With MLS kicking into high gear and leagues in Europe heading into the final stretch of the season, there will be no shortage of Canadians in action this weekend.
Here are a few to keep an eye on over the next days:
FW Cyle Larin, Southampton (Saturday vs. Derby)
What a change a few short weeks can make. Despite the trust in him from Canada manager Jesse Marsch, Cyle Larin entered 2026 with his place on Canada’s World Cup squad under actual threat. The Brampton, Ont. native’s loan move to Feyenoord was a flop, appearing in a total of 158 Eredivisie minutes across eight matches. So bad was the fit with Robin van Persie’s side that the loan was terminated at the beginning of February. With some of Marsch’s other forward options getting regular playing time, Larin could hear the door closing on his summer plans.
But a lifeline emerged with a loan to Premier League aspirants Southampton days later. The 30-year-old Larin hit the ground running with Saints, becoming a key part of the squad that has themselves firmly in contention for the Championship playoff places with only six matches remaining in the season. In 10 league matches, including six starts, Larin has four goals. Most recently, Larin found the back of the net in Tuesday’s 5-1 thrashing of Wrexham, overtaking the Welsh side for the final playoff spot.
“There’s a lot of belief in the squad and trust in each other,” Larin told BBC Radio Solent this week. ”I think you see it on the pitch where the guys are really connecting, and I think it’s just game by game we are getting better and becoming stronger. You can smile for a bit with the win, but we’re going to have to go again this weekend and the next game is the most important game and the team knows that.”
With the win over fellow Canadian Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s side, Saints now sit sixth in the table on 66 points, two clear of Wrexham. After the league win this week and the FA Cup upset of Premier League leaders Arsenal last weekend to advance to a semis date with Manchester City, Tonda Eckert’s Saints are certainly flying high at the right time, but a visit from Derby County on Saturday could change all of that. Eighth in the table on 63 points, the Rams are still harbouring playoff designs of their own.
Unfortunately, those hopes took a major hit this week with word that Patrick Agyemang’s season is over. The United States forward, who had 10 league goals in his first season with the team, ruptured his Achilles in Monday’s 2-0 win over Stoke City. The 25-year-old Rhode Island product is expected to be out of action for nine months, meaning he won’t have the opportunity to play in a World Cup in his home country.
Saturday’s game will be viewed as a must-win for both sides. Saints have a game in hand on all of their nearest rivals but still have a tricky fixture remaining with second-place Ipswich Town on their schedule. For Derby, their remaining slate is against teams below them in the table, so the match at St. Mary’s is their final opportunity to directly make up ground on a team in front of them. While the margin for error is a little greater for Southampton, a loss for either side could be disastrous for their promotion hopes.
Relegated in 2023 and again last year, Southampton hopes this Championship stay will be as short as their last one, but for Derby County, a Premier League return would be a long time in coming. The Rams’ last stint in the Prem lasted a single season in 2007-2008. The captain of that Derby team was none other than current Forest Green Rovers manager and BBC football pundit, Robbie Savage.
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MF Mathieu Choinière and W Jacob Shaffelburg, Los Angeles FC (Saturday at Portland Timbers at 4:30pm ET/1:30pm PT on TSN3)
Six matches into the Major League Soccer season, there is only one remaining undefeated team – Marc dos Santos’s Los Angeles FC. The Black and Gold have won five of their six matches and have yet to concede a goal, owning a league-high +14 goal differential. Last time out, they routed Orlando City by the tune of 6-0. While the result was never in doubt, the final goal was an important milestone for one of LAFC’s relatively sizable Canadian cohort.
Kentville, NS winger Jacob Shaffelburg made his LAFC debut in the 58th minute. Acquired in the off-season in a trade with Nashville SC, Shaffelburg had been sidelined since January, undergoing groin surgery. It was the latest ailment in a frustrating year for the 26-year-old Toronto FC academy product. Shaffelburg missed five games last season with hamstring and ankle injuries.
With the competition for World Cup spots as fierce as it is, Shaffelburg recognizes the need to make an impact quickly and did so in the 70th minute. He set up Tyler Boyd with a fine cross to slot home, rounding out the scoring at 6-0. A healthy Shaffelburg’s playmaking ability from the left wing offers a solid bench option for Marsch.
Canadian health concerns aren’t limited to Shaffelburg when it comes to LAFC. Stephen Eustáquio, who joined the club on loan from Porto, is out of action due to a pair of freak occurrences. In a 2-0 win over St. Louis City on Mar. 14, the 29-year-old midfielder collided with referee Drew Fischer and incurred a leg injury. While rehabbing the injury, the Leamington, Ont. native developed a hematoma in the same leg during a deep massage session and has been sidelined since.
Eustáquio’s move to MLS was intended to get him the gametime he wasn’t getting in the Primeira Liga ahead of the World Cup. With him on the shelf, one of the beneficiaries has been Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que.’s Mathieu Choinière. The 27-year-old midfielder is in his second season at the club after his loan from Swiss side Grasshoppers was made permanent.
Choinière’s MLS career high in goals is the five he scored as a member of CF Montreal in 2023. Not necessarily known for his offensive prowess, Choinière has shown a deft touch thus far in 2026. The 2-0 win over St. Louis was on the back of a brace from Choinière. In the team’s 3-0 win over Cruz Azul in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup quarter-final on Wednesday night, Choiniere assisted on the first two goals, scored by Son Heung-min and David Martinez.
While LAFC is off to a flying start, the same can’t be said about Saturday’s opponents, Phil Neville’s Portland Timbers. The Timbers have won just once in their opening six matches, a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Crew on Matchday 1. Now winless in five, the Timbers are coming off a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps in which they led 2-1 into stoppage time. A Thomas Muller penalty in the first minute of added time and then a sensational effort from Sebastian Berhalter in the fifth minute of stoppage meant that they left BC Place empty-handed.
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FW Jonathan David, Juventus (Saturday at Atalanta)
With seven matches remaining in the Serie A campaign, Juventus is currently on the outside looking in when it comes to the Champions League.
Currently fifth in the table, the Bianconeri trails Cesc Fabregas’s Como side by one point for the final place in Europe’s premier club competition. Every point available going forward matters for the Old Lady, as it does for Saturday’s opponents, Atalanta. La Dea sits in seventh place, a point behind Roma for Italy’s Europa Conference League spot and four behind Juve for a Europa League place.
Though the stakes are high for both teams, the match could be of particular personal importance for Canada forward Jonathan David. David’s maiden campaign in Italy has not been a great one. Signing on a Bosman from Lille in the summer, David has just five goals and four assists in 29 league appearances this season. His offensive output has been a far cry from seasons of 13, 15, 24, 19 and 16 goals in Ligue 1.
On Friday, the Old Lady officially announced a two-year extension for manager Luciano Spalletti, taking him through the 2028 season. Extending Spalletti’s stay at the club could have repercussions for David, as well as for some of Juve’s other attackers. David has not been a favourite of Spalletti, who had been named gaffer for the remainder of the season in October upon the firing of Igor Tudor. With injuries to Dusan Vlahovic and Arkadiusz Milik, David has had opportunities to earn Spalletti’s trust, but it appears to have been a losing battle.
On Thursday, a report emerged from Tuttosport that David will be available in the summer for as little as €25 million. While that might seem like far too low a price tag for a 26-year-old forward in his prime, it represents pure profit for Juve who didn’t pay a transfer fee to sign him. The report notes that the team won’t have any shortage of suitors for the player with the likes of West Ham (provided they aren’t relegated), Nottingham Forest (provided they aren’t relegated), as well as teams back in France.
But nothing is set in stone here. Spalletti and Juve could reconsider their stance altogether and David stays in Torino for another year. And should he move on, that existing valuation could see a sharp increase with a star turn at the World Cup. With things unlikely to be settled in the immediate future, this is a situation to monitor going forward.
