Marsch admits European sweep did little to clarify starting GK
Published
Canada is high on confidence after sweeping their two European matches in the current international window, but the window did little to help establish a clear No. 1 goalkeeper ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Max Crepeau, in a 3-0 win over No. 48 Romania on Friday, and Dayne St. Clair, with a 1-0 victory over No. 31 Wales on Tuesday, both posted clean sheets after splitting starts. Manager Jesse Marsch admitted after Tuesday's win that the window did little to offer any clarity on who will own the starting job in June.
"No," Marsch said. "I was just talking with the staff and saying both goalkeepers continue to perform at a really high level and show their quality and they keep making big headaches for me. But I would say across the board we now have almost a two-person competition at almost every position on the team.
"So what a great problem to have, but certainly as we get closer and closer to the World Cup and defining what our first group is, what the whole squad looks like, it will be a big challenge for me. A big challenge."
Canada outshot Wales 12-6 (2-2 in shots on target) on Monday after owning a 16-11 advantage over Romania (8-2 in shots on target).
Friday's win marked Canada's first win over a European side in Europe since a victory over Cyprus in 2009. Their two victories also came despite the team missing injured players Alphonso Davies, Moise Bombito, Alistair Johnston, Sam Adekugbe, Liam Miller and Daniel Jebbison, with Cyle Larin absent with his wife due to give birth. Stephen Eustaquio also returned to Porto over the weekend after suffering an injury against Romania.
A sensational strike from centreback Derek Cornelius, who Steven Caldwell predicts will be Canada's starting XI at the World Cup, was the difference in Tuesday's win.
Currently ranked 28th in the world, Canada could be set to rise to another new high when the FIFA rankings are updated on Sept. 17.
"If we can get as much out of every [FIFA international] window that we got out of this window, then we will be a very good team by next summer," Marsch said.
Canada will be North America in the next international window, hosting Australia on Oct. 10 in Montreal and facing Colombia in New Jersey on Oct. 14.