The only surprise is that we were surprised. In his final moments of deliberation Jesse Marsch looked at the options in front of him and chose speed. Why change the habit of a lifetime?

Jacob Shaffelburg was the final winner on Friday night as Marsch named his 26-man World Cup squad in a primetime TV address to the co-host nation. The LAFC winger was likely Mr 26 as Canada’s American head coach cut six names from a group of 32 he’d named earlier in the week. Fitness, particularly in defense, was the factor which had forced Marsch to bring the expanded group to camp in Charlotte. Most acutely, the health or otherwise of captain Alphonso Davies occupies so many Canadian thoughts and will continue to do so. The Bayern Munich man didn’t make it as far as North Carolina but will join his 25 teammates on home soil in the coming days.

In his late shuffling Marsch stacked defense and midfield and named four strikers. Nonetheless he’s adamant that the slew of health issues won’t affect his squad on their mission to deliver history at home.

“Guys are getting healthy, I promise you,” said Marsch. “The reason we put this squad together is because these guys are all trending in the direction, they’re looking ready to go. We have really our best group of 26 players that this country has ever assembled at any one time.”

Goalkeepers

It is both a quirk and a concern that the one area of the roster which was fully known ahead of time also contains Canada’s biggest unknown.

Marsch has done many things in two whirlwind years at the helm where Fifa ranking and World Cup expectations rose. What he hasn’t done, remarkably, is pick a No 1. His indecision between Maxime Crépeau and Dayne St Clair rolls on to Edmonton on Monday night where Canada face Uzbekistan in the first of two pre-tournament tests. Both will get 45 minutes, continuing this prolonged timeshare between the posts.

What hasn’t helped is that both come into the World Cup on the back of struggles in MLS. Just as Crépeau felt slightly favored he’s been torched for 38 goals in 14 games this season. His experience and authority may swing it but the indecision must end.

Defense

The first men’s World Cup to land on Canadian soil took its sweet time getting here. For Marsch’s injury-ravaged defense, every extra minute has been priceless.

The past 15 months have been spent with the entirety of what had emerged through the 2024 Copa América odyssey as Canada’s first-choice back four absent. Marsch’s leading central defensive options tell the tale: Moïse Bombito (broken leg) hasn’t played a club match since October; Derek Cornelius (hamstring) not since November and Alfie Jones (ankle ligament) December.

Yung duo Ralph Priso and Jamie Knight-Lebel travelled to Charlotte with hope but Marsch clearly saw enough from the recuperating trio to stick with them, Luc de Fougerolles and veteran Joel Waterman offering cover. Barring setbacks, Bombito and Cornelius will surely start the opener against Bosnia & Herzegovina.

Marsch has all but ruled Davies out of that historic day in Toronto, Canada’s captain recovering from yet another muscular issue. In spite of all the progress made under Marsch and the proliferation of Canadian talent across European leagues, Davies remains the one indisputably world class player on the roster. Getting him back for either Qatar or the final group game against Switzerland feels imperative.

In such circumstances, the fitness and form of right back Alistair Johnston is pivotal. The versatility and dependability of Niko Sigur could tell too.

Midfield

The system which Marsch honed at club level has, with some tweaks, worked a charm with this gifted Canadian generation. Much of the relentlessness of the Rouge Bull way starts with vice captain Steph Eustaquio haring across every inch of the middle. His partnership with Ismaël Koné is locked in. After a stellar Serie A campaign Koné feels primed to put a major imprint on this tournament. Anderlecht’s Nathan Saliba is another on the rise and will offer energy off the bench.

The biggest dilemmas for the coaching staff were out wide. While Tajon Buchanan owns the right, the left looked stacked. While Ali Ahmed has looked to make the position his own, Liam Millar finished his season in brilliant form, helping Hull City reach the Premier League. Meanwhile Marsch heavily recruited Canadian-born Mexican international Marcelo Flores and after a January switch, saw Flores light up the March window. That piled pressure on MLS duo Jayden Nelson and Shaffelburg, a breakout star of that Copa América run which gave the Marsch era instant lift-off.

Nelson, ultimately, misses out but with some cutting up top, Marsch found room for Shaffelburg, another on his way back to fitness. But could a man with a moniker as good as the Messi of the Maritimes really have been omitted?

Attack

An irony of the year leading into this tournament was that Canada’s defense was threadbare yet water-tight while its attack was fully-healthy but mostly anemic. An irony and a serious concern.

Marsch insists his team will score. Jonathan David, as ever, is likeliest to do so even if his maiden season at Juventus was the least prolific of his career and in Marsch’s system he’s deployed deeper. Cyle Larin’s World Cup prospects looked grim around Christmas but the veteran has been invigorated on loan at Southampton and will lead the line in front of David.

The only thing that could stop Promise David scoring goals in Belgium proved to be a ruptured hip flexor. His rapid recovery has been, according to Marsch, “a revelation”. The always-quotable powerhouse put it another way this week: “I think I could regrow a limb if I lost it.”

Tani Oluwaseyi rounding out a leaner attacking corps meant last-minute cuts for both Jacen Russell-Rowe of Toulouse and Daniel Jebbison, who switched his allegiance to Canada in 2025 but hadn’t yet found his feet.

Canada 2026 World Cup roster

(First-time World Cup indicated with an asterisk, caps and goals listed in parentheses)

Goalkeepers (3) Maxime Crépeau* (Orlando City, 30/0) Dayne St. Clair, (Inter Miami, 19/0), Owen Goodman* (Barnsley, 0/0)

Defenders (9) Moise Bombito* (Nice, 19/0), Derek Cornelius (Marseille, 42/1), Alphonso Davies (Captain; Bayern Munich, 58/15), Luc de Fougerolles* (Dender, 11/0), Alistair Johnston (Celtic, 56/1), Alfie Jones* (Middlesbrough, 1/0), Richie Laryea (Toronto FC, 73/1), Niko Sigur* (Hajduk Split, 17/2), Joel Waterman (Chicago Fire, 17/0)

Midfielders (4) Mathieu Choinière* (LAFC, 22/0), Stephen Eustaquio (LAFC, 54/4), Ismaël Koné (Sassuolo, 38/4), Nathan Saliba* (Anderlecht, 13/2)

Attacking midfielders/wingers (6) Ali Ahmed* (Norwich City, 24/1), Tajon Buchanan (Villarreal, 58/8), Marcelo Flores* (Tigres, 2/0). Liam Millar* (Hull City, 39/1), Jonathan Osorio (Toronto FC 89/9), Jacob Shaffelburg* (LAFC, 31/6)

Strikers (4) Jonathan David (Juventus, 75/39), Promise David* (Union SG, 8/3), Tani Oluwaseyi* (Villarreal, 22/2), Cyle Larin (Southampton, 88/30)