CANMNT

Canada’s Midfield Is Stronger Than Ever

Since the January international window, two major events have shaken up the Canadian Men’s squad: Marcelo Flores, a 22-year-old Mexican-Canadian playing for Tigres in the Liga MX, filed a one-time switch to represent Canada, and Promise David, a 24-year-old playing for Union Saint-Gilloise in the Belgian Pro League, underwent hip tendon surgery. Flores, a winger or central attacking midfielder (CAM), will likely join Canada’s 26-man World Cup roster. David, a striker, is unlikely to recover from surgery in time for the World Cup.

These developments highlight a trend in the Canadian Men’s National Team (CanMNT): The depth in central midfield is growing, while the striker position is a growing concern. Coach Jesse Marsch has primarily used a 4–2–2–2 formation during his tenure with Canada, but his team’s strength in central midfield should motivate him to try a formation featuring a central midfield triangle and a solo striker, such as the 4–2–3–1, in the upcoming March friendlies at BMO Field.

As a manager within the Red Bull system, Marsch used the organization’s trademark two-striker approach, but international coaches — who cannot request player transfers — must adapt to the players available to them.

Mighty Midfielders, Stunted Strikers

Marsch has a wealth of in-form players, in addition to Flores, that he could use in a central midfield trio at the World Cup: Stephen Eustáquio, Matthieu Choinière, Ismael Koné, Niko Sigur, Nathan Saliba, Jonathan Osorio, and Junior Hoilett.

Eustáquio, seeking more playing time in a World Cup year, moved from FC Porto to Los Angeles FC and immediately began to thrive (though he is currently sidelined for two to four weeks due to a blood clot). Choinière, also at LAFC, showed that he is in form by scoring a brace in a 2–0 win over St. Louis on March 14.

Koné, at 23 years old, is having his best season ever. Playing for Sassuolo in Italy’s Serie A, he is attracting attention for a possible move to a major club such as Juventus. The 22-year-olds Sigur and Saliba, meanwhile, continue to impress in the Croatian and Belgian leagues, respectively.

Marsch may opt to take Osorio or Hoilett, or both, to the World Cup, as they would add experience and cool heads to a young roster.

The striker situation is less auspicious following the loss of Canada’s most in-form goal scorer, Promise David. Neither member of Marsch’s preferred pairing, Jonathan David or Tani Oluwaseyi, is getting many minutes in Europe.

Cyle Larin has revived his club career after going on loan to Southampton, but he has not been prolific for Canada since the qualifying run to Qatar 2022 and has not scored for the maple leaf since October 2024. Daniel Jebbison, also competing in England’s second tier, is still looking for a breakthrough run of form.

Aribim Pepple, a 23-year-old new to the Canadian squad, has been on fire in England’s third tier, but he has never competed above that level.

Jacen Russell-Rowe made his Toulouse debut on February 8 but has yet to score in Ligue 1. Theo Bair, who has never gotten a start with the CanMNT, has had some success in the Swiss league, but he has been omitted from the March roster because of concerns over his ankle.

Lessons from Qatar

At Qatar 2022, central midfield was Canada’s weakness. Eustáquio, battling with injury, had to exit the tournament at half-time in the second match. The 20-year-old Koné was a raw talent whom coach John Herdman did not trust to start any matches. The 39-year-old Atiba Hutchinson was a bit too long in the tooth to track runners. Mark-Anthony Kaye had fallen out of form and would soon fall out of the national team picture. Osorio was reliable, but he is not a player who can take over matches.

Consequently, when Canada faced Croatia’s midfield trident of Modrić, Kovačić, and Brozović in their second match in Qatar, they were impaled in a 4–1 rout.

In the next game, Herdman deployed a Kaye–Osorio central midfield duo that was helpless against Morocco’s talented trio. When Herdman switched to the three-man unit of Osorio, Koné, and Hutchinson in the 60th minute, however, Canada took the upper hand. Hutchinson came agonizingly close to a header goal that would have levelled the score at 2–2 and earned Canada’s first-ever point at a men’s World Cup. Instead, it was a 2–1 loss.

Central midfield trios tend to offer greater control, which is one reason the 4–2–3–1 and 4–3–3 have long eclipsed the 4–4–2 and 4–2–2–2. “Midfields win matches,” as they say.

The #10 Position

Canada’s central midfielders tend to skew defensive. A previous deterrent from playing a central midfield trio was that Canada lacked a natural #10, or CAM. Now, they have Flores, a player who (along with playing on the wing) excels in that creative CAM role that is revered thanks to past masters such as Zidane, Maradona, and Ronaldinho.

Koné, however, is a likelier starting CAM if Marsch incorporates this role. Koné has shown some serious attacking chops with five goals as a box-to-box midfielder in Serie A this season, and he has demonstrated an ability to link intricate passes together with striker Jonathan David in previous international matches. A midfield triangle featuring Eustáquio at its base — paired with Sigur, Saliba, or Choinière — and Koné at its offensive tip could be sensational.

Hoilett is another player who can slot nicely into the CAM position. He is now 35 years old and has fallen to England’s fourth tier, but he could be a valuable set-piece specialist coming off the bench. Set pieces account for roughly a quarter of all goals at World Cups, so their importance cannot be overstated.

By introducing a third central midfielder, Marsch would make it easier to ensure that one of his top two set-piece takers (Hoilett or Choinière) or his third-best dead-ball deliverer (Eustáquio) is on the field at all times.

The Low-Block Blues

Canada’s most disappointing results in recent history are a 1–1 draw with Curaçao, a 1–1 draw with Guatemala (which led to a shootout loss), and a 1–0 loss to Australia. Marsch’s team should have bagged a lot more than two goals across these three games, but they could not get through the low blocks set up by their opponents.

Replacing the #9 Oluwaseyi with a #10 such as Koné, Flores, or Hoilett would reduce Canada’s speed and pressing ability, but it would greatly enhance their creativity and passing combinations, helping them unlock teams that defend deep and concede possession.

Such a change would also work in Canada’s favour by pushing Jonathan David, a more clinical finisher than Oluwaseyi, to the top of the attack. David has 37 goals in 73 CanMNT matches; Oluwaseyi, only 2 in 21.

Qatar, Canada’s second opponent at the 2026 World Cup, are the team Canada absolutely must beat, and they are the Group B team likeliest to sit back in a low block. A 4–2–3–1 formation could be effective against the Qataris, and Marsch should be prepared to use it. Even if the 4–2–2–2 remains his preferred formation, Marsch should experiment with replacing one of his strikers with a CAM during the March window.

Canada’s lack of depth in central midfield lost them matches at the 2022 World Cup, but their enormous improvement in this area could be the key to success on home soil this summer.

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