Three Canadian Premier League players have earned call-ups to the Canadian men's national team, Canada Soccer announced Tuesday.
The full 20-man roster has been revealed ahead of a camp that will take place in Irvine, California later this month, as Canada begins work in 2026 ahead of this summer's FIFA World Cup. Atlético Ottawa defender Noah Abatneh, Halifax Wanderers striker Tiago Coimbra and Inter Toronto winger Shola Jimoh will join the squad, and all three will aim to make their senior international debut in a friendly against Guatemala on Jan. 17.
Head coach Jesse Marsch has named a squad composed primarily of North America-based players currently out of season, since this camp will take place outside of an official FIFA window.
Also included in the group are three CPL alumni: GAIS full-back Matteo de Brienne (formerly Atlético Ottawa), Chicago Fire defender Joel Waterman (formerly Cavalry FC), and Portland Timbers goalkeeper James Pantemis (formerly Valour FC).
The CPL is also well-represented in the coaching staff accompanying Marsch at this camp. Cavalry head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr. and Atlético Ottawa goalkeeper coach Romuald Peiser will join Marsch's technical staff, as will Doneil Henry, a former CPLer with Halifax.
In total, nine members of this Canada group have roots in the Canadian Premier League.
With the three current CPLers receiving their first call-ups, and De Brienne getting his first nod as well, there have now been a total of 15 players called to the senior national team while either an active CPL player or alumnus. Jimoh was technically brought into Marsch's camp as a training player in November 2024, but this is his first official inclusion in a Canada squad.
Abatneh, a 21-year-old Toronto native, excelled for Ottawa in 2025 as he helped Atleti win a CPL championship. He was nominated for both Defender of the Year and Best U-21 Canadian Player in the CPL this past season. The former Roma and Lazio youth player has represented his country at the youth level, playing for Canada at the 2022 Concacaf U-20 Championship.
The Ottawa centre-back was a key piece for the club in 2025, taking a leadership role in a very young back three for much of the season. He completed the most passes in the CPL (1,855), with a 95.6 per cent accuracy.
Coimbra, who led all U-21 players in the CPL this season with 12 goals for the Halifax Wanderers, has also earned his first national team call-up. The 21-year-old was born in Fortaleza, Brazil, but grew up in Vancouver and represents Canada internationally, having been Abatneh's teammate at the 2022 Concacaf U-20 Championship. In 2025, he won the CPL's Best U-21 Canadian Player award.
In his third year with Halifax, Coimbra proved an aggressive, decisive centre-forward, finishing second in the CPL's Golden Boot race.
The 17-year-old Jimoh rounds out the active CPLers in this squad, having caught Marsch's eye as a standout youngster for Inter Toronto FC (formerly York United). Jimoh has been playing professionally for the club since 2024, and this past year became a fixture in the squad, particularly in the CPL Playoffs.
Jimoh wore the red and white fairly recently, playing for Canada at the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar. He played in all four matches, starting three and scoring a goal against Chile in Canada's run to the round of 32.
Players will convene in California later this week, with the camp set to run from Jan. 8 to 18. They will play Guatemala at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles on Jan. 17 at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT (live on OneSoccer). The match, despite taking place outside of an official FIFA window, will be classified as a Tier 1 international match and will therefore count toward the FIFA men's world rankings.
Canada, ranked 27th in the world, last played 94th-ranked Guatemala at this past summer's Concacaf Gold Cup, where they were eliminated from the tournament on penalties.
The full squad called up for this camp is as follows:
GK - Luka Gavran (Toronto FC / CAN)
GK - James Pantemis (Portland Timbers / USA)
DF - Noah Abatneh (Atlético Ottawa / CAN)
DF - Zorhan Bassong (Sporting Kansas City / USA)
DF - Matteo de Brienne (GAIS / SWE)
DF - Richie Laryea (Toronto FC / CAN)
DF - Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty (CF Montréal / CAN)
DF - Kamal Miller (Portland Timbers / USA)
DF - Ralph Priso (Vancouver Whitecaps / CAN)
DF - Joel Waterman (Chicago Fire / USA)
MF - Jeevan Badwal (Vancouver Whitecaps / CAN)
MF - Mathieu Choinière (LAFC / USA)
MF - Jayden Nelson (Austin FC / USA)
MF - Marcelo Flores (Tigres UANL / MEX)
MF - Shola Jimoh (Inter Toronto / CAN)
MF - Jonathan Osorio (Toronto FC / CAN)
MF - Jacob Shaffelburg (LAFC / USA)
FW - Tiago Coimbra (Halifax Wanderers / CAN)
FW - Rayan Elloumi (Vancouver Whitecaps / CAN)
FW - Jacen Russell-Rowe (Columbus Crew / USA)
TRAINING PLAYER
FW - Marius Aiyenaro (Los Angeles FC 2 / USA)
