- The Northern Pitch
- Posts
- July 22nd Edition
July 22nd Edition
CanWNT Olympic Preview!

It’s Olympic week!
As the eyes of the sporting world turn to Paris, we at The Northern Pitch turn our focus squarely to the Canadian women’s national team—the defending gold medalists—in the sport they call Association Football.
CanWNT will be looking to pick up their fourth straight Olympic medal at the games starting on Thursday. We get you set for their group stage and the importance of where they finish in it ahead in this week’s edition.
Also ahead, a big move for another CanMNT player, the Canada U-20s kick off the Concacaf Championship and plenty more!
In this week's edition:
CanWNT
🥇CanWNT Olympic Preview

Photo: Canada Soccer
It’s gold medal defence time!
Over the next few weeks, Canada will look to once again step to the top of the podium in Paris as the 2024 Olympic football tournament kicks off on July 25.
As part of Group A with host France, Canada are involved in the competition’s opening game, where they will play 28th-ranked New Zealand on Thursday, July 25 11:00 a.m. ET / 8:00 a.m. PT).
Then comes the big test, facing host nation (and World #2) France on Sunday, July 28 (3:00 p.m. ET / noon PT). They conclude group action on July 31 (3:00 p.m. ET / noon PT) against 22nd-ranked Colombia.
The top two teams from each group advance, plus the two best third-place finishers from the three-group tournament. Canada, however, will be intent on finishing as high as possible in order to get a favourable quarter-final matchup — and path to the medal round.
The difference between finishing first, second and third in the group is fairly significant in this regard. Finish first, and they would play the third-place team from either Group B or C. Finish second, and it’s second place from Group B which includes the United States, Germany, Australia and Zambia.
Finish third, meanwhile, and should they advance it would mean a very unfavourable matchup against the winner of Group C, which includes defending World champs Spain, Japan, Brazil and Nigeria. You have to beat top teams at some point if you want to come home with a medal, such is the quality of the Olympic tournament, but with short turnaround between matches, Canada won’t want to make that path any more difficult than it needs to be.
Canada are coming into the tournament in decent form, having won both of their preparation matches in the lead up to the competition against teams they failed to beat at the 2023 Women’s World Cup. That included a 1-0 victory against Nigeria, courtesy of a Jordyn Huitema goal, in a behind-closed-doors game in Marbella, Spain on Wednesday.
Following that game, however, Canada were forced to make one change to their squad as fullback Sydney Collins suffered a leg injury that will unfortunately keep her out of the Olympic games. Collins has been replaced on the 18-player roster by Gabrielle Carle, while veteran midfielder Desiree Scott will join the alternate roster.
CanM U-20
🇨🇦 Canada open U-20 Concacaf Championship with a heartbreaker against Honduras

Graphic: Canada Soccer
On the surface, it was a solid result.
Canada drew 2-2 with Honduras to open Group B action at the 2024 Concacaf U-20 Championship in Mexico. Honduras, after all, are likely the best team in Canada’s group and have qualified for four straight U-20 World Cup tournaments.
How it happened, however, was heartbreaking for the Canadians. After taking a commanding 2-0 first-half lead on the incredibly muddy pitch in Irapuato (RIP the kit man who has to clean Honduras’s all-white kits after this match) they eventually allowed two second-half goals, including an equalizer on the last kick of the game.
The positive for Canada? Santiago López. The 19-year-old from Pumas continues to ball out in the red and white and scored an incredible free kick to open the scoring before setting up Myles Morgan for a second.
Canada will now look to quickly rebound as they face the Dominican Republic on Tuesday. They finish up group action against El Salvador on Friday, July 26. Topping the group, and getting a favourable quarter-final with a spot at the U-20 World Cup on the line, is still very much possible. But it’s going to take a couple of big wins from this Canadian team to make that happen.
CanMNT
🇫🇷 Theo Bair is now French Bair

Photo: Auxerre FC
The CanMNT striker has left Scottish side Motherwell for Ligue 1 club Auxerre, who just got promoted to the French top division after dominating Ligue 2 last season.
According to the Scottish Sun, his move from Motherwell was reported at £1.26 million. Bair was one of the top scorers in the Scottish Premiership last year, bagging 15 goals and 6 assists.
The French league has proven to be vital in the development of young talent, and at 24, Bair is reaching his prime years as a baller. While he hasn’t had the most burn yet under Jesse Marsch as men’s national team head coach, this is a great opportunity for him to show he can be a danger man for Canada going forward while playing in a top-five European league.
He is the latest of what could be many Canadians on the move to France this summer, after Ismaël Koné joined Marseille earlier this month. Jacob Shaffelburg, Moïse Bombito and Derek Cornelius have all been linked to a move to Ligue 1 with various clubs.
Nourrir Bair!
Canucks Abroad
🌍 Canucks Abroad

Photo: Colorado Rapids
🇫🇷 Moïse Bombito is still wanted by Lyon. Talks are ongoing between Lyon and Colorado Rapids. The initial bid of $4 million was rejected, and it could go up to $5.5. However, with his impressive performance at Copa America, Colorado is looking to squeeze as much money as possible out of Lyon. The Rapids have discussed a possible cash + player deal to make up the difference for Bombito. The owners of Lyon are Eagle Football Holdings, which also owns the Brazilian club Botafogo and the Premier League club Crystal Palace. Bombito could spend time in Brazil before heading to Lyon like Thiago Almada.
🏴 Owen Goodman joins AFC Wimbledon on loan. Eligible for Nigeria, England and Canada, the 20-year-old keeper is getting another stint away from Crystal Palace. After 40 games under his belt at Colchester last season, Goodman will have a season-long stint at fellow League Two side AFC Wimbledon to hone his craft for another season. Could he be on the horizon of a McGill-like pathway?
🏴 Harry Paton picks up an assist. League Cup action in Scotland continues to bode well for the Canuck contingent. Motherwell’s remaining Canadian would supply the assist that put the Steelmen in front against Montrose in an eventual win on penalties.
🇺🇸 Tani Oluwaseyi scored. It’s as if he never left Minnesota. In his first game back, Tani scores his eighth goal of the season against DC United. The talent is there, and his experience at Copa America is invaluable. Hopefully, it is only a matter of time until he gets his move to Europe.
🇧🇪 Promise David scores again midweek. The young Canadian baller scores again for Belgian club Union SG in a friendly against Sporting Lisbon. The 21-year-old from Brampton, Ontario, once again scored off the bench for his club.
🏆 Promise David also lifts the Supercup. The Promise-ing forward’s highlight week didn’t end there. Named to the bench in the Supercup, Promise would come in as a second-half sub as USG lifted the trophy for the first time in their history with a 2-1 win over Club Brugge.
🇲🇽 Lucas Cavallini scores again (and again, and again) for Puebla. The former Whitecaps forward has been in fine form in Mexico. The 31-year-old striker is currently Liga MX Apertura’s top goal scorer with four goals in four games, having netted three just this week.
Canucks at Home
🏡 Canucks at Home
Jesse was out in Toronto on College Street West to meet our @thevoyageurs fam! 🍁
——
Jesse s’est rendu à College Street West pour rencontrer notre famille @thevoyageurs 🍁
#CANMNT
— CANMNT (@CANMNT_Official)
11:37 PM • Jul 15, 2024
🍻 Jesse Marsch’s whistle-stop tour. Despite suffering a heartbreaking loss on penalties to Uruguay just days prior, the CanMNT head coach was back on the job in the GTA on Monday, wrapping up a meet-and-greet with The Voyageurs. Marsch was also kept busy before that, taking in Forge’s win over Pacific and digging into the breakfast TV circuit.
😕 MTL star Mathieu Choinière still wants out. Despite only playing the last 20 minutes against Argentina, the MTL midfielder displayed his talent in the third-place match against Uruguay. For all CFM supporters watching, they understood that he must challenge himself in Europe. After contract talks went south with CFM, Choinière remains under contract until 2025. At 25, his “dream to play in Europe” needs to happen quickly. The biggest loss CF MTL will suffer is losing their star homegrown player to another MLS club.
🦅 Vancouver FC inks Olivier Rommens. The 29-year-old Belgian swapped Malta for Langley this past week, signing a short-term contract with options for 2025 and 2026. Rommens was straight onto the team-sheet for the Eagles’ 1-1 draw against York on Saturday, making a good account of himself.
🔨 Elimane Cissé returns to Forge. After months of visa wrangling, Cissé is finally back in Hamilton, wearing Forge colours. A key part of Forge’s core for their first three CPL seasons, the 29-year-old will finally be able to dress for his return to the Hammers against old rivals Cavalry on Sunday.
👦 Pacific and Ottawa bolstering their youth ranks. Also in transfer news this week, were two clubs continuing to invest in their local player pipelines. The Tridents added 16-year-old left-back Will Edgson, while 17-year-old forward Adam Ross and 18-year-old defender Gabby Carvalho both penned development deals with Ottleti.
🏟️ Further roster updates in the nation’s capital. Atlético Ottawa also optioned Luca Piccioli to OSU Atlético in Ligue1 Québec, after an official loan move was denied by L1QC. The club also mutually parted ways with French defender Abou Sacko, who had last season cut short by injury and this season, saw limited game time.
🔱 Pacific tease a new addition. There’s also still a couple more weeks before the summer transfer window officially shuts in Canada on August 8th. With that in mind, the Van Isle club hinted on Sunday morning at a new player — inbound, according to the grapevine, from a League1 Canada club.
📺 Olympic watch parties, courtesy of AFC Toronto and the Halifax Tides. Still, over nine months away from kickoff, NSL clubs are already out in the community. Both clubs will be hosting viewing events on July 28th, as Canada face France in Saint-Étienne for both teams’ second group-stage match.
Other News
📰 In other news this week

Photo: Canada Soccer
⬆️ CanMNT are now ranked 40th in the world. Canada’s semi-final push in Copa America continues to benefit the team. CanMNT has risen in the FIFA ranking, moving from 48th to 40th ranked in the world.
🤩 Jessie Fleming has been named the first global football ambassador for Lululemon, and we’re so here for it.
🔴 Toronto FC signed Henry Wingo. The former Seattle Sounder homegrown talent has been transferred from Hungarian club Ferencvárosi TC. The defender has signed with TFC until 2026 with an option for 2027.
🔵 CF Montréal signed Dawid Bugaj. The 20-year-old Polish youth international fullback signed from Serie C club SPAL. He is under contract until 2026, with options for 2027-28.
👏 More good news: Canada is slowly becoming a footy nation. With the close of Copa America and the Euro 2024, TSN reported that a total of 18.7 million viewers tuned in. That’s 48% of the population watching international football this summer. 1.7 million Canadians watched CanMNT versus Venezuela. The semi-final against Argentina was the most-watched Copa America game, with 2.8 million viewers. The third-place game against Uruguay attracted 1.9 million viewers. Footy is on the rise.
🌧️ Can CFM do it on a rainy night in NYC (New Jersey, technically)? Samuel Piette, Mathieu Choinière and Joel Waterman return to the starting lineup. CFM went trailing 1-0 before the half. By halftime, the game was delayed by an hour due to heavy rain. In the second half, things got interesting; we saw an NYRB red card, and Josef Martinez scored a brace, bringing him to an MLS tally of 110 goals. The game ended 2-2. MTL failed to capitalize on the one-man advantage.
🔴 TFC defence continues to struggle. Last game’s win over Philly came as a breath of fresh air for the supporters, but their away game at Miami has revealed their defensive frailties. By the 61st minute, Toronto were down 3-0. Luckily, Dricck Etienne Jr. found the back of the net in the 71st minute after a tidy link-up play. The game ended 3-1 for Inter Miami.
🌊 BC Place is a fortress. The Vancouver Whitecaps are enjoying winning form away from home, and at BC Place, the away team expects a hard time. With Ali Ahmed returning to the squad, the Caps got an extra boost offensively. Despite not scoring, the link-up play between Brian White and Ryan Gauld remains the most dangerous duo in Canada. Vancouver wins at home 2-1, with Fafa Picault scoring the winner.
🍁 Le Classique is back! Like all Classiques, this was a dramatic one. It rained hard in the pre-game warm-up. The sun came out by kick-off, and a rainbow appeared over Canada’s largest tifo in a sold-out Stade Saputo. If we’re being honest, most of you have probably watched the game and know that TFC won 1-0 over their Quebecois rivals. All we will say is that Le Classique needs to be on your bucket list. Preferably, Le Classique at Stade Saputo, as the stadium is always sold out, and the vibe is always perfect. With respect to BMO Field, it sometimes struggles to sell out. But at full capacity, BMO is truly special.
⚽️ Whitecaps & Dynamo 7-goal thriller. It was a turbulent ride for Caps fans. The home side went down 2-0 in the first half against Houston. In the second half, Sam Adekugbe returned and immediately impacted the game as he assisted a goal. Vancouver got it back to 3-2 before Houston responded by scoring a banger in the 77th minute. They ended the game with another banger in the 86th to secure a 4-3 victory.
Games of the week
📺 What we’ll be watching
*All times in ET
CPL 🍁
York vs. Atletico (Friday @ 7 pm)
International 🇨🇦
CanWNT vs. France (Sunday @ 3pm)
CanU20 vs. Dominican Republic (Tuesday @ 7pm)
Use this link for 40% off a Fubo subscription!
✅ Northern Picks

This week’s picks come from Javier Morales (@javizeyes). He’s a 20 year old Atlanta-based Photographer.
👕 What to buy
CLUBELEVEN’s newest tee is a great pick if you want to support the great work they do! Printed on heavyweight 100% cotton so you can’t go wrong.
🎧 What to listen to
Rigo is an Atlanta-based singer/songwriter with a great mix of flow & meaningful music. I’m a big fan of his and he recently released an EP which you can check out on his page!
✅ Who to follow
Alex Martinez is a photographer based out of Philadelphia, and for me one of the hottest out right now. His colors and eye for the game never disappoint!