It’s now officially less than a month before the World Cup comes to Canada, and we aren’t sure if we are emotionally (or physically) ready.

Right now, however, it feels a bit like the calm before the storm, in what was a quieter week overall for Canadian footy.

Next week will be far different, as it’s the business end of the European season and plenty of Canadian internationals will be playing in some huge matches — joining a few who did lift trophies this week.

Plus, everything else you need to know from the week that was in Canadian soccer, ahead in this long-weekend edition of the Northern Pitch.

She’s already lifted two trophies this season, now veteran Canadian national team full-back Ashley Lawrence has reached two major finals, looking to add even more silverware.

This Saturday at Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo, Lyonnes take on Barcelona in the 2026 UEFA Women’s Champions League final at Noon ET / 9 a.m. PT on OneSoccer.

Barcelona have won two of the past three editions of the tournament, while eight-time champions OL Lyonnes are by far the most successful team in the competition’s history.

It is a rematch of the 2023-24 and 2018-19 Champions League finals, where each team defeated the other once.

Meanwhile, Lyonnes are headed to their league final after a stunning 8-0 victory over Nantes in the semi-final. Lawrence played the 90 and had an assist in that match.

The final, against Paris FC, will be played on Friday, May 29 at 3 p.m. ET.

Group of death vibes?

Canada learned their path for September’s U-20 World Cup in Poland, and safe to say, it is a pretty difficult one. They draw the countries ranked third in the World (England) and sixth (Brazil) at the senior level in the same group.

Group B’s other squad, Tanzania, meanwhile, will be making their tournament debut, and it is worth noting that the best four third-place teams also get out of their respective groups.

After being the runners-up at the 2002 tournament, which was held in Canada, the U-20s have gotten out of their group just three times in the next ten tournaments, and never past the quarter-finals.

They are coming into this tournament as the reigning Concacaf champs after winning the 2025 tournament, so there is hope that this next generation can take Canada deep once again.

Canada kick off the tournament on September 5 vs. England, before taking on Brazil on September 8 and Tanzania on September 11.

The bag is huge and the pressure is just as big at Wembley this coming weekend.

That’s where two CanMNT teammates will go head-to-head for 220 million pounds. Well, not them personally, but their clubs, Hull City and Southampton in the Championship promotion play-off final on Saturday, May 23 (11:30 a.m. ET).

One of their two clubs is going back to the Premier League, joining Coventry and Ipswich Town, who already secured automatic promotion.

Hull City defeated Millwall 2-0 this past Monday, while Southampton scored late in extra time to defeat Middlesbrough 2-1. Both semi-final opening legs ended 0-0.

Larin is only on loan with Southampton from Mallorca, but with nine goals in all competitions since joining the club in February, rumours are that the Saints are taking a serious look at keeping him on a permanent basis.

There is, of course, still one massive wrinkle in this story, known as Spygate. With Southampton alleged to have filmed the training of semi-final opponent Middlesbrough before the semi-final. An independent panel’s hearing may mean the playoff final gets rescheduled, or even worse, penalties for Southampton.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Jade Rose wins the league with City. CanWNT defender Jade Rose scored her first WSL goal before lifting the league title with Manchester City this week in just her first year as a pro.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Alistair Johnston is a Scottish champion. (Again.) It was a cruel finish for most footy sickos that were rooting for Hearts to lift the Scottish Premiership title, and certainly not controversy-free. But, Celtic officially lifted the title after a 3-1 win, giving AJ the fourth of his career.

🇩🇪 Alphonso Davies picked up another league title. Despite the injury, Phonzy picked up another Bundesliga title as Bayern Munich defeated FC Koln 5-1. This is Davies’ seventh Bundesliga title.

🏔️ Janine Sonis with a hometown brace. Not just one, but two goals for Janine S- wait, didn’t we have this last week? Well, guess what. The Summit captain did it again this past week, netting from the spot and from the edge of the box in a 3-1 win over Orlando.

🇸🇪 Matteo De Brienne with the helper. The speedster was at it again, delivering dimes for his strikers to cash in. MDB clipped a perfect ball to be headed across the box for GAIS’ opener in a 1-1 draw against Degerfors.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Sabrina D’Angelo nominated. Nominated for the WSL’s Player Champion of Change award, specifically! Sabs was given the nod for her part with Villa’s club foundation. Winner or not, the positive impact is what matters most (though the extra recognition we’re sure wouldn’t go amiss).

👀 Nathan Saliba is wanted. Here comes another Fabrizio Romano report, the former CF Montreal midfielder has gained the interest of Bundesliga club Freiburg. Morever, clubs in Italy and England are interested in the CanMNT midfielder. A positive World Cup performance could earn him a big move out of Anderlecht.

🤕 Luc de Fougerolles picked up an injury. The young CanMNT defender came off with an injury while playing for Dender in the 62nd minute. Along with Kamal Milller, Canada would potentially be missing two key backup CBs for the upcoming WC.

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🔵 CF Montreal held to a draw mid-week. Former CF MTL ballers James Pantemis and Kamal Miller return to Stade Saputo and were held to a 2-2 draw. Despite the result, MTL showed another promising performance, with positive football from Philippe Eullafroy’s side. Daniel Rios with a stunner and Wiki Carmona with a calm finish on a breakaway. While Matty Longstaff contributed two assists. It was a good Wednesday.

🌊 Let’s talk about Sebastian Berhalter. This man needs to be starting for the USMNT. For the Caps, he’s been at the heart of their midfield, and lately he’s been an absolute dog. This past Wednesday, Vancouver travelled to Dallas and defeated the home club 3-2. Berhalter contributed two bangers for a brace, with his second goal the game-winner.

🔵 Eullaffroy’s first loss at home. This has been a week of homecoming for CF MTL. Former CB, arguably, the last real defensive leader of the club, Joel Waterman, returns to Stade Saputo with the Chicago Fire. Defensively, MTL were exposed on counter-attacks, whereas on the offence, there was a mix of unluckiness and the inability to finish opportunities. CFM were defeated 2-0 at home.

🔴 TFC thumped in Charlotte. It’s been a rough few weeks for the boys in red. Toronto FC were defeated 3-1 at Charlotte. It is evident that TFC’s deep injury list is hurting the club’s overall performance home and away. Djordje Milhailovic, Josh Sargent and Theo Corbeanu’s absences are felt on the pitch. TFC’s denied second goal could have been the tied that changes the result, alas, it was not and Charlotte were triumphant at home.

🟥 Takaoka shown a red. The Whitecaps travelled to Houston and were defeated 1-0 in the dying minutes of the game. The main talking point of the game was Vancouver’s old reliavble, Yohei Takaoka’s red card in the 64th minute. The Caps’ keeper came out the box to win a ball against Houston’s Mateusz Bogusz, but missed the target and hit the man. Thus earning his red card. On the bright side, Sebastian Berhalter continues to shine with the Whitecaps.

🪓 We see you, Pantemis. The Portland Timbers travelled to Miami and were defeated 2-0. Along with the loss, Kamal Miller came off injured, just 27 days before the World Cup opener. On the bright side, James Pantemis made a clutch top bins save against a Lionel Messi freekick.

Saturday, May 23
DC United vs. CF Montreal (7:30 PM ET)
Chicago Fire FC vs. Toronto FC (8:30 PM ET)
San Diego FC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps (6:30 PM PT)

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🔨 Forge defeats Supra in a school-day matchup. This was a real baptism of fire, as Forge fielded a familiar starting lineup, while Supra took a risk by deploying three players earning their first minutes in the CPL. 36-year-old Oussama Boughanmi, 20-year-old Thomas Lebeuf and 19-year-old Sasha Deslandes were featured in the starting lineup. Deslandes was announced as the club’s latest signing hours before the game. Supra had a respectable performance against Forge. They did not look out of place. Nonetheless, Forge defeated Supra 1-0, with the only goal coming from a stunner by Dan Nimick.

😍 One shot is all it takes, to fall in love with Jonantan Villal. Atletico Ottawa hosted the Halifax Wanderers at TD Place and the game was a tight affair. Ottawa took the lead with a goal from Mexican forward Villal in the 31st minute. Despite Ottawa maintaining 64% of possession, Halifax gave the home team a tough time and could’ve equalized the game. At the end of the day, it was Atletico that walked away with a 1-0 win.

🔱 PFC fourth defeat in a row. It’s been a rough few weeks for Pacific as they struggle to maintain a winning form. This past weekend, they hosted Inter Toronto FC and were defeated 1-0. This was a game of saves as both keepers put in a serious performance. Alas, it was Inter Toronto’s Sebastian Gonzalez who had the best finishing of the game. To add salt to the wound, PFC’s Juan Quintana was shown a red in the 76th minute.

🐴 Cavalry continue their winning streak. VFC hosted the Calgarians at Langley this week in a game that was only truly unlocked late into the second half, as both sides were held to a stalemate until the 70th minute. Cavalry’s Tobias Warschewski broke the deadlock in the 70th minute, then Levi Laing capitalized from Callum Irving’s howler of a mistake in the 90+7th minute. The game ended 2-0 for Calvary.

Saturday, May 23
Halifax Wanderers vs. Inter Toronto FC (4 PM AT @ Wanderers Grounds) Vancouver FC vs. Supra du Quebec (3 PM PT @ Willoughby Community Park)

Sunday, May 24
Atletico Ottawa vs. Forge FC (2 PM ET @ TD Place Stadium)
Cavalry FC vs. Pacific FC (4 PM MT @ ATCO Field)

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🪽 Ottawa Rapid picked up a clean sheet at home. The Rapid hosted the Halifax Tides this past Wednesday. Ottawa dispatched the away team 2-0, with a first goal coming from a cheeky trivela from Sadie Waite.

🦉 Calgary Wild held league leaders to a draw. Fifth-place Calgary Wild hosted first-place Montreal Roses. This was a game where all the action came in the last 10 minutes of the game. Roses took the lead in the 24th minute, but the last three goals came in the 85th, 90th and 90+1 minutes of the game. Calgary ended the game 2-2. It had both fans on the edge of their seats. This is football.

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

Saturday, May 23
Ottawa Rapid vs. Montréal Roses (1 PM ET @ TD Place Stadium) Vancouver Rise vs. AFC Toronto (1 PM PT @ Swangard Stadium)

Sunday, May 24
Calgary Wild vs. Halifax Tides (6 MT AT @ McMahon Stadium)

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