February 5th Edition

In 2026, the world is coming to Canada — and on Sunday FIFA revealed where and when.

The 2026 World Cup official match schedule was revealed, with cameos from Drake, Kevin Hart and honestly way too many other celebrities. What we did learn other than how crazy FIFA’s talent booking budget is, is that Canada will host 13 matches at the tournament, split between Vancouver and Toronto. More on that in a bit.

The Concacaf Champions League also gets underway later this week, which will see Canadian clubs go up against some of the giants of Concacaf. We have a full preview of that competition coming up as well.

Plus transfer news, scheduling updates and more all ahead in this week’s edition of The Northern Pitch.

The first-ever men’s World Cup match to be played in Canada will take place on June 12 at Toronto’s BMO Field.

FIFA revealed that big bit of news, plus the full schedule for the FIFA World Cup during a broadcast on Sunday. Canada will host 13 matches in total, with Vancouver hosting a round of 16 match. There will also be five group stage matches for Toronto and Vancouver each, plus a round of 32 match.

After playing their first group stage game in Toronto, Canada will then travel to Vancouver for their remaining two on June 18 and June 24 at BC Place.

The new World Cup format includes 48 teams for the first time, who will be split into 12 groups of four. The top two teams in each group, and the eight third place teams with the best record, advance to the knockout stage, where they play in a round of 32 with five knockout matches seperating them from the final.

That final will be played on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. The opening match of the 2026 World Cup, meanwhile, will feature Mexico and be played at the historic Estadio Azteca on June 11.

The 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup kicks off this coming week, and for the first time three Canadian clubs are involved in the regional competition, which features the best club teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean.

Representing Canada this year are Canadian Championship winners Vancouver Whitecaps, CPL North Star Cup champions Forge FC and CPL regular season winners Cavalry FC.

Forge host legendary Liga MX side Chivas Guadalajara, who won the original edition of this tournament all the way back in 1962 before doing so against Toronto FC in a dramatic penalty shootout in 2018, on Wednesday (8:00 p.m. ET/ 5:00 p.m. PT).

This will be quite the challenge for Forge, who appeared in this competition back in 2022, losing 4-1 to Cruz Azul on aggregate. With a good century of existence seperating the two sides, Forge will need to rely heavily on the advantage of playing at a cold Tim Hortons Field on Wednesday. If you are near the Hammer, get out and grab tickets.

The Whitecaps, meanwhile, have another Mexican giant to contend with as they host Tigres later that night (10 p.m. ET / 7:00 p.m. PT) at Starlight Stadium in Langford. The Whitecaps were forced to move to the Island by a scheduling conflict with the BC Home and Garden show. Yes, you read that correctly. Might still be fun day out on the Island though, and tickets are still available.

Traditional home advantage or not, the Caps were statistically one of the best teams in MLS last season, and unquestionably deserve the title of best team in Canada right now. Beating Tigres, who have been to four finals since 2016 in this competition, would still be considered an upset, however.

Where exactly these matches will be available to watch? Well that remains a bit of a mystery. It does appear as though OneSoccer isn’t quite as off the air, and they do have the matches listed on their platform. With that being said, no official announcement or promotion has been made.

CPL regular season winners Cavalry FC are also involved, but don’t kick off until Wednesday, February 21, when they face Orlando City SC. Like the Whitecaps, they will be playing at Starlight Stadium, in their case due to weather concerns surrounding ATCO Field’s ability to host matches in the cold Alberta February weather.

🏆 Canadian MLS Club find out Leagues Cup draw. The second edition of the competition gets underway on July 26 and Canada’s three clubs learned their groups this week. CF Montréal will be in East 2 with Orlando City SC and Liga MX side Atlético San Luis. Toronto FC are joined in East 6 by Pachuca and the New York Red Bulls, while the Vancouver Whitecaps are in West 7 with LAFC and Tijuana. The top two teams from each group advance to the knockout stage.

📺 CFM, TFC and Vancouver Whitecaps will be featured significantly on TSN and RDS. The three Canadian clubs will have increased coverage on the linear television network TSN and select games on French RDS. Every MLS and Leagues Cup game is available on Apple TV. Notably, the Canadian darby match between TFC and CFM will be aired on July 20th. Vancouver’s Cascadia darby matches versus Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers will be aired on May 18 and September 28, respectively. The full draw can be found here.

🧢 Chukwu scores a hatty for Canada U-17 as they down Puerto Rico, Panama. Canada’s U-17 side are off to a great start at the Concacaf U-17 championship after a 5-0 W over Puerto Rico in the tournament opener. Star striker Anabelle Chukwu scored a hat-trick before being substituted at the half. Canada then defeated Panama 5-1 in their second match. Canada finish up the group against five time champs the United States on Tuesday. The tournament’s two finalists will qualify for the 2024 U-17 World Cup which will be played in the Dominican Republic.

🇵🇹 Marie-Yasmine Alidou and Benfica break record by becoming the first Portuguese women’s club to qualify CL quarter-finals. They did so with a 4-4 draw against Barcelona, who have won two of the last three Champions League titles, and were the runner-up the other time. Alidou now has four goals in this year’s competition. The draw for the quarter-finals will be held on Tuesday.

⚽️ Olivia Smith scores a GOLAZO in Portugal. Not to be outdone by Alidou, the 19-year-old scored a BANGER to give Sporting a 2-0 win over Valarades from a free kick. The goal was so good it made the Sports Center top 10. Smith now has eight goals and seven assists in her first professional season. Alidou’s Benfica, however, still lead the title race in Portugal by a single point.

🇫🇷 Jonathan David isn’t leaving, but he scored a brace. JD can’t stop, won’t stop. The Canadian #9 scored the opening goal and the third goal of Lille’s 4-0 win over Clermont. He now has six goals in eight games.

🤕 Alphonso Davies picked up the injury. The Canadian golden boy has been diagnosed with a sprained MCL. It is unclear how long he will be out, but with a quick Google search, recovery time can be from 1-7 weeks without surgery and 6-9 months if going under the knife. With the Copa America qualifiers in less than 50 days, we hope it's only a few weeks out. Fingers crossed.

🔴 Julian De Guzman becomes the Sporting Director for the New York Red Bulls. TFC legend and first-ever Canadian to play in La Liga has been hired to one of the biggest markets in MLS, NY Red Bulls. The club has hired a new head coach and replaced the former sporting director Denis Hamlett with Jonathan De Guzman. De Guzman's first opportunity as director is to use the club’s last DP slot.

🤔 Should Theo Bair be called up for Canada after scoring again? With the March international window looming, there are few Canadian players balling out more than Theo Bair. In his last four matches for Motherwell in Scotland he now has five goals and an assist. Make that 7 goals two assists on the season. A conversation should be had, especially if he keeps this up. Having a weapon like that off the bench could be critical against Trinidad and Tobago.

🇪🇸 Theo Corbeanu to Granada. For a minute, there were rumours of Toronto FC attempting to sign Theo Corbeanu from Wolverhampton. Alas, that is not going down. Instead, the 21-year-old has opted to stay in Europe and join La Liga side Granada for two and a half years for £750,000.

🔵 CF Montreal was moving heavily. Bleu-blanc-noir went shopping this winter, first getting Matias Coccaro from Huracan. Then, with Joaquin Sosa on loan from Bologna, Dominik Yankov from Bulgarian club Ludogorets and now MLS free-agent gem Josef Martinez. The MTL front office has bolstered the squad in ways that make the supporters like a kid on Christmas morning with a dad who got gifts that aren’t from the dollar bin. Proper Toys-R-Us. With Coccaro and Martinez, MTL has addressed their lack of goal prowess. Toronto-born Yankov will provide further depth and European experience in the midfield. Meanwhile, Sosa will be a vital rotation for the backline.

🌊 Vancouver Whitecaps sign Bjorn Inge Utvik. Vancouver once again does a smart in the transfer market. The Caps have solidified their forward position with an already consistent midfield. They have bolstered their defence by signing Norwegian Bjorn Utvik from Sapsborg 08. Bjorn wears a helmet while playing. Hard.

🔨 Forge sign Ghanaian Nana Ampomah, and Elimane Cissé returns. The Ghana international Nana Opoku Ampomah has played in the Bundesliga with Fortuna Düsseldorf and spent time in Belgium on loan with Royal Antwerp and permanently with Waasland-Beveren. Meanwhile, Elimane Cissé returns to Forge FC on a multi-year deal. Cissé has spent the last two seasons with Moroccan club Us Touarga and Senegalese club Diambars.

🔱 Pacific signed Sean Melvin and Dario Zanatta. PFC have added Victoria-born goalkeeper Sean Melvin to the squad. The 29-year-old goalkeeper signed a two-year deal with a 2026 option. Pacific sign another Victoria native in Dario Zanatta from Hamilton Academical. The 26-year-old forward joins PFC for an undisclosed amount with add-on incentives.

⚓️ Jeremy Gagnon-Lapare returns to Halifax. Well, well, well, look who’s back. The Québécois midfielder returns after a season with York United and has signed a contract with the Wanderers through 2025.

🦅 David Norman Jr. signs with Vancouver FC. This edition has been one of many returns and homecomings. Norman returns to the CPL to his hometown club, Vancouver FC. After spending a year In Europe, Norman earned promotion with then English-League 2 club Northampton Town and won the FAI Cup with Irish side St Patrick’s. He returns to Canada with promotion experience and a cup win. Vancouver needs this winning experience.

🏟️ Ottawa signed Kris Twardek and secured Liberman Torres on loan. Atletico confirmed the signing of Kinburn, Ontario’s Kris Twardek, to a two-year deal with the option to extend in 2026. The winger joins Atletico Ottawa from Bohemian FC in the League of Ireland Premier Division. He registered four goals and 11 assists in 71 appearances. Atleti also secured a one-year loan for Liberman Torres from Villareal CF B. The Ecuadorian is described as a “versatile defensive player who is physically strong and good on the ball, allowing us to use him both as a central defender and a defensive midfielder.”

✍️ York United signed Frank Sturring, Josue Martinez and Orlando Botello. The York United owners are playing. They have signed the 26-year-old defender Frank Sturring from Austrian side SV Horn. York United also acquired the one-year loan of two Mexican talents from CF Monterrey, Josue Martinez and Orlando Botello. The 21-year-old Martinez plays in the midfield, while 22-year-old Botello plays at left-back.

🇮🇹 Stefan Mitrovic joins Hellas Verona. Apparently, Hamilton produces Serbian ballers. The Hamilton-born Serbian international Mitrovic has signed a permanent deal with Serie A club Hellas Verona from Red Star Belgrade for €1.3 million.

📚 What to read

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. Just finished this book by Yuval Noah Harari, who flies over 15 thousand years of human history. This surprisingly easy-to-read book gives you some perspective on your day-to-day struggles as a person living in 2024. Super interesting way to look at the evolution of mankind, and it helps you understand why the world is the way it is today. Also, if you read French, and all you care about is soccer, read sofoot.com 

📺 What to watch

I love down-to-earth football. I love a good story about a relatable guy. So I found this guy named Antoine Lemarié. He’s a new professional footballer documenting his journey through soccer from Finland to Cambodia. Truly amazing to see somehow somewhat normal becoming a professional footballer. Seeing the day-to-day life of a professional footballer in tiny details.

🎧 What to listen to

Au cœur du Jeu. This is a French-speaking podcast hosted by John Dinkota. Sorry if you don’t speak the beautiful language. This guy interviews a lot of super interesting football players. From successful to not-so-successful careers, through the smart question of John, you get an insider’s view of the complexity of one’s journey through soccer. We get a lot of Canadian players in there, so that’s a plus.

✅ Who to follow

Free Game Compendium. This person basically does animation by cutting papers and piecing them together frame by frame, which gives it a crafted look that is oh so satisfying to look at. And it’s mostly about soccer. I don’t understand how this account is not bigger. 

Follow Riwan on Instagram here.