It has been a scintillating first half of the decade for Canadian soccer. After returning to the FIFA World Cup for the second time ever and ending a 36-year drought, Canada would finish as runners-up in the 2023 Concacaf Nations League Finals before qualifying for their first-ever Copa América, where they reached the semifinals and came within inches of the bronze medal, only to lose on penalties to Uruguay.
Canada would begin 2025 by winning the bronze in the Concacaf Nations League Finals after beating the USA in the third-placed match, thanks to goals from Tani Oluwaseyi and Jonathan David. Canada would then finish atop their group in the Concacaf Gold Cup with two wins, one draw, 9 goals scored, and one conceded, but they failed to make it to the Gold Cup semifinal after losing on penalties to Guatemala — their final competitive match for an entire year.
After competing for major silverware in Qatar and the USA, Canada will now get a chance to compete in front of their own home fans when they co-host the 2026 World Cup alongside Mexico and the USA. Canada will host the winner of Italy / Northern Ireland vs. Wales / Bosnia & Herzegovina in Toronto, where they’ll be looking to end a run of six straight defeats and come away with their first-ever point in the World Cup, before heading to Vancouver to face Qatar and Switzerland.
It remains to be seen whether or not Canada can finally make their mark in the biggest sporting competition in the world, but one thing’s for sure: if Canada is to have any chance of making it out of Group B, they’ll need Jonathan David to be at his brilliant best.
Born in Brooklyn to Haitian parents, David moved to Haiti as a baby before moving to Ottawa at the age of six, where he remained until 2018, when, after turning 18 years of age, he made the move to Belgian side Gent, where he racked up 37 goals and 15 assists in 83 appearances and finished as the joint Golden Boot winner in 2019/20. These superb displays would earn the attention of French side Lille, who signed him on a five-year contract for €30 million.
As the most expensive Canadian player of all time, David initially struggled to adjust to life in Ligue 1 and failed to score in his first 13 matches before finally getting off the mark for Les Dogues. After a difficult start that saw him score just two goals heading into the third week of January, David started to rekindle his form in the new year with four goals in five matches, followed by other big contributions like a brace vs. Marseille, goals vs. Angers, Lyon and PSG — which saw Lille wrestle control of the league title and hold on for the final two months to snatch their first Ligue 1 title in a decade.
The rest, as they say, is history. David would emerge as Lille’s third all-time top scorer with 109 goals and 30 assists in 232 appearances, earning praise from the likes of Ray Hudson and Rui Duarte, whilst he also proved to be a trailblazer. As Canada’s first-ever player in Ligue 1, David’s success in France proved instrumental in other Canadian players like Ismaël Koné, Derek Cornelius, Moïse Bombito, and Theo Bair making the move to Ligue 1.
But whilst David left plenty of goals in Lille’s storied history, he didn’t leave any transfer revenue, with the center forward departing northern France and joining Italian behemoths Juventus on a free transfer this summer. After an impressive start that saw him score in their opener vs. Parma and assist in their third Serie A match vs. Inter, David has gone from being Lille’s undisputed center forward to competing with established veteran players like Loïs Openda and Dušan Vlahović for the starting #9 spot. And whilst Vlahović, suffering a long-term adductor injury vs. Cagliari on November 29, has opened the door somewhat, it hasn’t quite resulted in a turnaround in David’s situation.
His sole saving grace has come in the UEFA Champions League, where, after failing to score in his first four matches, he came off the bench in Norway and scored an extra-time winner vs. Bodø/Glimt, before dropping to the bench vs. Cagliari. He reclaimed his starting spot vs. Udinese but was then dropped at Napoli, with Juventus manager Luciano Spalletti opting against playing either of his two available center forwards.
David then returned to the starting XI for Juve’s next two matches, doubling the lead shortly after Weston McKennie’s opener and sealing the deal in the 72nd minute of their 2-0 win vs. Pafos. However, he was unable to build on his momentum during his hour-long display at Bologna. David didn’t complete a single shot, he failed to complete either of his 2 dribble attempts, he lost possession 16 times, and he came out second-best in each of his 7 duels. To add insult to injury, Juve scored the sole goal of the match immediately after David came off. David then came on for the final 13 minutes of their 2-1 win vs. Roma, replacing Openda, who scored the decisive winner. David then replaced Openda at the hour-mark and assisted the decisive second goal in a 2-0 win vs. Pisa, before starting in a 1-1 draw at Lecce. He did put an end to his goal-scoring drought in the following match, however, bagging a goal and an assist in a 3-0 win vs. Sassuolo.
Both Juventus and Canada supporters will be praying that David can replicate his post-Christmas transformation in form as he looks to shake off a dismal start to his maiden season in Serie A. At nearly 26 years of age, David has emerged as one of the greatest players in the history of the Canadian national team with 37 goals and 20 assists in 73 appearances. And after failing to score in his three matches in Qatar, he’ll be looking to make his mark on home soil this summer for Jesse Marsch’s side.
“We’ve all been heavily aware of what Jonathan David has been doing in European football for a while now, and Canada manager Jesse Marsch is extremely fortunate to have so much quality between him and Tani Oluwaseyi,” stated MLS veteran Brian Dunseth. “I remember so much pressure being placed on Cyle Larin’s shoulders, and then David popped up. He’s like what Folarin Balogun is for the USMNT — people in Canada look at David’s consistency of his ability to be in the right place at the right time, especially in big matches.”
“Everyone talks about his player profile like athleticism, speed, strength, but I look at his intelligence. I just think he’s so smart with the way that he plays, with the way that he runs the line, how he’s able exploit these massive defenders and tactically smart defensive shapes, how he continuously finds these seams and these moments where he’s getting on the end of balls. Obviously, anytime that you’re a goal scorer who joins Juventus, you’re going to deal with an insane amount of pressure. The hope for Marsch is that David will be finding more consistency in front of the net, fully fit, healthy, sharp, not carrying any niggles, and ready to lead the line for Canada for the FIFA World Cup.”
The grass isn’t always greener, and that’s proving to be the case with Jonathan David. After years of pushing for a departure, David is finally playing in one of the biggest teams in the world, and he’s struggling to find his footing. As for Lille, they’ve managed to cope with his vacancy somewhat thanks to the summer arrivals of Olivier Giroud and Hamza Igamane, but it’s undeniable that they would welcome David back in a heartbeat. Nevertheless, those days are in the rearview mirror; David is now trying to stake out his presence in Italy.
The bottom line is, Canada needs Jonathan David to bring his A-Game for the FIFA World Cup, and that’s only going to happen if he’s starting and scoring regularly and riding high on confidence. It’s no surprise that, as he deals with a difficult transition to life in Italy, David’s numbers for Canada have also dried up, with the striker failing to score in his last five matches vs. Wales, Australia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.
Can David finally rediscover the form that made him one of Europe’s most coveted center forwards? Stay tuned for what promises to be a pivotal few months for Canada’s all-time leading scorer.