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An amazing week of Canadian Championship action this week with plenty of upsets and thrilling fixtures was dealt a big downer on Saturday morning when it was revealed that Alphonso Davies had suffered yet another injury setback that puts his World Cup in doubt.

Plus, Québec soccer is an absolute vibe right now, Jade Rose is a champion, and plenty more in this week’s edition of The Northern Pitch.

🏆 It’s that time of the year! The CanChamp is back. In this 2026 edition, last year’s champs, the Vancouver Whitecaps, are given a bye to the next round. While the first round of Canada’s Cup started with a major upset.

🦖 Toronto FC crash out to CPL champs Atletico Ottawa. Not a great way to start the competition, especially a 3-1 thrashing to Ottleti at BMO Field. Despite Toronto scoring first and holding the lead, Ottawa scored all three goals in the final 20 minutes. Moreover, to add insult to injury, it was Montrealer Ballou Tabla that scored that hat trick.

🔨 Forge dismantled the Wanderers. It’s been a rough few weeks for the Haligonians as they registered two wins and two losses before this matchup. This past weekend, they travelled to Hamilton and were handed a 4-0 thrashing by Forge FC.

🐴 “We’ve also got some decent players in this league.” Cavalry FC travelled to Starlight Stadium and defeated Pacific FC 1-3. The main talking point of this game was Daan Klomp's statements during the press conference. In short, he called out TFC for not showing respect towards CPL clubs. In reality, this is a message to all of the Canadian MLS clubs.

🦅 Langley United bow out in the Langley Darby. Vancouver FC hosted Langley United in a CanChamp Darby. VFC defeated the PSL BC champions Langley United 2-0. Langley United are the last semi-pro club to be knocked out of the competition.

The CanMNT just can’t catch a break.

It was another sad news week on the injury front, as captain Alphonso Davies suffered the latest in a series of setbacks after suffering an ACL injury last year.

The latest hamstring injury came during a semi-final second leg loss to PSG on Wednesday, where he played most of the second half, and even had an assist. The timeline for recovery from that injury is 4-5 weeks. Canada kicks off the World Cup in just about five. Safe to say that’s not good.

Davies has recovered from injuries early before, but the frequency with which he has returned to the sidelines is really getting worrying. Of course, this team has and can play without their captain, but there’s no doubt that they are a significantly better team with him on the pitch.

For Bombito, Promise David, Alfie Jones, and Alphonso, time is running out to get themselves healthy for June 12. The 55-man preliminary squad is expected to drop tomorrow.

Three Quebecois clubs, and all three move on. In this week of CanChamp action, it is clear that Quebecois clubs love to make a statement on the national level. CF Montreal, FC Supra du Quebec and CS St-Laurent all advance to the next round. Also, NSL’s Montreal Roses and the Montreal Canadiens have won their respective games.

CF Montreal gained much-needed confidence after dispatching the PSL Alberta club Calgary Blizzard. This was Calgary’s first competitive game of the season, as their season had not begun. Their first competitive game against an MLS opponent was going to be a rough one. CFM defeated the Blizzard 5-0.

Woodbridge Strikers bow out with respect. The PSL Ontario champs travelled to Laval to play against FC Supra at Stade Boreale. Woodbridge started the half strong with an absolute banger. They played toe-to-toe against Supra, but alas, the home club took home a 3-1 dub. Side note, Loic Kwemi in the last 15 minutes, wow.

CS St Laurent are doing it again! There’s only one PSLC club left in the CanChamp, and it is the only club to make it to the second round of playoffs in this competition’s history, CS St Laurent. The Montreal club travelled to York and defeated Inter Toronto FC 0-1. In true cup magic, they defeated a CPL club for the second time in their history and move on to the next round.

Also, fun fact, CS Saint-Laurent’s keeper, Martin Cantona, the nephew of France and Manchester United legend Eric Cantona, made 13 saves against Inter Toronto.

Is Montreal the capital of Canadian football? For the year 2026, yes. However, the amount of talent that has been emerging out of Quebec has been undeniable. This year’s CanChamp has demonstrated that La Belle Province has a lot to offer and a burgeoning amount of footy talent that exists within its borders. If poutine and the Canadiens are Quebec’s greatest export, Quebecois footballers will be next in line.

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👏 A historic night for Janine Sonis. Saturday night against Houston was big for the milestones for the CanWNT RB. She made her 100th all-time NWSL start, scoring not once, but twice as Denver defeated the Dash, 4-1.

🇫🇷 Ashley Lawrence with a stellar week. It’s been a couple of good weeks back-to-back for Ash. She’s left the memories of fighting for her spot in OL’s XI well in the rearview, scoring in a 3-1 win over Montpellier to cap another trophy-laden Première Ligue campaign and later lifting the Coupe de France in another big victory over PSG.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Jade Rose, WSL champion. A busy week with many good news items — for once! Jade has gone from graduating from Harvard to WSL champion in the span of a year (almost) as Manchester City officially clinched the title after Arsenal dropped points on Wednesday. Can’t have them all, Gunners.

🫡 Gabby Carle on the board. GC played a big role for the Spirit on Sunday night, supplying the assist on Washington’s late winner over Holly Ward’s Seattle Reign. With it being a lone goal, the Spirit also bagged the clean sheet.

🇩🇪 Phonzie on the ups… pre-injury. Before the main man went down, AD19 proved his worth as he immediately produced the goods after coming on as a sub midweek against PSG in the Champions League. The goods, in this case, being the assist to Harry Kane’s 94th-minute goal, despite it not being enough to keep Bayern in the competition.

👑 Cloé Lacasse with another goal. It’s been a quietly solid start for La-classe in Utah this season. She’s up to three goals and two assists already this season, having added to that total on Wednesday against the Dash (again). Sorry, Houston fans.

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🦩 The Messi show returns to BMO Field. Would this have been a different result if Toronto had a fully fit squad? Maybe, but for now, they were defeated 2-4 at home. This was a good stress test for BMO Field ahead of the World Cup, as the stadium was sold out, with 45,000 in attendance. And in true World Cup fashion, it was the Messi show as he scored a goal and picked up two assists.

🔵 CF Montreal third straight home win. As Dayne St Clair returned to Toronto with Miami, Maxime Crepeau enjoyed a homecoming with Orlando at Stade Saputo. CFM have been enjoying a good run of form at home under the management of Phillipe Eullafroy, and that form continues as MTL defeated Orlando 2-0. Things are finally clicking for CFM, and Eullafroy might be the answer.

🌊 The Whitecaps held to a draw in California. Battle of the West Coast giants, as first-placed San Jose Earthquakes hosted second-placed Vancouver Whitecaps. This game was left somewhat undecided as both teams levelled each other and ended in a 1-1 draw. San Jose remains in first, and Vancouver stays in second with a three-point difference.

🍁 Aleks Guboglo swaps allegiances. The tides continue to shift in the world of international call-ups and one-time switches. CFM youngster Aleks Guboglo was the latest to make a move this week, as his request to represent Canada was approved by FIFA. Ottawa native Guboglo was capped at U17 level by Haiti and is highly rated by CFM.

Wednesday, May 13
CF Montreal vs. Portland Timbers (7:30 PM ET @ Stade Saputo) FC Dallas vs. Vancouver Whitecaps (5:30 PM PT)

Saturday, May 16
CF Montreal vs. Chicago Fire (4:30 PM ET @ Stade Saputo)
Charlotte FC vs. Toronto FC (7:30 PM ET)
Houston Dynamo vs. Vancouver Whitecaps (5:30 PM PT)

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🪽 Ottawa Rapid trounce Vancouver Rise. Boy, oh boy, what is happening in the land of the Rise? Vancouver’s early-season troubles cropped up again on Wednesday as they were paced 4-0 for a second week in a row. DB Pridham poked home a pair while Kayla Adamek and Sadie Waite each added one for an ascending year 2 Rapid squad.

🌹 Montréal Roses add to a strong week for the 514. Clearly, the Roses got the memo from their CanChamp colleagues. Yes, it took until the 88th-minute for either side to finally find the back of the net at BMO Field, avoiding a second nil-nil draw, but to Toronto’s dismay, it wasn’t their side that did so. Elyse Bennett scored her fourth of the season (yes, already) in a 1-0 finish.

Wednesday, May 13
Ottawa Rapid vs. Halifax Tides (7 PM ET @ TD Place)

Saturday, May 16
Calgary Wild vs. Montréal Roses (3 PM MT @ McMahon Stadium)

Monday, May 18
Halifax Tides vs. Vancouver Rise (6 PM AT @ Wanderers Grounds)

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Wednesday, May 13
Forge FC vs. FC Supra du Quebec (11 AM ET @ Hamilton Stadium)

Sunday, May 17
Atlético Ottawa vs. Halifax Wanderers (1 PM ET @ TD Place Stadium)
Pacific FC vs. Inter Toronto FC (2 PM PT @ Starlight Stadium)
Vancouver FC vs. Cavalry FC (6 PM PT @ Willoughby Community Park)

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