2025 Gold Cup: Can Canada Prove Their Worth?
Led by Jesse Marsch, the neighbors from up north will look to make noise in this summer’s Gold Cup.
When you think of Canada, you probably think of hockey, maple syrup, and poutine. But what if I told you that soccer should be added to that list.
With world renowned stars like Jonathan David and Tajon Buchanan in their prime, an ambitious manager in Jesse Marsch at the helm, and the 2026 World Cup headed to the Great White North itself, there’s arguably never been a better time for Canadian soccer.
This summer, Canada takes on the Gold Cup in competitive preparation for next summer's big event, and the Canadians come into the competition in good form. Following the conclusion of last summer's Copa America, the team has only lost once, a CONCACAF Nations League semi-final to Mexico (assuming that you don’t count their loss in penalties a week ago to Ivory Coast in the unserious and inaugural Canadian Shield).
Jesse Marsch’s tournament squad comes as no surprise to Canadian fans.
In goal, Maxime Crepeau is expected to maintain his spot as starting goalkeeper, boasting 26 saves and 2 clean sheets in 7 MLS starts so far this season for the Portland Timbers. The Minnesota United man Dayne St. Clair and Brighton & Hove Albion reserve Tom McGill will serve as the backups.
The defenders are familiar faces, some of whom hail from big name European clubs. Olympique de Marseille’s Derek Cornelius, Fulham’s Luc De Fougerolles, and Celtic’s Alastair Johnston are the top players from overseas. Meanwhile, domestic players like Vancouver Whitecap’s Sam Adekugbe and CF Montreal’s Joel Waterman are solid options, while MLS veteran Kamal Miller returns to the squad with 60+ all-time international call ups as a Canadian.
There are plenty of options in the midfield featuring a wide variety of skill-sets. MLS boys Ali Ahmed and Jacob Shaffelburg represent exceptional pace both on and off the ball, while the speedy Villarreal loanee Tajon Buchanan is expected to be a top producer attackingly. Mathieu Choiniere and Ismael Kobe are intelligent center midfielders who are comfortable on the ball and can handle the press. In terms of experience and leadership, look no further than Toronto FC’s Jonathon Osorio and FC Porto’s Stephen Eustaquio, who have a combined total of 134 caps at the national team level with Canada.
Up top, the Canadians have five extremely capable options. The feature forward is Jonathan David, the all time leading goal scorer for Canada who will captain the team for the tournament. Tani Oluwaseyi has scored 8 goals and assisted 5 in 14 MLS games so far this season for Minnesota United, making himself viable for the number 9 role as well. Another interesting name is Daniel Jebbison. Playing his soccer in the English Premier League with AFC Bournemouth, Jebbison recently changed his nationality from English to Canadian, making his first Canadian cap in the CONCACAF Nations League semi-final vs Mexico. Promise David has shown promise in the Belgian Pro League, despite never featuring for Canada before this window. The oldest of the forwards is Cyle Larin, a Canadian icon playing in La Liga at the age of 30.
Unlike the United States, who clearly left out many of their top players for this summer’s competition, Canada has pretty much picked their best 26 players in an attempt to make a serious run in the competition.
“We’re excited to be bringing a very strong squad to the upcoming Gold Cup,” said manager Jesse Marsch. “We’re very confident in the group and we are looking forward to challenging for the title.”
Prior to the tournament, the Canadian’s played two warm up friendly matches as a part of the inaugural Canadian Shield. In their first match against Ukraine, Marsch fielded a lineup of mainly presumed starters. The Canadians came out firing offensively, putting four goals past Ukraine goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin in a 4-2 victory. Jonathan David scored two while Promise David found the back of the net for the first time as a Canadian. The second match against Ivory Coast ended in a 0-0 tie, with a completely rotated Canadian side able to hold off a good deal of regular starters from the African powerhouse.
Canada has arguably been drawn into the easiest group at the Gold Cup. Group B consists of the Canadians themselves, Curaçao, El Salvador, and Honduras. In the FIFA rankings, Honduras comes in as the second highest team in the group behind Canada, sitting in 75th place. They will likely be Canada’s toughest opposition in group play. Close behind them is El Salvador in 81st place. Curaçao is ranked 90th by FIFA and is making only their third all time appearance in the tournament, making them likely to finish last in the group. On paper, Canada should easily advance and likely top the group, especially considering the fact that El Salvador and Curaçao have had a very difficult time historically getting results against top CONCACAF sides.
After finishing atop their World Cup qualifying group in 2022, the Canadians were humbled by Belgium, Croatia, and Morocco (albeit a pretty tough group) on the world's biggest stage, coming back to North America with zero points. Prior to last summer’s Copa America, they hired Jesse Marsch, an American manager who had been left out to dry by his own country in their respective search for a manager. Marsch guided Canada on a pretty impressive Copa America run, with the team finishing in fourth place after a loss on penalties to Uruguay in the third place game.
Now, with 2026 on the horizon, Canada is looking to regain their status as the top team in CONCACAF, a title they held prior to the previous World Cup. And with their rivals from America going through a tough run of form, the Canadians have a perfect chance to avenge their 2023 Gold Cup loss on penalties and overtake the United States once again.
Canada begins their 2025 Gold Cup campaign against Honduras in a heavily anticipated matchup Tuesday night at BC Place in Vancouver.