Jesse Marsch rocks boat again ahead of Canada’s date with USMNT on TSN - TSN

The super-sized international window is drawing to a close, with the United States Men’s National Team enjoying a long camp to build chemistry in the aftermath of a disappointing early exit from the World Cup. After friendlies against Peru, Chile, and Mexico, there remains one match, taking on another CONCACAF rival with designs on ruling the region. Canada, like the other two co-hosts, is coming off a similarly underwhelming Round-of-16 finish last summer, albeit while making the program’s best-ever performance. Allianz Field in Saint Paul, Minnesota – a 19,400-seat soccer-specific stadium with a natural-grass surface – hosts the fixture. This is the 43rd all-time meeting between the two sides, with the USMNT holding a 17-12-13 advantage but dropping the most recent match in the third-place playoff at the 2025 CONCACAF Nations League (1-2). Ranked internationally by FIFA, Canada finished second in Group B at the World Cup by drawing Bosnia and Herzegovina (1-1), topping Qatar (6-0), and falling to Switzerland (1-2) before beating South Africa (1-0) and losing to Morocco (0-3) in the knockout phase. In recent friendlies, Les Rouges topped Chile (1-0) and Peru (2-0).

When Canada hosted Chile last week at Toronto’s BMO Field, the match acted as a farewell to a program stalwart. Brampton, Ont.’s David “Junior” Hoilett made his 70th and final appearance for Canada in the 1-0 win. The game was a celebration of his contributions to the national team and a chance to say goodbye in a stadium only a short drive away from his hometown. On Saturday afternoon in Montreal, another CanMNT veteran will be honoured, yet whether or not it’s a goodbye remains to be seen. Le Gardeur, Que.’s Samuel Piette is set to receive his 70th cap when the CanMNT team welcomes Peru at Stade Saputo. The long-time CF Montreal defender will get his flowers the way Hoilett did, but their circumstances aren’t identical. You can catch Canada vs. Peru LIVE from Montreal’s Stade Saputo on Saturday on TSN4/5, TSN.ca and the TSN App with coverage getting underway at 1pm ET/10am PT ahead of a 2pm ET/11am PT kick-off. While Hoilett is 36 and currently without a club after his short-term deal with Swindon Town expired in the summer, Piette turns 32 next month and has been a regular contributor to CFMTL this season.

CanMNT to honour Hoilett as it welcomes Chile on

As the Canadian national teams look to continue evolving with the global game, head coaches Casey Stoney, Jesse Marsch and Canada Soccer technical director Kenneth Heiner-Møller have come up with a plan. Instead of adopting different styles of play every time Canada gets a new head coach at the youth or senior levels, a national identity is being created. The hope is that grassroots coaches start teaching players to adopt styles that will eventually prepare them to play internationally. Japan is often cited as an example of a similar project that has flourished over the years.