It’s about to be a busy fall in Canadian soccer, and this past week’s news cycle and busy schedule certainly reflected that.

The Canadian Women’s U-20 team are off to the World Cup knockouts, Winnipeg is getting a new stadium, and Canadians balled out in the Champions League, all while domestic league competition is heating up across the country.

All that and more ahead in this week’s edition of The Northern Pitch.

They had to wait a few days to make sure, but Canada are moving on at the 2026 U-20 Women’s World Cup.

A 6-0 victory over Tanzania in their final group match was enough to put Canada in the round of 16 as one of the highest-ranked third-place teams.

Canada nearly grabbed one of the automatic top two qualifying spots, but lost out on it to England on the sixth tiebreaker, which was discipline. Canada’s red card against Brazil in their lone loss so far at the tournament loomed large in this regard.

It sets up an incredibly difficult round of 16 match for Canada against France on Thursday (9 a.m. ET / 6 a.m. PT, TSN). Canada have not gone past the round of 16 at the tournament since 2014.

But this is a group with a lot of quality that is clearly capable of scoring goals, and will be an incredibly difficult opponent for the French, and any team they might face beyond them in the knockout stages.

A proper footy home for Winnipeg. This time, it is the NSL tapping into Manitoba. Last July, NSL announced Winnipeg as the league’s newest club that will debut in 2027. Now, they have announced that they will have a home.

The Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex will be the home for Winnipeg’s NSL club. The permanent soccer-specific stadium will be able to host 5000 fans with investments from the NSL, the Government of Canada, the Province of Manitoba and the City of Winnipeg. No more Princess Auto Stadium.

Winnipeg needed this. In order for the game to grow in Canada, cities need more soccer-specific stadium for their clubs. The stadium is being built in an existing soccer complex which is a 15-minute drive from downtown or about a 25 minute public transit. In other words, it is accessible, which is a key component for attendance. Moreover, a smaller stadium creates an intimate and better ambiance as opposed to playing in stadiums too big for the club.

Is this good news for a Valour return? With the news of a soccer-specific stadium, Valour supporters were given a bit of hope for a return for their CPL club. There is no rumour of a return of Valour, however, one of the biggest issues the CPL club had faced as playing in a CFL stadium. With a soccer-specific stadium, a hypothetical CPL return to Winnipeg is not out of the question.

This summer, the Canadian men’s national team showed out on the highest stage at a World Cup, and now many of their players are doing the same at the highest level of the club game.

The League Phase of the 2026-27 UEFA Champions League began this week, with plenty of Canadian stories.

The biggest, undoubtedly, was Alphonso Davies. Captain Canada delivered a thunderous strike for a lovely goal in Bayern Munich’s 5-0 demolition of Bodø/Glimt in Munich.

Meanwhile, three Canadians: Tani Oluwaseyi, Tajon Buchanan and Nathan Saliba, started for Villarreal in their 3-2 loss to Dortmund. Saliba did so, interestingly, in a more advanced midfield position.

Jonathan David came off the bench late for Atlético Madrid in their 2-1 loss to Liverpool, and Canadian Nael Kane, meanwhile, made the match-day squad for LASK. One to watch for the future as well.

🇪🇸 JONNY’S BACK! The Iceman’s goal drought has melted. Jonathan David scored his first for Atlético Madrid and it was well worth the wait as it gave Atléti the cushion they needed in a 3-0 finish against Real Sociedad. Take a look for yourself.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Cyle Larin with another brace. 7 games into the season and Cyle Larin already has two braces and 7 goals. He scored two more for Southampton in a 4-1 win over Bristol City.

🇩🇪 Alphonso Davies from distance. All the big dogs are scoring this week. Phonzie put his name on the scoresheet midweek with a piledriver of a shot in a 5-0 drubbing of Bodø/Glimt. Sorry, football hipsters.

🔟 Janine Sonis finds the net. Aging like a fine wine. The 32-year-old is having a career year in the NWSL for the Denver Summit, scoring her 10th goal of the season in a 3-3 draw against Angel City FC.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Jade Rose scores. CanWNT forwards scoring in the NWSL, and CanWNT centre-backs scoring in Europe. J-Rose opened her account for the year with some quick reactions to put away a City rebound in a 4-1 win over Aston Villa.

🇩🇰 Simon Colyn celebrates. The Whitecaps product had his Lyngby teammates celebrating early, as he scored his third of the season in the 6th minute of a 1-1 draw against Sonderjyske.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Aribim ‘The Tank’ Pepple. Bim absolutely bodied a defender as he scored in back-to-back matches, capping off a 3-0 win for Plymouth over Barnsley.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Liam Millar rescues Birmingham City. If Millar and Larin keep this up, Brampton might own the Championship. Millar picked up his 2nd and 3rd assists for the Blues in a 2-1 remontada at Derby.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Theo Bair assists. Bair’s first contribution for Bolton was a timely one. He and Jayden Nelson linked up to help create a 90th-minute winner in a 1-0 final vs. Cardiff.

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📈 Toronto’s slow climb is picking up momentum. TFC hosted Nashville last Wednesday and defeated the away team 2-1. The game started in the most Toronto fashion, with a blunder from the back leading to an own goal by Niklas Dorsch. It felt like traffic on the 401 when there isn’t supposed to be traffic. Luckily, the boys in red got it together and saw the game out with a dub. On the positive, TFC’s squad rotation is effective and are now performing at a consistent level.

Ⓜ️ Depression has settled into Stade Saputo. On a stormy night in Hochelaga, the rain came down at Stade Saputo. It started out positive with a 1-1 draw against Allan Saint-Maximin and Charlotte FC. However, similar issues persisted as MTL struggled to see out the game with a decisive second-half winning goal. Charlotte left with a 1-2 win. It is clear this is a decent team, but finishing from players other than Prince Owusu and Daniel Rios remains a need.

🌊 Whitecaps made unexpected history. VWFC hosted and defeated LA Galaxy 3-0 at BC Place. It was expected, and the Caps are on a momentum that feels like a runaway avalanche. However, the biggest story is the penalty. Bruno Caicedo’s penalty became the first-ever penalty scored without touching the net or woodwork.

🧤 Maxime Crépeau clean sheet against TFC. MLS can be cruel sometimes. As things looked to be going well for Toronto, Antoine Griezmann decided to stop that momentum. TFC were handed a 3-0 defeat by Orlando City and CanMNT keeper Crépeau walks away with another clean sheet under his belt. For Toronto, it is clear that their defensive posture continues to be their weakness.

🥲 Playoff dreams are slipping for CF Montréal. MTL have travelled to Colorado in desperate need for points. If the club wishes to qualify for playoffs, they need to start a winning streak in their next game. The consistent issue to scoring goals looms over the team. However, in this game, there has been greater effort in taking shots when opportunity arises. Unfortunately for CFM, they were defeated 1-0 with a penalty goal sealing the game.

🌊 Austin handed Vancouver their fourth defeat of the season. The Whitecaps hosted Austin FC in a game that should’ve been a dub for the home side. However, Vancouver looked a little off in this game, while Austin looked hungry for a win. VWFC enjoyed 60% possession and a 2.68 xG but the performance said otherwise. ATX were clinical in front of net and finished their chances when they presented itself. Ryan Gauld’s surprise penalty miss amplified the 1-2 loss.

😕 No LDF for RSL yet. Fulham might have left this loan a little too late. Luc De Fougerolles still has not made his long-awaited Real Salt Lake debut with 10 games left in the season due to visa issues.

Saturday, September 19
CF Montréal vs. Columbus Crew (7:30PM ET @ Stade Saputo)
St. Louis CITY SC vs. Toronto FC (8:30PM ET)
Real Salt Lake vs. Vancouver Whitecaps (6:30PM PT)

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☄️ Six-goal thriller at York Lions Stadium. Inter Toronto hosted Pacific FC in a game where both sides traded goals. Pacific were so close to picking up their second win of the season until Inter Toronto’s Luke Singh scored off a corner kick in the 86th minute. The game ended in a 3-3 draw.

⚜️ Zachary Brault-Guillard made his debut for Supra. There are seven league games left for Supra and their goal to qualify for playoffs is on the line. They hosted the Halifax Wanderers and were defeated 0-2. This was Supra’s first defeat against the Haligonians. There is still time to potentially qualify and they still have a second leg semi-final game in the CanChamp.

🔨 Forge are now nine points clear from Atlético Ottawa. The Hammers hosted Ottleti and this was a disappointing game for the away team. Ottawa’s defence was not it. Forge’s attacking prowess was nonstop and it may have been too much for Atlético as they were given a 3-0 defeat. Ottawa’s weakness in this game was marking.

🦝 Inter Toronto score three more at YLS. Home fans were treated to some goals this week. Luca Accettola kicked off play with an absolute banger that teammate Tomasz Skublak called “debatably the goal of the season” before Skublak himself added on two more. Paris Gee hit the crossbar but Thierno Bah did find a consolation goal for Vancouver FC in a 3-1 final for the hosts.

🐴 Cavalry eke out a win. The Cavs nearly would’ve slipped on a Pacific-shaped banana peel, had it not been for Daan Klomp and Tobias Warschewski. Tobi found Klomp from the corner flag in the 81st minute for the game’s only goal — it ended 1-0 — denying a Pacific side that defended for their lives.

❎ Cavalry clinch the first playoff spot. The Cavs’ win over Pacific also ensured they’d become the first team this season to clinch a playoff spot with six games to go. The Shield race remains tight with Forge only four points behind them.

✍️ Manjrekar James returns to Hamilton. Forge FC have signed defender Manjrekar James through 2027. After spending three years in Australia’s A-League and in Costa Rica, James makes his return to Forge after winning the league with the Hammers.

This week’s CPL fixtures:

Saturday, September 19
Cavalry FC vs. Forge FC (3PM MT @ ATCO Field)
Pacific FC vs. Vancouver FC (5PM PT @ Starlight Stadium)

Sunday, September 20
Atlético Ottawa vs. Supra du Québec (12PM ET @ TD Place Stadium)
Halifax Wanderers vs. Inter Toronto (4PM AT @ Wanderers Grounds)

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😮 AFC Toronto mount a comeback at Stade Boréale. Montreal hosted rivals AFC Toronto on Thursday. The Roses took a 2-0 lead by the 79th minute, but AFC Toronto enjoyed possession. In football, a 2-0 lead is the most dangerous position to be in, and the Roses experienced that truth. AFC came back with two goals, with an outright banger from Lauren Rowe in the 82nd minute and a clutch screamer from Nikayla Small in the 88th minute, ending the game 2-2.

🦉 Calgary Wild keep winning. Their first took a while, but since then, the Wild have looked unstoppable. They’ve now gone six games unbeaten after defeating the Halifax Tides, 1-0. 18-year-old hometown hero Taegan Stewart cushioned a long ball, juggled it past her marker, and thumped it past the Halifax Tides for all three points in a goal that was worth the price of admission.

🏔️ Vancouver Rise put four past the Ottawa Rapid. The new manager bounce for the Vancouver Rise, was, well, very bouncy. For the Ottawa Rapid, on the other hand, the troubles continued at Swangard, as the Rise found three second half goals to win 4-0. Audrey François had her first for the Rise while Jessica De Filippo, Latifah Abdu, and Josie Longhurst all added on.

Saturday, September 19
Halifax Tides vs. AFC Toronto (3PM AT @ Wanderers Grounds)
Vancouver Rise vs. Montréal Roses (2PM PT @ Swangard Stadium)

Sunday, September 20
Ottawa Rapid vs. Calgary Wild (7PM ET @ TD Place Stadium)

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