Canada’s 2026 FIFA World Cup squad includes some talented and promising midfielders and forwards. Following is a look at who they are and what they bring to the table.
To read about the team’s goalkeepers and defenders, click here.
Midfielders:
Mathieu Choinière can play anywhere in the midfield. In the 15 games he’s dressed for LAFC this season, he’s played the majority of them at the centre of the pitch. He has been deployed mostly in the central midfield in his club career but has played on the left side and right side when needed.
With Canada, he will most likely make his appearances off the bench, but offers Canada good ball distribution and ball recovery. Choinière has been capped 23 times for Canada since his debut against Japan on Oct. 13, 2023.
He began his professional career with CF Montreal in 2018, making 119 league appearances before signing a three-year contact with Grasshoppers, a club in Switzerland. Even though he played 17 games in his first season with the Grasshoppers, he hurt his leg and adding insult to injury, the Grasshoppers fired the manager that brought him in. Choinière’s style did not suit the new boss, so Choinière was sent to LAFC on loan for the 2025 season with an option to buy. LAFC exercised that option and now Choinière is a permanent LAFC player.
If Alphonso Davies is the heart of the Canada squad, Stephen Eustáquio is the pulse. The vice-captain has been capped 56 times since 2019 and has been one of Canada’s most tactically inclined player. He is Canada’s biggest link between the defence and forwards, collecting balls deep from centre backs and sets the tempo in attack. As a central midfielder, he operates as deep-lying playmaker.
He plays the same position but in a different role for Portugal’s FC Porto before he was sent to LAFC on loan this year. FC Porto played him more as box-to-box role, allowing him to arrive late into the opposition’s box and give him the opportunity to score goals or deliver some destructive passes. Either way, he is Canada’s pass master and if fit, will be the driving force for Canada on either side of the halfway line.
Eustáquio has played the majority of his professional career in Portugal, where he moved to when he was seven. He’s played for clubs Naxarenos, Torreense, Leixões, Chaves, Paços Ferreira and Porto. In between his stints with Chaves and Paços de Ferreira, he played one game for Mexico’s Cruz Azul and was sidelined for eight months after he was injured in his debut.
In 2022, he was loaned to Porto and then signed permanently, where he became one of their key players. However, he was loaned to LAFC earlier this year for a four-month loan that included a purchase option.
Ismaël Konè is a strong dribbler who loves attacking and can cover a lot of ground. He plays his club soccer with Italy’s Sassuolo, after stints with England’s Watford and Marsaille.
He’s appeared in Canada’s 2022 World Cup campaign and the 2024 Copa América. He’s been a key player for Canada since his debut in 2022, playing 40 games. Like Eustáquio, he’s a central midfielder but is more of a box-to-box midfielder. Not as skilled at passing the ball as the former, he is still confident with his passing. He’s also not afraid to track back to support the defence.
He has been linked with a transfer to Italian powerhouse Inter Milan this year, showcasing his rise from CF Montreal to the big leagues of Europe.
Toronto-born Liam Millar has been in England since he was 13, when he joined Fulham’s academy. He made the switch to Liverpool’s academy in 2016 as a striker, and played in Liverpool’s U18’s team. He made his first senior appearance as a Liverpool player in an FA Cup game against Shrewsbury Town. In 2019, Millar was loaned to Scottish side Kilmarnock for two seasons, where he made 33 league appearances and scored two goals.
By this time, he was already on Canada’s radar, making his debut against New Zealand. He was also named in the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup Squad.
Liverpool loaned him again to League One’s Charlton Athletic for the 2020-21 season where he made 27 appearances and scored two goals. After the season, Swiss side Basel purchased Millar, where he played from 2021 to 2024. He played two full seasons with Basel, but only played four games in 2023-2024 before he was loaned to Preston North End in the Championship. His 35 games and five goals led him sign a deal with Hull City after transferring there for an undisclosed fee. He remains there today, appearing in 44 games so far.
The left winger is quick, and gets in the right position, and is diligent in tracing back for defensive duties.
Another winger is Jacob Shaffelburg, who is Canada’s only player from Nova Scotia on the World Cup roster. Nicknamed the Maritime Messi, the Nova Scotian has scored six goals in 31 appearances for Canada. He wasn’t ready to make the roster for the 2022 World Cup, but after the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup and the 2024 Copa América, Shaffelburg has made a good case for inclusion.
He’s made a reputation as a supersub for Canada. His speed and progressive carries can overwhelm tired defenders. He’s a throwback to the wingers in the 1970s who’s biggest job is to blitz defenders with trickery and speed in order to get into a position of crossing the ball into the box or taking a shot themselves. But in Canada’s possession-based system, it doesn’t always work, especially when Canada is playing more disciplined and fit teams.
He is currently playing for LAFC, where he’s togged out for six times this season. Prior to that, he played 82 games for Nashville and 46 games for Toronto FC.
Tajon Buchanan is probably one of the more well-known players on the squad. He’s another winger who can also play as fullback but has primarily played as right wing this season with Spanish side Villarreal.
Villarreal may not be Real Madrid or Barcelona, but they still are one of Spain’s biggest teams, maintaining a healthy presence in the Europa League and Champions League. Buchanan joined Villarreal in 2025 first on loan, but then permanently, from Inter Milan for $14.4 million. He’s also the first Canadian to score a hat trick in the La Liga.
He started his career in the MLS with the New England Revolution, where he made 50 appearances from 2019 to 2021 before moving to Club Brugge in Belgium. He also made 50 appearances there before his big move to Inter Milan, which was worth €7 million, plus €3 million in add-ons, becoming Canada’s first player in the Serie A.
Buchanan made his first appearance for Canada in 2021, and has been a main feature since then earning 60 caps to date. He will be a key player this World Cup, where he will be getting a lot of ball. Marsch will use Buchanan in multiple roles to capitalize on his skills. Aggressive on both sides of the pitch, he will also be the player that makes opportunities appear out of nowhere.
A former Whitecaps favourite, Ali Ahmed now plays for Norwich City in England. An energetic wide midfielder and winger who combines with his team’s fullbacks to overlap the opposition. He hugs the touchline and stretches the pitch, but will drift inside to finish off an attack. He’s also a powerful runner who can beat defenders before playing the ball into space to exploit the defence.
He made 68 appearances for Vancouver between 2022 and 2025 before Norwich signed him earlier this year. Since his debut on Jan. 17, he’s been a big part in Norwich’s revival project, scoring four goals in 19 games. Unfortunately, Norwich didn’t get the big promotion they were hoping for, finishing ninth in the Championship. But with Ahmed on the team, Norwich won 13 of their last 20 games.
Jonathon Osorio is tied with another current player for Canada’s second all-time appearances with 90. He’s played his entire professional career with Toronto FC, appearing in 340 games and scoring 52 goals.
He has also been on Canada’s top players, appearing in every CONCACAF Gold Cup squad since 2013 and the 2022 World Cup and 2024 Copa América. Like his usual central midfield partner, Eustàquio, Osorio is technically gifted and has been a strong leader for the team despite not being the nation’s captain. He’s also an exceptional playmaker, pushing ahead into the other team’s box or delivers almost pinpoint passes to his teammates.
In defence, he is known to read plays, intercept passes and covering a significant amount of ground.
An emerging talent, Nathan-Dylan Saliba is the long-term solution in the central midfield. First capped in 2024, Saliba has appeared for Canada in 15 games, but has only played in one tournament so far, the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Saliba will most likely play as a box-to-box midfielder for Canada. He’s tenacious in defence and suits that high-pressing, possession-style Canada likes to play with. A progressive passer, Saliba knows how to exploit space to his team’s benefit. Still only 22, Saliba still needs to work on his decision-making. particularly in the final third. He can get overly ambitious with his possession or poor shot selections.
From Quebec, Saliba started his career at CF Montreal. He appeared in 68 games from 2020 to 2025 before getting a transfer to Anderlecht in the Belgian Pro League. He’s been a powerful presence there, appearing in 34 games this season and helping them into a fourth-place finish. The club was also just shy of winning the Croky Cup, losing out to Union SG 3-1 in the final.
Another winger on Canada’s squad is Jayden Nelson. At 23, Nelson has been capped 14 times by Canada and was a last minute replacement in the World Cup squad for the injured Marcelo Flores. He’s another player with pure speed and will most likely be used as a super sub late in matches.
He started his career with Toronto FC in 2020, playing 45 games with them across three seasons. He was signed by Norway’s Rosenborg, making 35 appearances in the Eliteserien across 2023 and 2024. During the 2024 season, he was loaned Germany’s SSV Ulm where he made a further six games. SSV Ulm had an option to buy him at the end of the loan but declined to do so.
Instead, Nelson returned to Canada and returned to the MLS with the Vancouver Whitecaps. After 23 games he was traded to Austin FC, where he’s played 10 games this season.
Forwards:
Like Osorio, Cyle Larin has has 90 caps. The 31-year-old forward has been in the Canadian setup since 2014 before he even had a professional contract. While still playing for the UConn Huskies, he was capped by Canada’s then manager Benito Floro, against Bulgaria on May 23 that year. By January 2015, he was a professional player, signing with Orlando City in the MLS.
Since leaving Florida (after scoring 43 goals in 87 games) in 2018, Larin has played for some big European clubs including Turkey’s Besiktas, Poland’s Zulte Waregem (on loan), Club Brugge, Spain’s Valladolid and Mallorca, Feyenoord in the Netherlands, and his current club in England, Southampton.
Larin is best described as a classic target man. He’s highly physical and isn’t afraid of bullying defenders. And while he has scored 30 goals for Canada, he’s been struggling at club level recently, which has also bled into his national career. But his loan to Southampton from Mallorca has been a successful and has turned into a permanent deal. He scored eight goals for the English side and could have helped them return to the Premier League if it wasn’t for a spying scandal that saw them disqualified from the Championship playoffs. Larin is probably better coming into games off the bench.
He is the nation’s top scorer and at just 26, it feels like Jonathan David has been around for a very short time. But he’s already had 77 caps and scored 39 goals for Canada. David has played for three European teams in his professional career, Gent in Belgium, Lille in France, and Juventus in Italy and arguably has been one of Canada’s best players. He’s been the most expensive Canadian player since Gent sold him to Lille for €30 million in 2020.
David is usually deployed as a centre forward or second striker, but this season Juventus has played him as a centre forward for all 32 games he appeared in. Under Marsch’s Canada, he’s played mostly as a number 10. Traditional centre forwards and strikers typically play with their backs to the opposing net, until the ball comes to them. But as a 10, David is able to play facing forward, and operate as a second striker or play the ball forward to whoever his higher in the field or attack space. The hope is that David will be able to break low blocks with his passing, giving Canada an opportunity to score.
Like the majority of Canada’s side, David has a lot of pace and works hard while pressing up high when the other team has the ball.
Born in Nigeria, Tani Oluwaseyi came to Canada when he was 10. A centre forward with Villareal, Oluwaseyi has played 24 games with Canada since his debut against France in 2024. He started his senior professional career with Minnesota United in 2022, where he scored 18 goals in 51 games before being sold to Villarreal on Aug. 29, 2025. He’s appeared in 27 league games for the Spanish side, but mostly as a substitute. In those games, he has scored two goals and contributed two assists.
Oluwaseyi might not be on of Canada’s starting forwards, but his pressing is something to be desired. While he was in Minnesota, he averaged 2.67 recoveries per 90 minutes while defending high during the 2024 season. In 2025, he improved that number to 3.43 before his transfer to Spain. But he does have some weaknesses, including his passing and possession.
The last player on Canada’s roster is Promise David (no relation to Jonathan David). A promising forward, David has had an interesting journey into Canada’s squad. He started his pro career in Croatia with Trnje. He joined the club as member of their youth academy, and managed to make five senior appearances between 2019 and 2021, before returning to North America to join FC Tulsa’s academy.
He didn’t make a single appearance for FC Tulsa, opting to join Valletta in Tulsa at the beginning of 2022. Since then, he has played for another Maltese club, Sirens, Estonia’s Nõmme Kalju and Belguim’s Union SG, which is where his career really started to kick off.
David has scored 28 goals for Union SG since he joined in the summer of 2024 and has helped the club win three titles (Belgian Pro League, Belgian Cup, and the Belgian Super Cup) since he’s joined.
Eligible for Nigeria and Canada, he opted to represent the latter at senior level and was capped against Ukraine in a 4-2 win during the 2025 Canadian Shield tournament. Since then he has made 10 appearances, scoring three goals. He’s tall and fast, and has an eye for goal. He could be a breakout star for Canada this tournament.