Canada coach Jesse Marsch adds experience to his 26-man CONCACAF Gold Cup roster

National Post

2 days ago

Veterans Alistair Johnston, Richie Laryea and Jonathan Osorio will rejoin Canada later this month for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
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All three are included in Jesse Marsch's 26-man roster, which also adds goalkeeper Tom McGill and defender Kamal Miller to those held over from the 23-player Canadian Shield Tournament, which kicks off Saturday with No. 30 Canada hosting No. 25 Ukraine at Toronto's BMO Field. The Canadians face No. 41 Ivory Coast next Tuesday.
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Osorio (84 caps), Laryea (60), Johnston (53) and Millar (47) bring a combined 244 caps to the squad.
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Laryea, originally included in the Shield side but was replaced by Zorhan Bassong due to injury, also returns. The Toronto FC fullback/wingback returned to action May 31 for Toronto FC from a hamstring injury that had sidelined him since March 1.
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Osorio was allowed to skip the Shield tournament after suffering a shoulder injury with TFC on April 30. Celtic's Johnston had been dealing with a back issue.
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Midfielder Stephen Eustaquio is included despite the fact that his club, Portugal's FC Porto, is involved in the FIFA Club World Cup, which runs at the same time in the U.S. The hope is he will be able to rejoin Canada at some point during the Gold Cup.
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McGill is added as the third goalkeeper on the roster, joining Maxime Crepeau and Dayne St. Clair.
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There are 12 MLS players, including two from Toronto (Laryea and Osorio), two from CF Montreal (Nathan Saliba and Joel Waterman) and three from Vancouver (Sam Adekugbe, Ali Ahmed and Jayden Nelson)
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The roster ranges in age from 19 for Fulham defender de Fougerolles to 32 for Osorio, the most experienced player in the group.
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Canada opens Gold Cup play June 17 against No. 75 Honduras in Vancouver before heading to Houston to complete Group B play against No. 90 Curacao on June 21 and No. 81 El Salvador on June 24.
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The 16-team Gold Cup, the championship of North and Central America and the Caribbean, runs June 14 through July 6 in 13 cities (all but Vancouver in the U.S.). The field includes No. 58 Saudi Arabia as a guest team.
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The winner and runner-up from each of the four groups advance to the knockout stage.
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Canada won the Gold Cup in 2000 and was third in 2002. The Canadian men lost to the U.S. in a penalty shootout in the round of 16 last time out in 2023.
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Mexico has won the title seven times and finished runner-up twice. The U.S. has lifted the trophy seven times and finished second on five occasions.