ANALYSIS – The 2024 CANMNT year was one to remember forever. They started the year ranked 50th in the world (according to FIFA) and now have the highest-ever ranking in the national team’s history, at 31st in the world (according to FIFA).
2024 CANMNT Year Review: An Unforgettable Year
Strengths
Depth Has Been Created for the National Team
From the start of the year to the end of the year, a lot of players emerged. This includes players such as Moïse Bombito and Jacob Shaffelburg, who made their mark with the national team.
There were also other players such as Ali Ahmed and Joel Waterman that have shown glimpses of the players they could be. Also, while Maxime Crépeau had some bad moments, he did play a big role in Canada advancing to the semifinals stage of the 2024 Copa América competition.
In fact, to highlight the amount of quality players Canada has, one only must look at the players playing in Ligue 1.
“Yeah, I think there’s some obvious reasons why some of our players would go to the French league because that this is one of their, you know, either their primary language, their mother tongue, or their secondary language. And so, then the idea that they can adapt quickly to the language and culture makes sense. Some of them are a little bit of a special situation, but certainly, it’s not just that they’ve gone to the French league or gone or made good transfers, but that they’re getting playing time, right,” Marsch said.
There are currently five players playing in Ligue 1 from Canada including Jonathan David, Ismaël Koné, Bombito, Derek Cornelius, and Theo Bair.
There is also Nathan Saliba, who made his debut in a memorable 2-1 win over the U.S. on the road. He has also excelled with CF Montréal in 2024, as Samuel Piette, a well-known CANMNT and CF Montréal player, said this about the youngster:
“Every time he went out on the pitch, he delivered.”
Defence Was Rock Solid for the CANMNT
What was really impressive about the CANMNT is how much their defence improved over the course of 2024. A big weakness for Canada in 2023, was their defence, which was a big reason why they were eliminated by Jamaica in the 2023-24 Concacaf Nations League.
In 2024, their defence played a big role in their success at the Copa América. Yes, there were mistakes made during the tournament. However, it was the tournament which established Derek Cornelius and Bombito as the centre-backs for the national team. Cornelius really stepped up for the national team, making some big defensive plays against Uruguay.
Bombito’s defensive abilities meanwhile were seen with his speed and his ability to make the right play. Of all the players who grew, Bombito looks like an entirely different player now than when he started with the national team.
There is also Alistair Johnston, who played extremely well and prevented Herrera from scoring in the 20th minute of play as well as delivered fantastic passes in the Chile game. He was probably the best player on the team during the 2024 Copa América competition. Marsch thinks very highly of him when asked by this writer on what he means to the national team.
Also, since the Copa América tournament ended, they have not given up more than one goal in every game. This includes a 2-1 win over the U.S. and a record of 4-1-0 (W-T-L) to end the year.
Additionally, Alphonso Davies made some big defensive plays, as he helped Maxime Crépeau after Crépeau was out of position in the game against Panama.
Marsch was also able to effectively use the speed and athleticism of the national team since his tenure began both offensively and defensively. This includes players like Shaffelburg and Bombito, who made big strides with the national team this year.
The Hiring of Jesse Marsch
Before Marsch was hired, the CANMNT was struggling, and the defence was a big issue for the team. Canada was 49th in the world, who just won an important Copa América qualifier game against Trinidad and Tobago in the 2024 Copa América competition. However, they were unable to get past Jamaica in the 2023-24 Concacaf Nations League competition, preventing Canada from facing the best Concacaf had to offer.
Under Marsch’s tenure, Canada’s defence in particular has improved by leaps and bounds since he took over. There is also the emergence of other players such as Jacob Shaffelburg and this is no coincidence. Marsch plays a forward-thinking style of soccer as they play a 4-2-2-2 (Source: Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic of OneSoccer). This meant that there are generally two forwards playing together in most of the games for the national team.
Weaknesses
Having Trouble Scoring Goals
One theme with Canada is their inability to take advantage of their scoring chances. However, to be fair, they got better in this regard as they continued evolving as a team in 2024. This means the inability to put games away, which was seen in matches such as Chile, Peru, Venezuela, and Uruguay.
Also, besides Jonthan David and Cyle Larin, other strikers seem to have trouble scoring goals. Tani Oluwaseyi for example had many chances to score his first-ever goal for his country but has not been able to. Marsch even talked about this earlier this year (Source: Joshua Kloke of The Athletic):
“In each match we had multiple chances to get the lead,” Marsch said. “If you watch these guys week in and week out, you see how many goals they can score.”
Losing in Penalties Against Uruguay
READ MORE: Uruguay Wins Thriller as They Claim Third Place in Copa América
This was a golden opportunity missed by the CANMNT. They were winning 2-1 against Uruguay late in the game. Unfortunately, for Canada, they were unable to contain the waves of attack Uruguay had late in the game.
“Yeah, we could have done a better job,” Marsch said. “Once it got to the 90th Minute, we should have been clever. We should have been dribbling the ball to the corner, we should have been taken fouls, we should have been able to shut that game down. But that’s, you know that savviness of understanding how to handle matches, you know, for a young team and relatively inexperienced, we need to develop that, and we will.”
To be fair, Canada has been doing that in the games after Copa América ended. They seemed to have learned their lesson and have played world-class soccer since then.
Player of the Year: Jonathan David
READ MORE: CanMNT Gets First-Ever Win in Copa América
RB Sports player of the year is Jonathan David. This was rather an easy choice. The only other player that could have challenged him was Alistair Johnston. David has scored in many big games including the game-winning goals against Peru and Panama and delivering the game-winning assist against Suriname on the road. Marsch had high praise of him just before the two sets of games played against Suriname:
“I’ve advertised him often; is the most intelligent footballer I’ve ever coached. His ability to put things to practice, his ability to reach in the game. What’s necessary, you know? So, yeah, I mean, I think for all of us on the inside of the team here, our belief in the level of striker that is, is that at the highest level.”
David was one of only two Concacaf players to be ranked in the top 100 in The Guardian’s article done by Marcus Christenson, Pamela Duncan, Steven Bloor and Garry Blight. David was ranked the 73rd best player overall. American striker, Christian Pulisic, was the only other Concacaf player ranked at 95th overall in the world.
Game of the Year: Historic Win Over the U.S.
READ MORE: 2024 CANWNT Year Review: So Close, and Yet, So Far
For the first time in 67 years, the CANMNT was able to beat the USMNT on the road. This was the most significant win for Canada, even though it was a friendly. Keep in mind that the U.S., are the three-time Concacaf Nations League champions, and are right now seen as the top of Concacaf before this game took place.
This win by Canada showed that they can not only play as an equal with the U.S., but in this specific game, can outplay them in their own backyard. In fact, Canada had more shots on goal than the U.S. despite playing on the road.
This is what CANMNT head coach, Jesse Marsch, said about the win in a few words (Source: Joshua Kloke of The Athletic):
“It made me proud to be their coach.”
A Historic 2024 and A Challenging 2025 Schedule
Grade: A+
READ MORE: A Fantastic CanMNT Team Effort in Thrilling Win Over Venezuela
The grade could have been higher if they beat Uruguay, but there is no doubt that this year was an incredible year for the national team, with their highest-ever ranking earned in national team history. This was echoed by Marsch, who ended his last post-game press conference of 2024 by saying this:
“They’ve literally never let me down since I’ve been with them, they have never come flat on a performance. Since I’ve been here, they have, at every moment, surprised and exceeded expectations. What a wonderful experience as a coach.”
The next scheduled CANMNT game will be on March 20, 2025, at 10:30pm EST against Mexico. The game will take place at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. It will be shown live on OneSoccer. This is what March said about playing home games in cities outside of Toronto (Source: Neil Davidson of the Canadian Press):
“We’re trying to come up with more ways to play in more places than just Toronto,” said Marsch.
As also mentioned in the same Neil Davidson article, expect a tough and competitive schedule with top-notch opponents in 2025.
Photo Credit: CANMNT X Account on September 7, 2024.
