When he’s in the Canadian kit, Ali Ahmed finds another level.
After sustaining an injury during Canada’s disappointing Concacaf Gold Cup run, which ended in a quarterfinal loss to Guatemala, the Vancouver Whitecaps winger returned to the lineup on Friday with his first national team goal and an assist in a 3-0 win over Romania in Bucharest.
“It's huge, the bounce-back to win 3-0 in Romania,” Ahmed told OneSoccer after Canada’s first road win over a UEFA opponent since beating Cyprus in 2009. “We know everything that transpired at the Gold Cup. This is huge...but we’ve just got to keep building.”
While Ahmed has played a key role with the Whitecaps, his prominence in head coach Jesse Marsch’s Canadian squad has only risen. And his goal, which resulted from forcing a goalkeeper error, highlighted the key points of the high-pressing style Canada has developed.
“We know Ali is really important. He's one of our most complete midfielders. He understands the behaviors that we want, the tactics that we want,” Marsch said. “What a goal too. As a pressing coach, those are the goals that make me the happiest.”
In-form stars
Canada controlled the match against Romania with quick midfield transitions and passing sequences through the midfield partnership of captain Stephen Eustáquio and former CF Montréal stars, Nathan Saliba and Ismaël Koné.
Meanwhile, former New England Revolution standout Tajon Buchanan completed three dribbles and carried his electric form over from his three goals in three matches with LaLiga’s CF Villarreal. Juventus’ Jonathan David also maintained his scoring touch, netting his record-holding 37th goal for Canada on Ahmed’s free kick.
“There were a lot of good individual performances and a collective understanding of exactly what the opponent was and what we wanted the game to look like,” Marsch said. “We have a lot of players now that are emerging on the international stage in both club and country, so I think it's a moment to appreciate what's been happening in Canada.”
Squad battles continue
As Canada punished in transition, the position battles got even more interesting for Marsch moving forward.
Unlike his usual process of tipping a starting goalkeeper in his pre-match press conference, Marsch waited until the starting lineup was announced to name Portland Timbers’ Maxime Crépeau as the starter against Romania, and suggested Minnesota United’s Dayne St. Clair will play Tuesday against Wales.
Performances over rotation
Despite not having much to do, Crépeau came up big when needed, laying his face on the line for a 69th-minute stop on a flicked shot from Denis Dragus, and finishing the night with two saves and the clean sheet.
“Max obviously made some big saves in the second half, but was stable the whole match,” Masch said. “He made good decisions with the ball, and he looked really good, so it was good to see him perform like that.”
Yet, the battles go on between the sticks.
Former Minnesota striker Tani Oluwaseyi stood out alongside David and set up Niko Sigur for the third goal. Toronto FC’s Richie Laryea and Sigur also impressed as fullbacks with Alistair Johnston and Alphonso Davies sidelined with injuries.
It all brings together the squad built over the next few windows, with rotation taking a back seat to preparation, as Canada's June 11, 2026 FIFA World Cup opener at Toronto’s BMO Field creeps closer.
“We are going to be leaning more toward players having to earn minutes from here on in, that it's the national team, and that's the way it should be,” Marsch added, looking ahead to Tuesday’s match at Swansea.com Stadium in Swansea, Wales. “We've developed a lot of players within the system and given a lot of players experiences.”
