It is officially a World Cup month, and boy is it ever starting to feel like it.

We have a squad, CanMNT will be in action this week for a pair of friendlies, and the buzz is starting to hit an all-time high across this country.

It’s not hyperbolic to say this month has the potential to change everything around the sport in this country. No pressure, lads.

This week also saw a CanWNT squad drop, the end of the European season and plenty more ahead in this edition of The Northern Pitch.

No more projected squads or racing for the roster.

Marsch has named his 26 for 26, and we know the players who will be repping us on home soil at this summer’s tournament.

There were few surprises by the end, as the extended camp roster Marsch named pretty much ended speculation in several key positions.

Some injury questions remain, including the health of players like captain Alphonso Davies, Richie Laryea, Promise David, Alfie Jones and Moïse Bombito.

Canada does have up until 24 hours before the tournament to replace any one of these injured players if they are not ready for action. They could not replace uninjured players, so it made sense to at least give these key guys every chance to get back healthy in time.

One player Canada unfortunately know they will have to replace already is Marcelo Flores, who suffered an ACL tear in the Concacaf Champions Cup final.

Canada will learn more about the health and fitness of the rest of its team with two key friendlies coming up this week — their final two games before they kick off the World Cup.

They take on Uzbekistan today (Monday) in Edmonton (9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT) before facing Ireland in Montréal on Friday (7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT). Both matches will be live on OneSoccer and TSN.

If you’re an Arsenal fan, it was a bad weekend. Former Arsenal and Tigres winger Marcelo Flores was subbed off with an ACL injury during the Concacaf Champions Cup Final. Like Arsenal, Tigres would eventually lose to Pachuca in penalty shootouts.

No bueno. It has been confirmed that Flores suffered an ACL rupture. However, the silver lining to this injury is that it is the only one; he did not lose his meniscus or sustain any other injury typically associated with a knee injury.

Out of the World Cup. A day after being selected by Jesse Marsch for CanMNT’s official roster, Flores will miss out on the upcoming World Cup. The young CanMNT winger was one of the players that many were excited to see perform. Alas, that time will have to wait.

What does this mean for the CanMNT squad? Marcelo’s style and technical ability are things that were missing from the team. The flair and dribbling style will be hard to replace. The only natural replacement would be Jayden Nelson, who has a similar profile.

Wishing you a speedy recovery, Marcelo!

Another squad drop that maybe got a little bit lost in the news cycle this week was that of the Canadian women’s national team for their upcoming friendly against Costa Rica on Tuesday, June 9 in Cartago.

The squad saw a few new names, including a first-time call-up for defender Élisabeth Tsé. The 23-year-old central defender has played for Canada at youth level, including at the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.

But having been transferred to the NWSL’s Washington Spirit from Le Havre in France, she is looking to break into the senior team. Meanwhile, 30-year-old midfielder Jordyn Listro gets her first call-up since 2021 as Casey Stoney further assesses her options in defensive midfield.

Canada’s list of injuries is mercifully also getting shorter, as only Adriana Leon and Jayde Riviere were listed as unavailable for this camp due to injury.

Otherwise, it is a pretty standard squad that will be continuing their key preparations for the 2026 Concacaf W Qualifiers in November, which will serve as Canada’s ticket to both the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup and the 2028 LA Olympic Games.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Jade Rose wins the FA Cup. Two weeks after winning her first WSL title with Manchester City, J. Rose now also has her first domestic double with City after they knocked off Brighton, 4-0, in Sunday’s Final. What a way to cap year 1.

🇸🇪 Sam Salter scores again. GAIS’ fox in the box swiped three more points for his side as Salter and De Brienne’s team downed Kalmar, 3-0. Saltbae’s goal was a towering header 6 minutes in.

🇳🇴 Patrick Metcalfe bags a brace of assists. Sticking in Scandinavia but heading west, it was a solid game for former Caps midfielder Patty Metcalfe in Norway. He assisted both goals as HamKam drew 2-2 against Aalesund.

🇫🇷 Emily Burns to PSG? Now this is a nice surprise. PSG fanpage IRP is suggesting that the CanWNT’s third GK could be headed to the French capital to replace former England’s Mary Earps. What a way this would be to restore the Canadian presence on both sides of the PSG-OL rivalry, à la Huitema and Lawrence, or Lawrence and Gilles.

🇮🇹 Jonathan David demoted to backup? Well, it’s another rumour. This time, word on the street is that the Juve brass have told JD that if he stays, he’ll be second fiddle for the foreseeable future. We’re just hoping these can come to an end one way or another, and that Jo can get back to what he does best: score goals.

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🔨 Battle of the giants in Hamilton. Second-placed Forge FC hosted league leaders Cavalry FC in a battle for first place. This game was, as expected, an evenly balanced matchup, with the question of who would draw first blood. In this case, Forge opened and ended the game with a header from Antoine Batisse in the 70th minute. With a 1-0 win, Forge are now in first place with two points ahead of Cavalry.

⚜️ Can they do it on a rainy night in Laval? It was Haitian night at Stade Boréale, live music, massive vibes, but it did nothing to keep the cold and rain away. For the majority of the game, Supra and Inter Toronto were at a stalemate. After 60 minutes, the storm came down, and the game was delayed. After the delay, Supra took charge and controlled the game, ending with a 3-1 victory at full-time, handing ITO their first loss of the season.

⚓️ Halifax clutched it out in the last minute. Vancouver FC travelled to Halifax with the goal of breaking their two-game winless streak. At first, it seemed like VFC were in favour of winning the game as they outperformed HFX offensively. Sometimes, all you need is one chance, and that’s what the Wanderers got. A counter-attack from Halifax’s defensive third led to a clutch stoppage-time goal scored by Tavio Ciccarelli. VFC were defeated 0-1.

🔱 Pacific continues their winless form. The Tridents hosted Atletico Ottawa at a time when both clubs had announced the departures of their coaches. Things were going well for PFC as they took a 2-0 lead by the 50th minute. However, things got out of hand as Pacific’s Josh Belluz was shown a red, and Ottawa came back and ended the game 2-2.

Friday, June 5
Vancouver FC vs. Atlético Ottawa (7 PM PT @ Willoughby Community Park)

Saturday, June 6
Cavalry FC vs. Halifax Wanderers (5 PM MT @ ATCO Field)
FC Supra du Quebec vs. Pacific FC (7 PM ET @ Stade Telus)

Sunday, June 7
Inter Toronto FC vs. Forge FC (2 PM ET @ York Lions Stadium)
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🪽 Ottawa Rapid on the heels of first place. The Rapid are chasing the first-place spot, currently held by Montreal. Ottawa travelled to Halifax in search of a win to close the gap and earned three points in Nova Scotia. However, the Rapid had to work for their 2-1 win over the Tides. Ottawa opened the game, but Halifax’s attacking work rate was keeping the Rapid on their heels. Despite a top bins banger from Tides’ Jyllissa Harris, Ottawa sealed the deal with a goal from DB Pridham in the 88th minute.

🏔️ A five-goal thriller at Stade Boréale. Roses de Montréal hosted the Vancouver Rise in a back-and-forth game of goals. MTL would open the game with a goal from Elyse Bennett, only for Vancouver to reply with two more goals. The Roses would equalize in the 81st minute with a close-range banger from Noémi Paquin. Vancouver would have the last say with an 86th-minute screamer from Jessica De Filippo. The Rise defeated the Roses 3-2.

🌆 Toronto spot four on Calgary. What do you do if you’re the Calgary Wild? The prairie club’s struggles continued again as they hosted AFC Toronto who have also been behind the 8-ball this season. Toronto’s quality won out however, as AFCT added another four goals to the Wild’s GD through Lauren Rowe, Kaylee Hunter, Sarah Stratigakis and Kaila Novak in a 4-0 result.

None as the NSL pauses for the June int’l break! Play returns June 13 and 14.

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