June 30th Edition

This certainly wasn’t the newsletter we were hoping to write this week.

Instead of previewing a Canada vs. USA battle in the Gold Cup semi-finals, we’re instead writing a eulogy about a team that failed to live up to its contender status. The hurt, and the questions, will linger after a loss that feels like it undoes a lot of positive momentum for the program.

At least we have a CanWNT showdown match with the United States to look forward to (even if the stakes aren’t quite as high). That, plus another CanMNT baller headed to Europe, and plenty more ahead in this week’s edition of The Northern Pitch.

In this week's edition:

• 😔 Canada’s Gold Cup is over

• 🇨🇦 CanWNT beat Costa Rica at home

• 🇧🇪 Nathan Saliba to Anderlecht

• 🌍 Canucks Abroad

• ⚽️ MLS Recap

• 🍁 CPL Recap

• 🌌 NSL Recap

CanMNT

😔 Canada’s Gold Cup is over

It wasn’t supposed to end like this.

Less than two weeks ago, the Canadian men’s national team looked unstoppable as they cruised to a 6-0 victory over Honduras at home to begin the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup. Now, after a loss in penalties to Guatemala, their trophy quest is done.

There is no way to spin this other than a failure for this group, a significant opportunity missed, and one of the most disappointing results and performances in this team’s recent history. It was their worst game under Jesse Marsch in so many different ways.

This was, without a doubt, a lesson in game management at a major tournament. Through the first half, Canada looked fairly comfortable. Jonathan David opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 30th minute, and Canada could have a few more.

Then, the red card. A moment that instantly changed the game, and Canada’s tournament as a whole. A split decision from Jacob Shaffelburg showing just how fine the margins are in games like this. As he walked off the pitch in second-half stoppage time following a second yellow card, Canada’s task instantly became that much more difficult.

They didn’t help themselves out. Realistically, Canada should have just tried to hold on for dear life. Instead, an odd move which saw Daniel Jebbison join the match for Tajon Buchanan, instead of perhaps adding another defender or even a midfielder into the mix, was the only move that Marsch made before Rubio Rubin’s equalizer in the 69th minute.

Canada held on for a penalty shootout, but that only made things more heartbreaking. Cyle Larin’s shot being saved in the fifth round, followed by a miss from José Carlos Pinto, provided hope. But when Luc de Fougerolles hit the bar with Canada’s seventh penalty, the team’s luck had officially run out.

These players will now return to their respective clubs, knowing that the next time they come together for a tournament, it will be the first game of the 2026 FIFA World Cup at BMO Field in Toronto.

This team clearly has a lot of learning to do before then. Hopefully, if nothing else, Sunday’s loss forces them to ask some tough questions.

CanWNT

🇨🇦 CanWNT beat Costa Rica, big test against USWNT next

It was far from a complete performance, but a second-half flurry led CanWNT to what turned out to be a rather comfortable 4-1 win over Costa Rica at BMO Field on Friday.

Canada started the match slowly, with some incredibly poor set-piece defending allowing Maria Paula Salas to open the scoring on a header off a free kick in the 27th minute — a score that remained at half-time.

It took CanWNT up until the 70th minute to equalize, when Marie-Yasmine Alidou won a penalty, and Shelina Zadorsky stepped up and converted. Holly Ward then added her second goal in as many games for her country with a lovely curled effort for Canada to take the lead four minutes later.

Canada kept pushing, and Zara Chavoshi scored her first goal for Canada on a corner in the 82nd minute. Then, in the 86th minute, Emma Regan went bardown with an absolute beauty to make it four for Canada.

NSL players continue to show out for the national team, with this being the first time two players from the league have scored in a match for the national team.

Annabelle Chukwu added to the positives on the day as the 18-year-old made her senior national team debut and looked incredibly dangerous in her limited minutes. The first of many appearances she is sure to make for Stoney’s side.

Up next? A huge challenge. Canada take on the United States on Wednesday, July 2 in Washington, D.C. They haven’t beaten them since the 2020 Olympic semi-final, and it will be a great test to see the level that this group has reached.

CanMNT

🇧🇪 Nathan Saliba the latest Canadian to make a move to Belgium

Cyle Larin, Jonathan David, Tajon Buchanan, Promise David and now Nathan Saliba.

Belgium has been a great landing spot for Canadian internationals to develop and thrive in recent years. It was no secret that CF Montreal had intentions on selling Nathan Saliba, the question was where? Anderlecht offered the bag.

The Belgian giants paid $3 million plus add-ons for the 21-year-old CanMNT midfielder. Not only has Belgium proven to be a top league for Canadians, but Anderlecht are one of the biggest clubs in the country. The development potential for Saliba is high.

The Montreal-Anderlecht connection. Former CF MTL Sporting Director, Olivier Renard, is now the Sporting Director of Anderlecht. Renard was responsible in building the Wilfried Nancy’s 2020 team that were knocked out in the second round of playoffs. Players on that team included Alistair Johnston and Ismael Kone. Olivier Renard has an eye for talent.

Anderlecht was home to some noteworthy players. Romelu Lukaku, Vincent Kompany, Youri Tielemans, Jeremy Doku and Aleksandar Mitrovic have all played for Anderlecht. They have all went on to have incredible careers, playing for big clubs in top leagues and also became pivotal players for their national teams.

Is Montreal officially a feeder team? It appears that has become the financial game plan for CFM. Does the organization want to win the league? Sure, but with these outward transfers seems to suggest otherwise. MTL’s export is a compliment to their scouting, academy and development but that is counter-productive when aiming to establish a dynasty that can win titles. MTL is an organic farm and Europe is the Michelin rated restaurant.

Nathan Saliba’s career has took an exciting turn. With an impressive performance with the CanMNT in the Gold Cup, Saliba is demonstrating a high potential ceiling. He is the latest export that will demonstrate the quality that exists in Canada.

Canucks Abroad

🌍 Canucks Abroad

🇺🇸 Jacen Russell-Rowe had himself a good week. Was JRR snubbed by the CanMNT? We’ll let you all decide that yourselves. What we can say is that the striker made a good case to Jesse Marsch this week, scoring not once, but twice against Atlanta United in midweek MLS action.

🇭🇷 Domink Yankov heads back to Europe. The Toronto-born Bulgarian midfielder has officially left CF Montreal for HNK Rijeka. The Croatian champions have signed Yankov from MTL for €350k.

🇧🇪 Grady McDonnell gets first-team minutes in pre-season. The 17-year-old Surrey midfielder continues to sit high in Club Brugge’s plans. The former Vancouver FC and current Irish youth international saw the final 17 minutes as Club Brugge picked up a 2-0 win over KV Kortrijk in their preparations for the new season.

🇵🇱 Antoni Klukowski scores in a tune-up for Widzew Łódź. As The Who once sang, the kids continue to be alright. Klukowski, son of former Canadian international Michael Klukowski, quickly got accustomed to his new digs with a goal in a 2-0 win. Klukowski made the switch from Pogoń Szczecin official just a couple weeks ago.

⭐️ Dayne St. Clair, MLS all-star. DSC is headed back to the All-Star Game for the first time since 2022, the same year he was named ASG MVP. The MLS All-Stars will be taking on their counterparts from Liga MX in Austin, Texas, on July 23rd. Four Whitecaps will also be at the show, with Tristan Blackmon, Sebastian Berhalter and Brian White all voted in alongside Dayne.

🇺🇸 Return of the MAK. That’s right, while everyone’s attention was turned away from MLS during the international break, Mark-Anthony Kaye also turned in some solid performances for San Jose. The veteran Quakes midfielder pitched in a goal in a win against Dallas and an assist in a Cali Clasico draw against the LA Galaxy.

🇮🇪 A heck of a goal for Amanda Smith. Hopping over to Ireland, we couldn’t not mention this crazy effort for Ottawa’s Amanda Smith. In a cup tie for Galway United, the striker pulled out this insane karate kick golazo in a 2-1 loss to Shelbourne. Oh my.

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Major League Soccer

⚽️ MLS Recap

MLS is back from its short one-week break with some mid-week action.

🌊 Are the Whitecaps losing steam? Vancouver hosted league newbies San Diego FC at BC Place and it was a rough midweek matchup. It was an eight goal thriller which resulted in an 5-3 defeat for the ‘Caps.

🌊 Whitecaps draw LAFC at home. A back-and-forth draw at BC Place saw LAFC jump out to a 2–0 lead through goals from Marky Delgado and Denis Bouanga from the spot. Brian White answered with a brace, including a header and a late equalizer, as Vancouver clawed back to earn a valuable point and stay atop the West.

🔵 CF Montréal took a midweek L. MTL hosted FC Cincinnati without Nathan Saliba and Joel Waterman. Truth be told, they needed those two in the lineup as CFM were cut apart in counter-attacks and defensive lapses. It was a depressing night as MTL lost 3-1 at home. Montreal are still winless at home.

🔵 Montréal win their first home game. We’re past the half way part of the season, and MTL have finally earned three points against NYCFC at Stade Saputo. Victor Loturi scored the only goal of the game and it was his first MLS goal. Once again, MTL were without Joel Waterman and Nathan Saliba but they held it down and earned the dub.

🔴 TFC earn a point at home. Toronto and New York split the points on Wednesday night after Mohammed Sofo opened the scoring for the Red Bulls and Theo Corbeanu answered with a headed equalizer early in the second half. Both sides had to shuffle their lineups following first-half injuries, but neither could find a winner.

🔴 TFC 3-0 Portland. The Reds snapped their skid with a confident performance against the Timbers on Saturday. Coello’s set piece opener set the tone before Spicer and Kerr added insurance, helping Toronto earn a clean sheet and a much-needed three points.

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Canadian Premier League

🍁 CPL Recap

🔱 Fireworks in the Salish Sea Derby. This derby well and truly delivered this week. In fact, it might even be the best match in CPL history, especially for the neutral. Pacific and Vancouver fought to a 4-4 draw with Aly Ndom getting a brace and three goals after the 89th minute. If you haven’t watched it, you’ll want to put everything down and hit the replay room.

🌲 More to come at Royal Athletic Park. The final edition of this derby is also set for a new stage. Pacific FC and Vancouver FC will meet in downtown Victoria at the RAP in the first Downtown Derby, announced this week. The two teams will face off at the 4,800-capacity venue on Saturday, September 13th at 4 p.m. local.

🏟️ Will Ottawa ever lose again? Okay, well, they’re not the league’s only remaining undefeated team — but Ottleti rebounded from their nil-nil draw in scorching temps last week to put two past Cavalry this week along with the clean sheet. Their loss to Halifax remains their only loss to the chasing pack behind them in the table.

🔨 Questions and answers in the 905 Derby. For the second time this season, Forge and York United ended in a 2-2 draw. It was the third stalemate in the last four meetings between these two clubs. The teams went back and forth throughout the 90 minutes in Hamilton with David Choinière coming off the bench to rescue a late point for the hosts.

⚓️ Another Wanderers classic on a stat holiday? There’s also one more game to come this week as Halifax host Valour on Canada Day Tuesday at Wanderers Grounds. With that, we’re manifesting — hopefully — another incredible match this week, throwing back to that 3-3 Labour Day firecracker back in 2021. The game goes at 3 p.m. ET (12 p.m. PT) on OneSoccer and fuboTV.

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Northern Super League

🌌 NSL Recap

The NSL is off for the next couple of weeks due to another international break, but there was still plenty to talk about.

🌆 AFC Toronto sign Sarah Stratigakis. The summer transfer window won’t be open for a few weeks but teams are already diving in. Down three players to season-ending injuries, the league leaders made a big splash, signing the Canadian international on a free from AS Saint-Étienne. Stratigakis brings Damallsvenskan, WSL and Première Ligue experience with her, scoring against PSG with Saint-Étienne.

🔟 Ten players receive international call-ups. A mix of nations will be represented on the international stage this window by NSL players. Emma Regan and Holly Ward will turn out for Canada, of course, while Esther Okoronkwo received a recall for Nigeria. Jade Mitchell could be in line for a Jamaica senior debut. The full list of call-ups can be found here.

🇵🇱 Kayla Adamek scores for Poland. There was some NSL-on-NSL action as Ottawa Rapid winger Kayla Adamek and Poland faced off against Montréal Roses striker Tanya Boychuk and Ukraine in a pre-Women’s EUROs friendly. Adamek’s Poland would get the upper hand over Boychuk’s Ukraine, with the former scoring in stoppage time to wrap up a 4-0 result. Poland kicks off their WEUROs campaign on July 4th against Germany.

🇵🇭 Jaclyn Sawicki helps the Philippines. The Calgary Wild midfielder scored the opening goal as the Philippines embarked on their AFC Women’s Asian Cup qualification campaign with a 3-0 win over Saudi Arabia in Group G. Vancouver Rise’s Jessika Cowart also started for the Philippines. The Filipinas’ group stage wraps up against Cambodia on July 2nd and Hong Kong on July 5th.

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