What we learned about Canada after final World Cup tune-up

MONTREAL — The Canadian men’s team will enter the FIFA World Cup on the back of a seven-game unbeaten run and with just one regulation time loss in its previous 17 outings.  

Yet, the June international window was a mixed bag for Canada, as it failed to put together a 90-minute performance in a 2-0 win over Uzbekistan in Edmonton earlier this week and again in a 1-1 draw against the Republic of Ireland on Friday in Montreal.  

Canada’s final tune-up match was especially disappointing considering Ireland didn’t qualify for the World Cup and manager Heimir Hallgrímsson didn’t bring his strongest side to Quebec — no less than 17 players on his 24-man squad had five games or less of international experience.  

With his team’s opening World Cup match just one week away, Canadian coach Jesse Marsch clearly wants to control the narrative, and he was quick to quash any criticism of his team when speaking to reporters after the stalemate in Montreal.  

“I’m sure we’re going to get a million questions, but I’m going to be positive, guys. I’m not here to take a bunch of negative questions, and if you ask me negative questions, I’ll just move on to the next one,” Marsch said in laying down the law.  

Midfielder Ismaël Koné also tried to put a positive spin on drawing Ireland, a nation that sits 59th in the FIFA world rankings, 29 spots below Canada.  

“If you look at the result, some people might be disappointed. But in general, as a team and what we wanted to accomplish tonight in front of our home crowd, for me the objective was completed,” Koné offered.  

So, what did we learn about Canada from this week’s pair of games ahead of its opening World Cup match against Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 12 in Toronto?  

Here are three main takeaways.  

Canada can’t afford to wait: It needs David and Larin to step up now  

Jonathan David (39 goals) and Cyle Larin (30 goals) are the top two scorers in the history of the Canadian men’s team, but both are mired in terrible slumps.  

Larin has now gone 14 consecutive games for Canada without scoring, his last goal coming in 2024. David scored a pair of goals from the penalty spot against Iceland in March — aside from that, he’s without a goal in eight appearances for his country.  

Both players were rather anonymous against Uzbekistan. Neither one of them had a single shot on target, and both were unable to put their respective stamps on the game by way of carving out dangerous scoring chances. It wasn’t much better against Ireland as David again didn’t register a shot on target in 90 minutes.   

Larin did have one dangerous attempt saved by Ireland’s goalkeeper, but like David he offered very little up front. Larin also committed the foul that saw Ireland awarded a penalty from which it scored the equalizer during the second half.   

Honestly, it hasn’t been close to good enough for Canada’s top forward tandem for quite some time. Canada hadn’t scored from open play before the win against Uzbekistan since last November when Koné’s first-half strike over Venezuela ended the team’s previous goal drought at 342 consecutive minutes.   

The other two forwards on Marsch’s World Cup roster, Tani Oluwaseyi and Promise David, have five goals between them in 34 combined appearances for Canada. So, it’s not as if Canada is teaming with legitimate goal scorers at the forward position. If Canada has any hope of getting out of the group stage, it’ll need its top two goal scorers in David and Larin to produce.  

Luc de Fougerolles could fill in for Moïse Bombito if needed  

In an ideal world, centre backs Moïse Bombito and Derek Cornelius will anchor Canada’s back line like they have for much of Marsch’s tenure in charge.  

But Canada’s top defensive duo is in danger of being broken up at the World Cup as Bombito is still trying to get back to full fitness after suffering a left tibia fracture last October while playing for his pro club OGC Nice.  

Bombito was on restrictive duty against Uzbekistan due to his lengthy injury layoff and was subbed out in the 32nd minute. Considered one of its most important players, Bombito laboured through his first game for his country since March 23, 2025. He looked well short of his best and failed to make a play on a dangerous scoring chance that saw the visitors nearly open the scoring.   

Lucky for Canada that Luc de Fougerolles stepped up when he replaced Bombito in Edmonton and then started in his place in Montreal, distinguishing himself with his sound defensive positioning, his ability to snuff out danger before it developed, and his comfort level in playing the ball out from the back.  

Bombito and Cornelius are Canada’s most experienced defenders, but it was de Fougerolles, still only 20 years old, who was the team’s best centre back in Edmonton and Montreal.  

If Bombito isn’t fit to go for the opening match at the World Cup, it’s more than likely that Marsch will once again turn to de Fougerolles, who, based on his stellar performances in Canada’s last two games, is ready to handle the responsibility  

“I thought Luc with the ball was outstanding and (he) helped set up a lot of our initial movements to get us into the attack. I thought he was really good on what we call ‘rest defence’, and defending some difficult moments, standing players up, not giving away fouls. I thought overall was a really strong performance from Luc,” Marsch said after the Ireland game. 

Ismaël Koné could be the key for Canada at the World Cup 

Koné’s reputation as Canada’s midfield general has grown by leaps and bounds following a successful debut season in Italy’s Serie A with Sassuolo, finishing the campaign with six goals in 36 matches across all competitions. 

A physical two-way midfielder runs himself ragged in covering a lot of ground, Koné is part enforcer in Canada’s central midfield duo with Stephen Eustáquio, and part distributor who keeps the attack progressing with his immaculate touch and sublime passing. 

Koné was Canada’s top passer against Ireland with a 92 per cent success rate, playing a key role in helping his side turn the screws on Ireland by pinning them back deep inside their half for long stretches. Defensively, the Montreal native was a bulwark with three tackles, one block and seven recoveries. 

Games are going to come fast and furious for Canada at the World Cup against a variety of opponents with different playing styles. Koné has shown he can be an impact player for Marsch’s side, and he has the potential to be one of the team’s breakout players this summer. 

“I got after him after Uzbekistan, because I felt like he was just floating around the pitch way too slow and not intensive enough. And today he picked it all up and put together a complete performance, where against the ball he was winning duels, he’s winning head balls, he’s picking up loose balls, with the ball he’s driving, he’s finding actions,” Marsch said. 

He added: “This is what my vision from the beginning (has been) of Ismail: an intensive player that also has a gift of just moving around with the ball that teams can’t really match plan for, right? He’s an X-factor for us.”