Happy Monday footy fans!

It’s a huge week ahead for the Canadian men’s national team as they play their last games in Toronto at BMO Field before kicking off the World Cup at that same venue in June.

They dropped their squad for those games this week, along with stunning new kits that have got the soccer world talking.

Elsewhere, it has been a rough Concacaf Champions Cup for Canadian players and teams, plus plenty more in this week’s edition of The Northern Pitch.

Only four Canadian national team games are left to impress Jesse Marsch before he finalizes his World Cup squad, and CanMNT revealed their squad for two of them this past week.

On Thursday, Marsch named his squad for Saturday’s friendly against Iceland, and next Tuesday against Tunisia. Both games are in Toronto at BMO Field, where Canada will host their first-ever World Cup match on home soil. If you are in town, you should really go and support the lads.

The 26-player squad features a first-time call-up for 23-year-old striker Aribim Pepple. He plays in the third division of English football with Plymouth Argyle, but has been scoring like no other Canadian player this year. This past weekend, he scored his 15th of the season in all comps in a 3-1 win. Can’t ignore those kinds of numbers.

Daniel Jebbison is also back with the group, while Marcelo Flores is in after filing his one-time switch to finally officially join Canada.

Otherwise, with a bunch of injuries, this camp is big for players on the bubble to get some significant minutes. Guaranteed starters, if they are healthy, Alphonso Davies and Stephen Eustáquio miss out through injury. Alistair Johnston and Moïse Bombito are there but only as training players as they work back from injury.

Meanwhile, Promise David, Jacob Shaffelburg and Alfie Jones are all on the sidelines. That’s a lot of opportunity for someone to make an impression.

Hopefully, by the next set of friendlies in June, Marsch will be able to play his best eleven. But spots on the squad may be won or lost this coming week, adding extra intrigue to these games.

There’s no doubt now, Canada will be the coldest team at this summer’s World Cup thanks to their new Nike kits which dropped this week.

Under the campaign name Full Tilt, they are by far the most ambitious and original CanMNT kit drop yet, drawing inspiration from the bold way this team aims to enter the tournament.

The home kit is a classy red two-toned number with an oversized maple leaf that feels uniquely Canadian.

The away shirt, though, is the one that really has people talking. Inspired by the frozen Canadian landscape, the black kit is designed to look like cracked ice, with a subtle red Canadian badge.

The new kits will be in action for the first time during Canada’s March friendlies, and are already flying off the shelves at retailers across the country. Grab yours here.

After just two rounds, there are no Canadian clubs left in the Concacaf Champions Cup.

Going all the way to the final last year, the Vancouver Whitecaps officially bowed following a 2-1 loss to the Seattle Sounders in leg two of their round of 16 matchup late on Wednesday night in Spokane.

It was never going to be easy after the Sounders took a commanding 3-0 lead in the first leg, but the Whitecaps did have a glimmer of hope after young midfielder Jeevan Badwal scored a screamer early.

Pushing late, though, the Sounders put it to bed, with Danny Musovski and Paul Rothrock putting the aggregate scoreline beyond reach in the 79th and 83rd minutes, respectively.

Another tough Canadian Concacaf story this week came from Dayne St. Clair, as Inter Miami’s hopes of adding a continental title to their trophy cabinet this year were crushed at home by Nashville SC in a 1-1 draw that meant losing the series on away goals. Not having a deeper run in Concacaf will be especially tough on St. Clair as he preps himself in a World Cup year.

However, as we all know, the C in LAFC stands for Canada, and they pulled off a dramatic late winner against Alajuelense, so Stephen Eustáquio, Mathieu Choinière, Jacob Shaffelburg, Ryan Raposo, Thomas Hasal and gaffer Marc Dos Santos will fly the Canadian flag in the next round.

That’s gonna be a heck of a battle, because they are facing defending champs Cruz Azul. Allez LA.

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👑 An NWSL debut for Holly Ward. The NSL was designed to build pathways, and that’s what it did this week. After her big move to Seattle, Ward made her first appearance for the Reign in a 2-0 loss to Fleming and Alidou’s Portland Thorns. Former Halifax Tides midfielder Sofia Cedeño also came on at the same time.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Cyle Larin scores again. The turnaround has been magical. Larin has been back to form — and Southampton back in a playoff spot — ever since he joined. The Saints took another step in their march towards promotion as Larin scored in a 2-0 win over Oxford United.

⭐️ Bestie to Bestie, Canadian style. Jordyn Huitema scored her first Chicago Stars goal this weekend, linking up with best friend Julia Grosso in the process. A driving run from Grosso before Air Jordyn’s first arrival in Chi-Town with a soaring jump and header.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Ali Ahmed on the assist. AA22 delivered another triple-A performance, something that Norwich fans have gotten used to since the former Whitecap arrived in town. He turned in the assist on the Canaries’ 1-0 winner against Charlton on Saturday.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Junior Hoilett last-minute winner. He’s still got it — in spades. Junior was on the doorstep to send the Swindon supporters alight against Tranmere over the weekend, scoring in stoppage time for a 1-0 final.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Aribim Pepple on form. The former Cavalry man was also one to provide a match-winning impact for his team this week, finishing coolly from the spot in a 3-1 win against Huddersfield. Good times for an ex-CanPL player on the verge of his first senior Canada cap.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Derek Cornelius in the cold. One downer of a story to share this week. Sent out on loan after being surplus at Marseille in the summer, injury has turned to demotion as Rangers gaffer Danny Rohl shared ahead of Canada camp. Perhaps, though, things will change again in a week’s time if DC rebounds with strong games for the CanMNT.

⚽️ Charles Emile-Brunet with a cool-headed penalty. The Montreal baller, who signed with Nashville, played for their MLS Pro Next team Huntsville FC. Emile-Brunet scored a penalty against Chattanooga FC.

🇮🇪 Richy Lapointe-Guevara signed to Irish club. The Montreal-born baller has signed with Irish top-flight club Treaty United. Lapointe-Guevara signed from Alfreton Town in the National League North in England. Before England, Richy played Div 1 NCAA football in the US.

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⚓️ Harvey Hughes and Sinclair Astridge are Wanderers. The Haligonians have signed the 21-year-old English fullback, Harvey Hughes, from Cape Breton University on a CPL U Sports Contract through 2026. The Wanderers have also signed the 20-year-old goalkeeper, Sinclair Astridge, from Dalhousie University. The U21 Canadian keeper has signed U Sports contract which will see him through 2026 with an option for 2027 and 2028.

⚓️ Halifax have also added Cyprian Kachwele to the team. The Wanderers have acquired the 21-year-old Tanzanian striker on loan from the Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2. The loan spell expires at the end of 2026.

⚜️ FC Supra have added two their roster. Former Valour FC midfielder Safwane Mlah and NCAA Div 1 baller Olivier Correa have signed with FC Supra. Mlah and Correa will be returning to Montréal and rejoining coach Nick Razzaghi. Notably, both players were developed by CS Saint-Laurent before leaving Montréal for greater opportunities. Mlah and Correa have signed through 2026 with an option for 2027.

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🔴 Toronto FC win at home. They did it! The Boys in Red got a dub at home against the Columbus Crew. Josh Sargent earned his first start for TFC but the goals came from Jose Cifuentes and Walker Zimmerman in the 56th and 83rd minute respectively. TFC showed character after going down 1-0. To end the game with a 2-1 win is demonstrative of a promising team that will cook.

🌊 Vancouver handed their first L. To be specific, the Whitecaps were handed their first league defeat at home against the San Jose Earthquake. The Caps maintained majority, created numerous chances with an xG of 1.21 versus San Jose’s 0.65. Despite the positive stats, San Jose nailed the game with a banger for Beau Leroux in 45+2 minutes.

🔵 Montreal cannot win against 10-men teams. A few weeks ago, Montreal were defeated by a 10-men Chicago Fire. This past weekend, CFM came out strong against home side FC Cincinnati with goals from Wiki Carmona and Prince Owusu. Cincy were shown a red card in the 60th minute, leading to a penalty converted by Owusu which gave MTL a 3-2 lead. Defensive mistakes from MTL’s backline resulted in a 4-3 loss. Questions arise about the game: are defensive mistakes by players or Marco Donadel's decisions to blame, or both? Notably, Ivan Jaime's substitution before the 60th minute has raised eyebrows.

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This week’s FanDuel fan of the week is Paxton Phillips. Founder of Arrowheads FC in Kahnawake, we caught up with Paxton as she tells us her story of the creation and community of her Indigenous women’s team. Check out the full interview here.