Sporting draws at Benfica and the Portuguese league will be decided in the final round
Sporting could have clinched the title with a victory at Benfica, while the host could have also been proclaimed champion with a victory by two goals.
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Canada coach Jesse Marsch's focus is on final days of European transfer window as World Cup looms
With less than 10 months to go before the most important tournament in Canadian soccer history, this European season will be crucial for Jesse Marsch's players to establish themselves as difference-makers ahead of a World Cup their homeland is co-hosting. Canada's head coach already knows who he can start in every game of their World Cup challenge. Advertisement A fit Alphonso Davies will likely return to a starting position at German champions Bayern Munich in a few months following a long-term knee injury. Stephen Eustaquio is Marsch's defensive-midfield rock, and more successive starts at Portugal's Porto this season will help him enter the tournament with confidence. Jonathan David finally made his long-awaited move up the European ladder this summer, joining Italian giants Juventus. If he can score with the same regularity in Serie A as he did in France's Ligue 1 with Lille, Canada's chances of getting out of their group next June and into the knockout phase will shoot up. After finding his footing with a move to Villarreal in Spain, Tajon Buchanan could return to his electrifying best. But there is more to Marsch's group than his stars. He is set on determining who is second tier of core players are. And many of those names will have to solidify themselves in Europe this season to be part of the World Cup. 'We're going to have between 10 and 15 players move this (summer transfer) window,' Marsch said. 'That's a lot.' Marsch spoke to The Athletic about a number of his players now beginning their European club campaigns and how their 2025-26 seasons could change his team's outlook for next summer. Marsch had said he was hopeful of getting Davies and Moise Bombito, two of Canada's most important players, into his September camp, which will see the squad travel to Europe for friendlies against Romania and Wales. Yet neither will attend, because of injuries. 'He's starting to get back to being on the pitch. We'll see where we are in a couple of weeks,' Marsch said of Davies. A return for the friendlies in November, likely to be played in Toronto against as yet unnamed opponents, now feels like a plausible outcome for the Bayern full-back. Marsch also confirmed Bombito will miss next month's international window. The centre-back with French top-flight club Nice recently had an MRI on a stress fracture in his tibia (the larger of the two bones in your lower leg), having missed the Concacaf Gold Cup this summer due to a wrist injury. The coach expressed no concern about whether the 25-year-old's injuries would impact him long-term. 'The wrist thing, he landed weird… and then he took a whack in training for his leg. And it's actually a good thing they caught it, because it was a tiny little fracture that isn't so easy to find, and those can lead to bigger problems. I think in a month he'll be training and playing,' Marsch said. Advertisement When Bombito does return, Marsch hopes he can transfer the lessons he's learned playing on a strong Nice side to the national team. 'As good of a player as Moise is, I think that his leadership is also going to be vital, with his communication and his overall personality in the team,' Marsch said. Marsch seems convinced that Tani Oluwaseyi's rumoured move from Minnesota United of MLS to La Liga's Villarreal would benefit the centre-forward. It's believed talks between the clubs are advanced, though a deal is not done. If the transfer is completed and Oluwaseyi then succeeds in Spain, the second forward spot in Canada's starting XI could be his to lose. 'He's earned it,' Marsch said of the 25-year-old's mooted switch to Europe. 'His performances have been very good. Tani has clear strengths and clear challenges to his overall game. His strengths can fit the game at the highest level. For any player, it's about understanding what you're good at and how to play into what you know you can be. Tani does that better than maybe any player I've ever coached.' Again, if Oluwaseyi does go to Villarreal, Marsch wants to see him continuing to find space inside the penalty area and physically imposing himself in games. 'Spain is the league of teams that sit back and defend and make it very difficult. So there's not a lot of space to play, but you can be good at transition, if that's the approach that you take with your team. And I think Tani is a really good player in transition, and he still has good link-up play,' Marsch said. Where does the Oluwaseyi situation leave Cyle Larin and Promise David? Both aren't out of the running for the right to play beside Jonathan David at the World Cup. After signing a contract extension to 2029 with Union Saint-Gilloise in Belgium's top division, Marsch said he wants to see a 'higher level fitness and better understanding of how to fit into the game at all moments' from Promise David this season. Advertisement It's believed Larin is working towards an exit from Real Mallorca of La Liga. Marsch said he can see him moving to another club in Spain. Consistency will be paramount from Larin's performances this season. While Canada's top two 'keepers – Maxime Crepeau and Dayne St. Clair – battle in MLS for the 2026 starting spot, other possible options in goal are playing in Europe. Yet Marsch has squashed the possibility that Owen Goodman, of Huddersfield Town in the English third tier, might play for Canada, despite the 21-year-old's expressed hope that he could one day do so, having lived in the country for several years as a child. 'Owen Goodman is not eligible. I've seen different reports but through everything we've done, he is not eligible (for Canada),' Marsch said. Marsch still wants to provide different competition for Crepeau and St. Clair, even down the road, and said he will call MLS side Atlanta United's backup Jayden Hibbert into the September camp. Hibbert has previously played one friendly for Jamaica and would need to complete a one-time switch of country. His mother was born in Mississauga, Ontario, making him eligible. Marsch said the 21-year-old will be his third goalkeeper for the upcoming international window. One development from the Gold Cup that can't be overlooked: the incredible emergence of 19-year-old Luc de Fougerolles as a trusted centre-back who could contend for a starting spot heading into the World Cup. Derek Cornelius, the other half of Canada's longstanding centre-back pairing alongside Bombito, has struggled with minor injuries. '(Cornelius) wasn't as healthy as we wanted him to be,' Marsch said of the 27-year-old's summer. 'There were certain things that maybe I felt like we could have handled them better. So I was frustrated that we didn't have him at his top level. Maybe we challenged him too much in the friendlies leading into the Gold Cup that led to his injury.' And so the balance of power at the back may have shifted. With De Fougerolles having joined Dender in Belgium's top division on loan from Fulham of the Premier League and Cornelius now considering whether it's best to stay at Marseille in Ligue 1 and fight for a starting spot or move to another club, this European season will be vital for Marsch to make decisions on his starting centre-backs for 2026. Advertisement The hope is that Cornelius plays with the consistency needed beside a more dynamic Bombito. 'Derek is a really important guy,' said Marsch, who recently travelled to France for a lengthy conversation with Cornelius, whose future remains up in the air with a variety of options being considered ahead of the transfer window closing on September 1. 'I really enjoy his intellectual capacity and his mentality to be the best footballer he can be,' Marsch said. 'We talked about what it looks like if he stays at Marseille? What does it look like, fighting for his position? How can he maximize that opportunity to the best of his ability? And what could that look like? And then, if there's other opportunities or loans or selling or whatever, what are those opportunities like? Who are those coaches? What are those environments?' With De Fougerolles already finding his rhythm in Belgium, starting all three games since moving from Fulham, the race for Canada's 'other' centre-back job is still wide open. The teenager recently re-upped on a new deal with Fulham before going out on loan, though Marsch said he stressed the need for De Fougerolles to get out of England and experience a different soccer culture. 'Luc is going to compete for a starting spot, regardless. I think he's emerged as our third centre-back. I think everybody in the group really sees and respects who Luc is and what he brings,' Marsch said. Marsch pointed to the fact De Fougerolles got a red card in just his second appearance for Dender but was put right back into the starting line-up afterwards as evidence of the club's belief in him. 'If he does well at Dender, that's only going to increase his chances of playing a big role with us,' Marsch said. Not long ago, Kone was destined to be Canada's next starting midfielder alongside Eustaquio. His ascent through Montreal in MLS to Watford in the English Championship, combined with his silky passing qualities, athleticism and dangerous shooting abilities from outside the box eventually made him a bona fide starter for Canada. But a transfer to Marseille in summer 2024 did not go well, and Kone's confidence and qualities took a hit. He was then not used as much as expected during the Gold Cup. 'He thought he could have played more (at that tournament), and I understood why,' Marsch said. 'There was a moment when he came in late before the Gold Cup, because he had a couple of things going on with his mother. And I think that even disturbed a little bit of rhythm, and then it gave a little bit of room for other guys.' Advertisement It means a player who was once Canada's most promising prospect is now on the outside looking in. While Kone will undoubtedly be on Marsch's World Cup squad if fit, he is no longer the assured starter he was in 2023 or early last year. 'The balance I was trying to get right in the Gold Cup was: How do we get Promise David and Daniel Jebbison going at the striker position, but make sure that we also get enough from all the important guys? And it was a little bit like this in the (No 6 position) too, right? Like, how do we get Nathan Saliba (of Belgium's Anderlecht) going a little more? How do we get Niko Sigur (of Hajduk Split in Croatia) more opportunities? Did I handle Ismael perfectly? I don't think I did,' Marsch said. Marsch hopes Kone's recent move to Sassuolo in Serie A provides an opportunity for the 23-year-old to get on the right track. Kone appears to have the backing of his new club. He's already started for them in the Coppa Italia, and is showing signs of him at his creative best. 'Going to Italy and playing for this club at this time, where there's going to have to be real, clear, tactical, defensive, tactical organization and structure, but he can still be the one that can create things, this could be a really good thing for him,' Marsch said. More of that creativity, with more necessary maturity on and off the field, this season could put Kone back to where many thought he would be: starting for Canada in their opening World Cup group match in Toronto on June 12 next year. 'I've been very clear with him that it's important for him to get the balance right between the discipline and the concentration of actively understanding what his role is, and then also have the freedom to play the way that he knows he can and to break things down and to create scoring opportunities with his creativity,' Marsch said. One possible challenger for a starting midfield spot is Sigur. After becoming a starter at Hajduk Split over the past two seasons, the versatile 21-year-old is ready for his next challenge. 'He desperately wants a move,' Marsch said. Marsch is a fan of Sigur's soccer intelligence and said if he stays in Croatia, where he has proven himself capable of playing at right back and central midfield, it wouldn't change his standing for the 2026 squad. Despite rumours of a transfer to Atalanta in Serie A, Marsch sees a different possible landing spot for the crafty Burnaby, British Columbia native. 'Some interest has come from the (German) Bundesliga, which I think would be great for him. There is also interest elsewhere. Niko has incredible flexibility with the way he plays,' Marsch said. Advertisement If it's not Kone or Sigur starting in an advanced midfield role? Well, a strong season from Saliba with Anderlecht, after a summer move from Montreal, could pave the way for the 21-year-old to claim a place in Marsch's World Cup team. Saliba's transition from living with his parents in Montreal to playing on a different continent has gone smoothly — he has already scored two goals in just 262 minutes for the Brussels side across eight domestic and European-level appearances. 'He looks like he's acclimated perfectly,' Marsch said. 'He is clearly able to play possession football, intensive football. He's an incredible passer, he's a very intelligent person, very strong mentality and a very good professional. If you scout a player like him and you're a club that values young players, it's just like, 'How quickly can we get him?'' Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
