With 30 days until their World Cup opener, what questions do the CanMNT need to answer before June 12th?
The clock continues to tick towards the start of the 2026 World Cup, which will now kick off in less than a month.
While that’s a figure that will have fans excited, it’s one that will also certainly have managers feeling quite stressed. Certainly, you have to imagine that’s the case for the CanMNT’s head coach, Jesse Marsch, who still has plenty of questions to answer about his squad ahead of their first game against Bosnia & Herzegovina on June 12th.
ONE MONTH AWAY FROM A MEN’S WORLD CUP MATCH ON HOME SOIL! 🇨🇦#CANMNT pic.twitter.com/BOMCpcETB7
— CANMNT (@CANMNT_Official) May 12, 2026
With an extended injury list and some unanswered lineup questions, Marsch will have plenty to ponder over the next few weeks as he figures out his best 26-player squad - and then his starting XI for that World Cup opener.
Here’s a look at some of the questions that Marsch will look to answer over the next stretch, as the race towards the World Cup starts to heat up.
How much have injuries changed the squad?
Naturally, the big storyline surrounding this Canadian team has continued to be injuries, as they’ve only kept on piling up in recent months.
In recent weeks, Alphonso Davies, Richie Laryea and Nathan Saliba have been among the players to pick up injuries, while the likes of Moïse Bombito, Promise David and Alfie Jones have remained on the sidelines as they continue to recover from long-term ailments.
Therefore, even though there have been some positive developments, such as the long-awaited return of Alistair Johnston and Stephen Eustáquio’s recovery, much of the focus has been on the health of those who remain on the sidelines, with the tournament rapidly approaching.
For what it’s worth, all of the players who remain out look likely to be recovered in time for the World Cup - but it’s also important to note that ‘recovered in time’ and ‘fully healthy’ are two different equations.
Plus, how effective those players can be for Canada will very much depend on how healthy they are - as a striker, Promise David can be less than 100% and still have a role to play as a supersub, whereas defenders such as Bombito and Jones might not be as effective if they’re not at their best physically.
What that shows, though, is the question that Marsch must answer when it comes to figuring out his squad - how much will these injuries affect his final squad selection?
With so many of those injured players being defenders, does he have to bring an extra defender or two instead of a forward or midfielder to account for the fact that he might not have a full allotment of defenders throughout the tournament? Or does he risk bringing a smaller group of defenders despite their health issues, given some of the options that Canada has in the attack now?
For sure, you have to imagine that Marsch names as many of those injured players as possible in his squad, given that managers can replace any of those players right up until before their opening World Cup game - but doing that will mean that he’ll have to kick this question down the road.
The good news about that, though? Canada will at least be able to play their two pre-tournament friendlies before making a final decision on those injured players, so those two matches, which will be against Uzbekistan and the Republic of Ireland, could prove to be key when it comes to Marsch’s decision-making process.
Have any players changed their stock with late pushes?
Even if a lot of the attention surrounding Canada’s World Cup squad has been about injured players, it’s worth noting that there are some healthy players who have been pushing to improve their stock ahead of the tournament.
For example, how about Jacob Shaffelburg, who has now made nine appearances for LAFC since returning from groin surgery, with four of them being starts (including in both legs of LAFC’s Concacaf Champions Cup semi-final matchup vs. Toluca), nabbing two assists across that span? Given the way he fits in Marsch’s system, this run of games might have been what he needed to secure his spot in the World Cup squad this summer, something that hasn’t always been a guarantee in recent months.
Otherwise, Jonathan Osorio has continued to stake his claim to be a key veteran inclusion in this squad, as he had an excellent March window with the CanMNT, and has remained a bright spot on an inconsistent Toronto FC side. For a team a bit thin in midfield and light on experience, his play in 2026 has seemingly cemented his spot in the World Cup squad.
Elsewhere, you can only commend someone like Aribim Pepple for at least giving himself a shot at being in this squad, as he finished the 2025-2026 season with 18 goals in 41 games for Plymouth Argyle - with 16 of those goals coming after Christmas. With Canada’s logjam at striker, that still might not be enough for him to crack the squad, but you have to imagine his name remains in the mix right until the very end, especially if there are any injuries, something that would’ve been far-fetched to imagine just months ago.
TRANSFER REPORT 🗞️
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) May 4, 2026
OneSoccer's Kristian Jack reports Aribim Pepple has received interest from a number of EFL Championship & MLS clubs, though the CanMNT 🇨🇦 striker's preference is to stay in Europe 👀 pic.twitter.com/67hzVk5VO6
Lastly, they’ll remain long shots with the players ahead of them in their respective positions, but a pair of names in MLS have also done well to keep their names in the mix heading into this next month in goalkeeper James Pantemis, who has continued to be very solid for the Portland Timbers, and midfielder Jeevan Badwal, who has been off to a good start to the year for the Vancouver Whitecaps. Again, much like with Pepple, their ability to crack a World Cup squad depends on what happens in front of them, but they’ve given themselves a chance - sometimes, that’s all you can ask from yourself in such a situation.
Yet, that’s something that’s been lost in the shuffle of all of the discussion about injuries - it’s wild to think that this Canadian team could be set to leave home players such as Pepple, Badwal, Pantemis, Jayden Nelson, Theo Bair, and others, who would’ve likely been shoo-ins to crack Canada’s 2022 World Cup team had they been in their current form, for example. That’s a credit to how this player pool has grown, as when everyone is available, there are now 10-20 good players who would’ve been difference-makers on past Canadian teams that are unable to crack their best 26 - and that number will only keep growing.
While that’s good for the depth of this program, as it’s improved the competition between players, that’s not been fun for Marsch, who must contemplate how to fit as many of these in-form players as possible, while weighing other factors such as the balance of his squad, how players have performed for him, and, of course, injuries.
Can any lineup questions be answered before friendlies?
Even though Marsch’s immediate focus will be on picking his 26-player squad for the World Cup, that doesn’t mean that he won’t be pondering the starting XI he’ll pick for that Bosnia game - as well as the XI that he’ll have to name against the matches against Qatar and Switzerland that will come further down the road.
Especially considering that there are a few lineup questions that remain unanswered, he’ll want to try to answer as many of them as possible over the next few weeks leading into the pre-World Cup friendlies, before finalizing things in time for June 12th.
Some things remain clear, of course - Stephen Eustáquio and Ismaël Koné will start in midfield, Tajon Buchanan has a spot on the right wing, and Jonathan David is a lock up front. Otherwise, some things are also all but guaranteed, such as Derek Cornelius starting at centre back, and Ali Ahmed starting on the left wing, especially with recent developments such as the injury to Alphonso Davies and the health of Canada’s other centre backs.
Elsewhere, though, there are some other positions where there remain questions for Marsch to answer.
For example, a big one is in goal - Canada still seems to have no idea who to start between Maxime Crépeau and Dayne St. Clair in net for that Bosnia game, and the last few months haven’t offered a whole lot of clarity in that regard. Given his familiarity with Canada’s system and the injuries Canada has dealt with at the back, that might give Crépeau the slight edge, after it had seemed that St. Clair had taken the inside track in 2025, but that could quickly flip, so the final decision may come down to a gut feeling from Marsch, unless something wild happens against Uzbekistan or Ireland.
Meanwhile, at both full-back positions, Canada now faces some big questions after the recent injuries to Laryea and Davies. Before, those two seemed likeliest to start at right and left back, but now, that’s not so clear, especially after seeing how quickly Alistair Johnston has gotten up to speed - he seems a lock to start against Bosnia if he keeps up the form he’s shown with Celtic since his injury, but from there, everything remains open.
Either Johnston shifts to left back to pair with Niko Sigur at right back, or he sticks at right back with Davies or Laryea slotting in on the left, depending on their health - based on what we’ve seen, the likeliest option will be that Laryea/Johnston combination, with Davies unlikely to be at 100% by the time the tournament starts.
🇨🇦🔥 Alistair Johnston makes this week’s @spfl #TOTW!#CelticFC🍀 https://t.co/7h9jRlnepW pic.twitter.com/dOBeKEdYT7
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) May 5, 2026
Sticking at the back, it’ll also be fascinating to see who pairs alongside Cornelius - ideally, it’d be Bombito, but given that he hasn’t played since the fall, could it be Luc De Fougerolles? Or will Alfie Jones be healthy enough to throw his name in the mix, despite a recent injury setback?
Then, to move up the pitch, there’s the final question to answer - what to do up front? Based on the last few months, Cyle Larin is a shoo-in to start alongside Jonathan David (especially based on Tani Oluwaseyi’s form), but the pressure will be on Larin, who has scored just once for Canada since Marsch’s arrival in 2024, to replicate the sort of red-hot form he’s had at Southampton for Canada.
Class from Cyle 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/B0IJz6gl5u
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) April 28, 2026
Considering all of the options Canada now has in midfield, such as Nathan Saliba and Mathieu Choinière, as well as #10 options Marcelo Flores and Jonathan Osorio, Larin continuing to struggle up front would only open the door for suggestions that Jonathan David should lead the line solo with an extra midfielder or #10 underneath him.
What that all shows, though, is that Marsch will have some key lineup questions to answer before June 12th - and he might want to find as much clarity as he can on those questions before Canada even plays a friendly, let alone takes the pitch against Bosnia.
What should the approach be in friendlies?
Speaking of those friendlies, however, it’ll be fascinating to see how Canada approaches those games against Uzbekistan and Ireland, especially with the injuries factored in.
Had everyone been fully available, the equation would be simple - play as many of the 180 minutes as you can with your best team, allowing them to make up for the lack of minutes that they’ve had together over the last year with all of the injuries.
Instead, though, Marsch will likely have to carefully manage players, with it being unlikely that he has his full group available to them in those matches.
Because of that, he’ll have to strike a balance. Whenever possible, he’ll want to find answers to the lineup questions that were outlined above, but he’ll have to do that while managing the fitness of players such as Bombito, Laryea, Promise David and maybe even Davies (if all goes well).
Moïse Bombito is back in training with OGC Nice after the leg injury he suffered last October 💪
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) April 29, 2026
🎥 @ogcnice#CanMNT pic.twitter.com/3FgvSgwy9h
That’ll be an interesting balancing act, one that could make these friendlies look a lot different than your typical pre-World Cup games, which are usually about finding sharpness ahead of a major tournament. Think of the two friendlies Canada played against the Netherlands and France ahead of the 2024 Copa América - across those two games, they started only 12 different players, with the only change being at the goalkeeper position, as Dayne St. Clair started one match and Maxime Crépeau the other - and that helped them set the tone for a good tournament.
This time, it’s not out of the question that Canada might start 16 or 17 players across both games, as they try to answer the various lineup questions that they face.
Perhaps, though, the best-case scenario will be if they do that, but are still able to put out as close to a best XI as possible for the Ireland friendly - with that game coming seven days before their tournament opener vs. Bosnia, that’ll help give them an idea of how ready they’ll be for that first game.
