Florida is a land of golf, gators, flamingos, everglades and, in 2026, Canadian goalkeepers. On Saturday, February 21, Maxime Crépeau (of Montreal) and Dayne St. Clair (of Pickering, Ontario) debuted with their Floridian MLS clubs. Soon, on March 1, they will face each other in a Florida derby.

In his new Orlando City kit, Crépeau made 11 saves on Saturday — some of them spectacular — in a 2–1 loss against the New York Red Bulls. St. Clair did not fare as well in his Inter Miami season opener against Los Angeles FC. Of LAFC’s six shots on target, three hit the back of St. Clair’s net, and he was caught out of position on the second goal in the 3–0 drubbing.

Crépeau and St. Clair moved to Florida for very different reasons. Crépeau relocated to Orlando because he was struggling last season in Portland, where he was primarily a back-up to fellow Canadian keeper James Pantemis. The Great Dayne, conversely, had a stellar season with Minnesota United FC and was named MLS Goalkeeper of the Year. His move to Lionel Messi’s team in Miami, the defending MLS Cup champions, marks a significant ascent.

If we judge Crépeau and St. Clair on the merits of their 2025 MLS campaigns, St. Clair is miles ahead. Even Pantemis, the preferred keeper in Portland, is well ahead of Crépeau if we use the yardstick of 2025 club form among Canadian goalkeepers.

Yet Jesse Marsch has insisted since he took over as the Canadian men’s national team (CanMNT) head coach that the competition to be his #1 keeper at the 2026 World Cup is a two-horse race between Crépeau and St. Clair. And rightly so. Crépeau has banked a multitude of masterly performances for Canada, and he is a team leader. In Orlando, he has been given a clean slate. If he can match or surpass St. Clair’s level of play in the first half of the 2026 season, he should be Canada’s #1 at the World Cup.

Crépeau Under Herdman, Biello and Marsch

Back when John Herdman was coaching the CanMNT, everybody knew the eccentric Serbian-Canadian shot-stopper Milan Borjan was the team’s #1 keeper. Crépeau was unlucky, however, not to displace Borjan on the eve of the World Cup in Qatar in the fall of 2022. At that time, Borjan’s form was trending downward while a soaring Crépeau was leading his former club LAFC to the MLS Cup Final. Tragically, Crépeau broke his leg during LAFC’s win in that final on November 5, 2022, just two weeks before the start of the World Cup.

Crépeau missed 2023 entirely and returned to competitive play with Canada after Herdman had departed and Mauro Biello had been named the interim coach. Biello immediately used Crépeau in a 2024 Copa América qualifier against Trinidad and Tobago and, in what he called a “cultural reset,” omitted Borjan and other veterans from Canada’s roster. Crépeau’s clean sheet against T&T helped Canada punch their ticket to the Copa América, and the French-Canadian keeper seemed to have made his long-awaited transition from Borjan’s heir apparent to Borjan’s successor.

Marsch entered the picture, however, with the idea that Crépeau and St. Clair were in a dead heat. In Marsch’s first two-match international window as head coach, he used a set-up that has become familiar in recent two-match windows: St. Clair played one, Crépeau the other.

St. Clair looked shaky in a 4–0 loss to the Netherlands on Marsch’s Canadian debut, and then Crépeau looked rock-solid in a 0–0 draw with France. Consequently, Marsch put Crépeau between the sticks in the Copa América and was paid back in spades. Crépeau’s array of great saves peaked with two shootout stops in the quarterfinal win over Venezuela. In leading Canada to the semifinals of a major, non-Concacaf tournament, Crépeau produced a blueprint for success at the 2026 World Cup.

Wearing a Cape for Country

Some athletes just seem to put on a superhero’s cape when they represent their nation. In the footballing world, a classic example is Colombia’s James Rodríguez, who won the Golden Boot at the 2014 World Cup and was named Best Player at the 2024 Copa América. Rodríguez has never contributed to his club teams with the same Colombian flair.

Among Canadian goalies, a stand-out example is Jordan Binnington, the hockey netminder who made clutch saves at last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off and this year’s Winter Olympics despite going through tough times with the St. Louis Blues.

Like Rodríguez and Binnington, Crépeau has earned a reputation as a cape-for-country competitor. Although his club career was a source of worry in 2025, he remained a commanding presence on the field with Canada in wins over Ukraine, Romania, and Venezuela. The only blemish in his four international matches in 2025 was the comedy of errors in his backline — most notably, Niko Sigur’s loss of possession — that led to the lone goal in a disappointing 1–0 loss against Australia in Crépeau’s hometown of Montreal.

Marsch Is Seeking More from St. Clair

While Crépeau got four starts with Canada in 2025, St. Clair got ten. Marsch seems desperate for St. Clair to bring his club magic to his international game and, like Crépeau, create a blueprint for success that can be repeated at the World Cup.

St. Clair was in goal for the final four of the 2025 Nations League and for the 2025 Gold Cup. In addition, he was given the more difficult test in each of Canada’s three 2-match windows last year: (1) Crépeau got Romania, St. Clair got Wales; (2) Crépeau got Australia, St. Clair got Colombia; (3) Crépeau got Venezuela, St. Clair got Ecuador. Marsch was deliberately putting St. Clair under pressure and giving him opportunities to shine like Crépeau did in the pressure cooker of the 2024 Copa América.

But St. Clair’s Minnesota glow was dimmed down when he donned his Canada kit. Although he is something of a shootout specialist in MLS, he has never blocked a shot in three shootouts with the CanMNT — which contrasts starkly with Crépeau’s two blocks in the one shootout against Venezuela. In Canada’s shocking quarterfinal exit from the 2025 Gold Cup, Guatemala put a stoppable header past St. Clair and then, in the shootout, netted all six of their shots on target.

Marsch is running out of opportunities to see St. Clair sparkle with Canada. The national team will play only two friendlies before June, the month of the World Cup kickoff.

Derby Day

On Sunday, Crépeau and St. Clair will go head to head, bringing some Canadian flavour to a Florida derby. This match could be a microcosm of a greater drama playing out in 2026: the battle to be Canada’s #1 goalkeeper at the World Cup.

If Crépeau continues to outperform St. Clair as he did last weekend, he should be given the gloves on the world’s biggest stage. The Quebec native has the superior track record with the CanMNT.

After a forgettable 2025 MLS season, Crépeau has a clean slate and needs some clean sheets.