Canada Is Ready for USMNT: Three Takeaways From Jesse Marsch’s Roster for Fall Friendlies

A new era for Jesse Marsch’s Canadian men’s national team has officially arrived, bringing plenty of new faces as the road to the 2030 World Cup begins—but it won’t include Alphonso Davies just yet.

On Tuesday, Canada Soccer revealed a 26-man squad for fall friendlies against Chile and Peru in Toronto and Montreal, before a highly anticipated clash with the U.S. men’s national team in Minnesota.

Bayern Munich’s Davies is not on the roster as he heads on his honeymoon after getting married at the end of the summer, following a World Cup where he played just 15 minutes due to injury. Goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau was also unavailable for selection after his father's passing.

Fresh off his move to Atlético Madrid and his first goal for his new side, Jonathan David is back as the team’s biggest star, while the Villarreal trio of Tajon Buchanan, Nathan Saliba and Tani Oluwaseyi also lead the roster. In total, 17 of the fall roster players were on the 26-man World Cup roster and bring plenty of confidence after a historic run to the round of 16.

Here are Sports Illustrated’s key takeaways from the squad announcement.

The Summer of Transfers

Jonathan David found some new surroundings with Atlético Madrid before the deadline. | ANDER GILLENEA/AFP/Getty Images

It was a chaotic summer of transfers for Canadian players, with several key deals coming down to the wire. Now coming together for Les Rouges for the first time since the World Cup, eight players are with new clubs, either taking a step up in league level or taking on greater responsibility at a lower level.

The most eyes will be on new Premier League striker Promise David, who moved from Belgium’s Union Saint-Gilloise to Brighton & Hove Albion on Deadline Day and made his Premier League debut against Chelsea. While he hasn’t been a starter for Marsch so far, his Premier League backing could lift him up Canada’s pecking order, especially given his strong international goal rate with four goals in 314 minutes.

Outside the new Premier League man, Liam Millar joins Birmingham City in the EFL Championship for the first time. The loan move came after a stellar start to 2026–27 that saw him score a game-winning goal for Hull City against Coventry City.

Back in the second tier, he has continued to impress, measuring up to the lofty level he set last season with Hull and contending among the league’s best players alongside Golden Boot leader Cyle Larin, who comes into the Canada camp with seven goals in as many games.

Other key players arriving after new moves include midfielders Nathan Saliba, who recently moved to Villarreal from RSC Anderlecht after an impressive World Cup, and Niko Sigur, who took the step up to Ligue 1’s Toulouse, leaving his boyhood club Hajduk Split.

Veterans Usher in Youth

Jeevan Badwal comes into the team as a potential future midfield star. | Brace Hemmelgarn/Getty Images

Canada’s new era also includes some names that fell out of favor in the lead-up to the World Cup. Junior Hoilett, 36, and Samuel Piette, 31, return after long absences. The two veterans bring a combined 138 caps of experience to a team looking to the future.

Hoilett, affectionately known as “O.G.” by the team, was on the fringes of the World Cup roster for his mentorship and set-piece ability, but is not currently with a club after leaving EFL League 2 side Swindon Town at the end of last season. Piette, meanwhile, continues to play a depth role for CF Montréal, but is not seen as a long-term key piece of the Canadian or MLS side’s rosters.

Those two will be vital in setting the culture, though, and will likely receive farewell tributes as U-22 players Richard Chukwu, Jovan Ivanisevic and Jeevan Badwal join the squad.

Badwal may be the most intriguing young addition, having scored a goal and three assists in 1,243 MLS minutes this season with the Vancouver Whitecaps. At age 20, he’s already become a dynamic central midfield presence and has taken on more responsibility with the MLS club since USMNT star Sebastian Berhalter moved from Vancouver to Middlesbrough.

Ivanisevic earned his first senior call-up at 21, after moving to Europe as a teenager after graduating from the Toronto FC academy. Currently with FK Sarajevo in the Bosnian Premier League, the defender impressed in the youth ranks with Italy’s Bologna and is seen as an option for the future.

Is the Striker Position in Question?

Cyle Larin hopes to bring his Southampton form back into Canada camp. | Ercin Erturk/Anadolu/Getty Images

Jonathan David is Canada’s all-time leading goalscorer with 42 goals in 82 caps and netted a hat-trick at the World Cup in a 6–0 win over Qatar, but there could be an opportunity for others to push him out of his starting lineup spot in this window—although he will get every chance to keep it.

Southampton’s Larin, second to David on the all-time scoring list, was named the EFL Championship’s Player of the Month for September and will look to bring that form to the international stage after scoring just twice in seven games this summer. Promise David, meanwhile, brings his new Premier League backing into the fold.

While those three are the most likely trio to lead the team into the next era, there will be opportunities for Ligue 1 striker Jacen Russell-Rowe, 24, who is still looking to establish himself internationally. Oluwaseyi, meanwhile, has struggled to finish for club and country, while Bournemouth’s Daniel Jebbison has underwhelmed in his Premier League return so far this season and was a late cut to the World Cup squad.

With a striker-heavy roster, minutes will be fiercely contested, and the inside track goes to Jonathan and Promise David, as well as the in-form Larin, but others could make their cases this fall.

While the results don’t matter in the friendlies, a win against the U.S. is now standard for Marsch’s men, especially at a time when tensions are high between the two countries over off-pitch matters. At the same time, finding form ahead of a return to competitive games with November’s Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal will be important.

“We’re excited,” added Marsch. “This team left everything out there at the World Cup, and now we get to do it again in front of the fans who were with us every step of the way. That's what these matches are about. This summer changed what's possible for this program, and these matches are our chance to build on it.”

Canada Fall Friendlies Squad Confirmed: Full List of Players

Goalkeepers

Owen Goodman - Dundee United
James Pantemis - Portland Timbers
Dayne St. Clair - Inter Miami

Defenders

Derek Cornelius - Olympique de Marseille
Richard Chukwu - Toronto FC
Luc de Fougerolles - Real Salt Lake
Jovan Ivanisevic - FK Sarajevo
Alfie Jones - Middlesbrough
Richie Laryea - Toronto FC
Ralph Priso - Vancouver Whitecaps
Niko Sigur - Toulouse

Midfielders

Jeevan Badwal - Vancouver Whitecaps
Tajon Buchanan - Villarreal
Mathieu Choinière - LAFC
Stephen Eustáquio - Swansea City
Junior Hoilett - Unattached
Liam Millar - Birmingham City
Samuel Piette - CF Montréal
Nathan Saliba - Villarreal
Jacob Shaffelburg - LAFC

Forwards

Jonathan David - Atlético Madrid
Promise David - Brighton & Hove Albion
Daniel Jebbison - Bournemouth
Cyle Larin - Southampton
Tani Oluwaseyi - Villarreal
Jacen Russell-Rowe - Toulouse

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