto FC over the past few seasons are also worthy of a look - these are the two frontrunners to watch here.
Otherwise, though, a pair of young strikers from MLS could be worth watching, as Owen Graham-Roache and Rayan Elloumi broke into the first teams of CF Montréal and the Vancouver Whitecaps, respectively, as teenagers. Given that Elloumi has also attracted interest from Tunisia, giving him a call-up could also help Canada to secure his services long-term - Graham-Roache, meanwhile, is eligible to play for Jamaica, so the same goes for him, too.
Lastly, there will be a few CPL players to monitor, as Tiago Coimbra was excellent when healthy for the Halifax Wanderers, while Sam Salter had a record-setting season for Atlético Ottawa - although with Salter, much like de Brienne, his status is up in the air, as he’s set to reunite with former Ottawa teammate de Brienne at GAIS off the back of his excellent 2025 campaign. As long as his commitments with GAIS aren’t an issue with them out of season, he’d have an edge over Coimbra, and probably over most of the other names on this list. 
