Canada names 60-man preliminary roster for CONCACAF Nations League Finals

Vancouver Whitecaps forward Jayden Nelson, centre, kicks to score a goal between Portland Timbers defender Finn Surman, left, and midfielder Joao Ortiz during the second half of an MLS soccer game, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Amanda Loman)

Canada coach Jesse Marsch has submitted his 60-man preliminary squad for the 2025 CONCACAF Nations League Finals.

The 31st-ranked Canadian men take on No. 19 Mexico in one semifinal while the 16th-ranked Americans face No. 36 Panama, with both games March 20 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. The championship game and third-place playoff are scheduled for three days later at the same venue.

The deadline for declaring the final 23-man roster is March 10.

Thirty of the 60 players are with Major League Soccer clubs including five from Toronto FC (Theo Corbeanu, Deandre Kerr, Richie Laryea, Jonathan Osorio and Kosi Thompson).

There are four from CF Montreal (Jahkeele Marshall Rutty, Sam Piette, Nathan Saliba and Jonathan Sirois) and four from the Vancouver Whitecaps (Sam Adekugbe, Ali Ahmed, Jayden Nelson and Ralph Priso).

Marshall-Rutty, Nelson and Priso all spent time with TFC.

Uncapped players with Canadian youth national team experience include Andre Ali-Gayapersad (CF Damm, Spain), Moise Clovis Archange (Orlando City academy), Shola Jimoh (York United, CPL), Kerr (Toronto FC), Jovan Ivanisevic (Bologna FC 1909 U20, Italy), Santiago Lopez (Pumas UNAM, Mexico), Marshall-Rutty (CF Montreal), James Pantemis (Portland Timbers), Priso (Vancouver Whitecaps), Justin Smith, RCD Espanyol (Spain) and Kimani Stewart-Baynes (Colorado Rapids).

Jimoh, a 16-year-old winger, is the lone player currently with a Canadian Premier League team.

There are several players with international options such as Promise David (Canada and Nigeria) and Dieu-Merci Michel (Canada and Angola).

Canadian-born Daniel Jebbison, currently seeing time in the English Premier League with Bournemouth, has represented England at youth level as has MK Dons goalkeeper Tom McGill.

And Santiago Lopez, eligible for both Canada and Mexico, is playing for Pumas UNAM in Mexico.

Canada made it to the final four in November with a 4-0 aggregate win over No. 138 Suriname in their two-legged quarterfinal. The Canadian men have not played since.

Mexico, thanks to goals in the 85th and 97th minute, recovered from a 2-0 first-leg deficit to defeat Honduras 4-2 on aggregate in its quarterfinal.

Canada is seeded first in the semifinals because of its quarterfinal performance (six points, plus-four goal difference) with Mexico fourth (three points, plus-two goal difference).

The Canadian men exited the CONCACAF tournament in the quarterfinals in 2023, losing to Jamaica on the away goals rule after the two-legged series finished knotted at 4-4.

Canada was runner-up to the United States in 2022-23 and failed to make the semifinals in 2019-20.

Canada is currently riding a five-game unbeaten run (4-0-1). The Canadian men are 5-3-5 under Marsch, with one of those ties turning into a penalty shootout loss to No. 11 Uruguay and another to a shootout win over No. 47 Venezuela, both at Copa America.

The preliminary roster features players from teams in Belgium, Croatia, England, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Portugal, Scotland, Spain and Switzerland as well as Canada and the U.S.

Canada Preliminary Roster for CONCACAF Nations League Finals

Sam Adekugbe, Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS); Stephen Afrifa, Sporting Kansas City (MLS); Andre Ali-Gayapersad CF Damm (Spain); Ali Ahmed, Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS); Moise Clovis Archange, Orlando City academy (MLS); Theo Bair AJ Auxerre (France); Zorhan Bassong, Sporting Kansas City (MLS); Moise Bombito, OGC Nice (France);

Zachary Brault-Guillard, FC Lugano (Switzerland); Charles-Andreas Brym, Almere City FC (the Netherlands);Tajon Buchanan, Villarreal CF (Spain); Mathieu Choinière, Grasshopper Club Zurich (Switzerland); Theo Corbeanu, Toronto FC (MLS); Derek Cornelius Olympique de Marseille (France); Maxime Crépeau, Portland Timbers (MLS); Jonathan David, LOSC Lille (France); Promise David, Union Saint-Gilloise (Belgium);

Alphonso Davies, Bayern Munich (Germany); Luc De Fougerolles, Fulham academy; Raheem Edwards, New York Red Bulls (MLS); Stephen Eustáquio, FC Porto (Portugal); Kyle Hiebert, St. Louis City (MLS); Junior Hoilett, Hibernian (Scotland); Jovan Ivanisevic, Bologna FC 1909 U20 (Italy); Daniel Jebbison, Bournemouth (England); Shola Jimoh, York United (CPL); Alistair Johnston, Celtic (Scotland);

Mark-Anthony Kaye, San Jose Earthquakes (MLS); Scott Kennedy, K.A.S. Eupen (Belgium); Deandre Kerr, Toronto FC (MLS); Jamie Knight-Lebel, Crewe Alexandra (England); Ismael Koné, Stade Rennais (France); Cyle Larin, RCD Mallorca (Spain): Richie Laryea, Toronto FC (MLS); Santiago López, Pumas UNAM (Mexico); Lukas MacNaugton, D.C. United (MLS); Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty, CF Montreal; (MLS)

Thomas McGill, MK Dons (England); Zac McGraw, Portland Timbers; Dieu-Merci Michel, Vitória de Guimarães (Portugal); Kamal Miller, Portland Timbers (MLS); Jayden Nelson, Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS); Tani Oluwaseyi, Minnesota United (MLS); Jonathan Osorio, Toronto FC (MLS); James Pantemis, Portland Timbers (MLS); Harry Paton, Motherwell (Scotland); Samuel Piette, CF Montreal (MLS);

Kwasi Poku, R.W.D. Molenbeek (Belgium); Ralph Priso, Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS); Jacen Russell-Rowe, Columbus Crew (MLS); Nathan Saliba, CF Montreal (MLS); Jacob Shaffelburg, Nashville SC (MLS); Niko Sigur, HNK Hajduk Split (Croatia); Jonathan Sirois, CF Montreal (MLS); Justin Smith, RCD Espanyol (Spain); Dayne St. Clair, Minnesota United (MLS); Kimani Stewart-Baynes, Colorado Rapids (MLS); Gregoire Świderski, Deportivo Alavés B (Spain); Kosi Thompson, Toronto FC (MLS); Joel Waterman, CF Montreal (MLS).

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 24, 2025.

Article written by Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press