VANCOUVER, BC – Vancouver Whitecaps FC forwards Ali Ahmed and Jayden Nelson have been called up to Canada's men's national team for their upcoming October international window as they continue preparations for the FIFA World Cup 26™.
Canada is currently 28th in FIFA's men's world ranking. The Red and White will play a pair of friendlies during the window against CONMEBOL opponents. First up, they'll face Ecuador (#23) on Wednesday, November 12 at BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario, with kickoff set for 4:30 p.m. PT. They will then wrap up the window against Venezuela on Tuesday, November 18 at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with kickoff set for 5 p.m. PT. You can watch both matches live on OneSoccer and TSN.
Following the October window, Ahmed is now at 21 caps for the CanMNT, while Nelson hit double digits (10) during the September camp in Europe.
The 'Caps duo, who have been influential to head coach Jesper Sørensen's attack in his first season at the helm in Vancouver, will be looking to translate their club form to Jesse Marsch's side. Both players have tallied career-highs in goal contributions this season, with Ahmed recording 14 (three goals, 11 assists) and Nelson tallying 15 (three goals, 12 assists).
The upcoming month marks the final international window of the 2025 calendar year for Canada and the last opportunity for the team to gather before the FIFA World Cup year begins.
Canada’s clash with Venezuela in Fort Lauderdale is a rematch of one of CanMNT’s biggest wins in program history, the 2024 Copa América quarter-final victory that thrust them into the semifinals in its debut appearance at South America’s premier continental competition. Canada went on to place fourth at the tournament, only being defeated over 90 minutes by the eventual tournament champions Argentina, on two occasions.
Canada will look to finish 2025 strong, currently posting a record of six wins, four draws and two losses over the course of the calendar year. The program recently achieved its highest-ever FIFA Ranking, #26, in September and earned historic back-to-back victories on European soil with wins over Romania and Wales, marking the first time in program history that the national team has defeated three UEFA nations in succession and the first away win against a European opponent on European soil since 2009. In October, the CanMNT was defeated by Australia in their first match in Montréal since 2017 and drew with Top 15 FIFA-ranked, Colombia, in an away match in Harrison, New Jersey.
CANMNT SquadCanada’s three goalkeepers this window will be Maxime Crépeau from Portland Timbers, Owen Goodman from Huddersfield Town (on loan from Crystal Palace) and Dayne St. Clair from Minnesota United FC.
Defenders selected are: Zorhan Bassong from Sporting Kansas City, Derek Cornelius from Rangers FC (on loan from Olympique de Marseille), Alfie Jones from Middlesbrough FC, Richie Laryea from Toronto FC, Kamal Miller from Portland Timbers FC, Niko Sigur from Hadjuk Split and Joel Waterman from Chicago Fire.
Midfielders joining the group are: Ali Ahmed from Vancouver Whitecaps FC, Tajon Buchanan from Villarreal CF, Mathieu Choinière from LAFC (on loan from Grasshopper Zurich), Stephen Eustáquio from FC Porto, Junior Hoilett from Hibernian FC, Ismaël Koné from U.S. Sassuolo Calcio (on loan from Olympique de Marseille), Jayden Nelson from Vancouver Whitecaps FC, Jonathan Osorio from Toronto FC, and Nathan Saliba from R.S.C. Anderlecht.
The rest of the squad will feature forwards: Theo Bair from Lausanne-Sport (on loan from AJ Auxerre), Jonathan David from Juventus FC, Promise David from Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, Cyle Larin from Feyenoord (on loan from RCD Mallorca) and Tani Oluwaseyi from Villarreal CF.
Training Player: Marcelo Flores (Tigres UANL)
Broadcast InformationBoth matches will air live on TSN, RDS and OneSoccer, available on the fuboTV Canada platform, as a linear channel on Telus’s Optik TV (Channel 980), as well as online at OneSoccer.ca and through the OneSoccer app. Fans will find extended coverage across Canada Soccer’s digital channels on Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, Bluesky, and YouTube featuring the hashtag #CANMNT.
CANMNT A-ZPlayer | Age | City in which they grew up | Notable Canadian youth clubs
Ahmed, Ali | 25 | Toronto, ON, CAN | North Toronto SC
Bassong, Zorhan | 26 | Toronto, ON, CAN | CS Longueuil
Bair, Theo | 26 | Ottawa, ON, CAN | Ottawa Royals
Buchanan, Tajon | 26 | Brampton, ON, CAN | Brampton YSC
Choinière, Mathieu | 26 | St-Alexandre, QC, CAN | AS Haut-Richelieu
Cornelius, Derek | 27 | Ajax, ON, CAN | Ajax SC
Crépeau, Maxime | 31 | Candiac, QC, CAN | Ligue de soccer pour enfants de Candiac
David, Jonathan | 25 | Ottawa, ON, CAN | Ottawa Gloucester Dragons
David, Promise | 24 | Brampton, ON, CAN | Vaughan Azzurri
Eustáquio, Stephen | 28 | Leamington, ON, CAN | Leamington MS
Goodman, Owen | 21 | Alliston, ON, CAN | South Simcoe United
Hoilett, Junior | 35 | Brampton, ON, CAN | Brampton YSC
Jones, Alfie | 28 | Bristol, UK |
Koné, Ismaël | 23 | Montréal, QC, CAN | AS Notre-Dame-de-Grâce
Larin, Cyle | 30 | Brampton, ON, CAN | Brampton YSC
Laryea, Richie | 30 | Toronto, ON, CAN | Club Uruguay Toronto
Miller, Kamal | 28 | Scarborough, ON, CAN | Scarborough Malvern SC
Nelson, Jayden | 23 | Brampton, ON, CAN | Brampton YSC
Oluwaseyi, Tani | 24 | Mississauga, ON, CAN | GPS Academy
Osorio, Jonathan | 33 | Brampton, ON, CAN | Brampton YSC
Saliba, Nathan | 21 | Longueuil, QC, CAN | CS Longueuil
Sigur, Niko | 21 | Burnaby, BC, CAN | Mountain United FC
St. Clair, Dayne | 28 | Pickering, ON, CAN | Ephinay Church Soccer League
Waterman, Joel | 29 | Surrey, BC, CAN | Surrey United SC
