The Canada World Cup 2026 squad is shaping up
The World Cup 2026 hosts ramped up preparations for their third-ever competition with two friendlies against Ecuador and Venezuela, with a couple of superstars that, when fully fit, would get into most squads at the tournament.
Jesse Marsch is hampered by a few injuries for his squad selection, notably star man Alphonso Davies, who is still recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury sustained late in 2024.
The nation is less than nine months away from co-hosting the tournament for the first time in their history – but there are still question marks over the team.
Veteran Junior Hoilett, who will be 36 years old when the World Cup kicks off next summer, was back in the squad in November, however, after missing out last time.
Liam Millar, who currently plays for Hull City, was out of the squad after completing his comeback from a cruciate ligament injury. But he has not been involved much for the Championship side yet this season, playing just 45 minutes.
Jonathan David, meanwhile, has moved to Juventus and is hoping to lead he line next summer.
Squad
Canada World Cup 2026 squad: The November selection
- GK: Dayne St. Clair (Minnesota United)
- GK: Maxime Crepeau (Portland Timbers)
- GK: Owen Goodman (Huddersfield Town)
- DF: Zorhan Bassong (Sporting Kansas City)
- DF: Kamal Miller (Portland Timbers)
- DF: Joel Waterman (Chicago Fire)
- DF: Derek Cornelius (Rangers)
- DF: Richie Laryea (Toronto FC)
- DF: Niko Sigur (Hajduk Split)
- DF: Alfie Jones (Middlesbrough)
- MF: Mathieu Choiniere (Los Angeles FC)
- MF: Stephen Eustaquio (Porto)
- MF: Ismael Kone (Sassuolo)
- MF: Tajon Buchanan (Villarreal)
- MF: Nathan Saliba (Anderlecht)
- MF: Ali Ahmed (Vancouver Whitecaps)
- MF: Jonathan Osorio (Toronto FC)
- MF: Jayden Nelson (Vancouver Whitecaps)
- MF: Junior Hoilett (Hibernian)
- MF: Marcelo Flores TRP (UANL)
- FW: Cyle Larin (Feyenoord)
- FW: Jonathan David (Juventus)
- FW: Tani Oluwaseyi (Villarreal)
- FW: Promise David (Union Saint-Gilloise)
- FW: Theo Bair (Lausanne-Sport)
Fixtures and results
November 18: Venezuela 0-2 Canada, Chase Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, United States
November 13: Canada 0-0 Ecuador, BMO Field, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
October 15: Canada 0-0 Colombia, Sports Illustrated Stadium, Harrison, United States
October 11: Canada 0-1 Australia, Saputo Stadium, Montreal, Canada
September 9: Wales 0-1 Canada, Swansea.com Stadium, Swansea, Wales
September 4: Romania 0-3 Canada, The National Arena, Bucharest, Romania
June 29: Canada 1-1 Guatemala (5-6 pens), U.S. Bank Stadium, Minnesota, United States of America
June 25: Canada 2-0 El Salvador, Shell Energy Stadium, Houston, United States of America
June 22: Curacao 1-1 Canada, Shell Energy Stadium, Houston, United States of America
June 18: Canada 6-0 Honduras, BC Place, Vancouver, Canada
June 11: Canada 0-0 Ivory Coast (4-5 pens), BMO Field, Toronto, Canada
June 7: Canada 4-2 Ukraine, BMO Field, Toronto, Canada
March 23: Canada 2-1 United States, SoFi Stadium, California, United States
March 21: Canada 0-2 Mexico, SoFi Stadium, California, United States
Manager
Who is Canada's manager?
Jesse Marsch made the step into international management when he took on the Canada role in 2024.
He made the 2024 Copa America semi-final, losing to Argentina, before being eliminated in the 2025 Gold Cup at the quarter-final stage.
He rebuffed an approach after the 2024 Copa America from the US national team and will lead Canada to just their third World Cup.
Star player
Who is Canada's star player?
Should Canada be successful next summer in their home tournament, a lot will rely on Jonathan David finding form.
The striker spent five years in Ligue 1 with Lille, excelling last season as they played Champions League football for the first time in three years. He scored 25 goals and assisted 12 times across all competitions, earning him a move to Juventus.
He is their current top scorer of all time, scoring 37 times in 69 games, but failed to register a goal at the 2022 World Cup.
