Canada coach picks Dayne St. Clair to start in goal in Gold Cup quarterfinal

The Canadian Press

· Posted: Jun 28, 2025 4:56 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

Dayne St. Clair has earned the starting occupation successful extremity for 30th-ranked Canada against No. 106 Guatemala successful Sunday's quarterfinal astatine the Concacaf Gold Cup.

St. Clair started successful the 6-0 triumph implicit No. 75 Honduras and 1-1 gully with No. 90 Curacao portion Maxime Crepeau was successful extremity for the last Group B game, a 2-0 determination implicit No. 81 El Salvador connected Tuesday successful Houston.

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Prior to Sunday, St. Clair and Crepeau had each started 10 games nether manager Jesse Marsch. In choosing St. Clair for the knockout round, Marsch has elevated the Minnesota United 'keeper successful the pecking order.

"(Dayne) has been, I think, outstanding successful the tourney and clearly, successful grooming also, very, precise strong," Marsch told a quality league Saturday. "That being said, I privation to besides accidental this has ne'er been an casual determination and our content successful Max is astatine the highest level arsenic well. And he's trained truly good and been truly sharp

"I deliberation Dayne has done capable to gain this opportunity. And successful this knockout stage, we're trying to enactment what we deliberation is the squad that is the astir prepared and astir acceptable for what these matches volition be. And for close present for maine that's Dayne."

St. Clair was the lone Canadian named to the Major League Soccer all-star squad earlier this week. The 28-year-old from Pickering, Ont., is tied for the MLS pb successful shutouts with 8 and has made 43 saves successful 16 matches.

St. Clair has kept six cleanable sheets successful 14 appearances for Canada. The 31-year-old Crepeau, a autochthonal of Candiac, Que., who plays for the Portland Timbers, has 8 shutouts successful 26 Canada appearances.

Guatemala, meanwhile, has mislaid goalkeeper Nicho Hagen, a backup with the Columbus Crew, to injury.

Sunday's crippled volition beryllium played connected a impermanent writer aboveground astatine the 73,000-capacity U.S. Bank Stadium, location to the NFL's Minnesota Vikings.

"I deliberation the prime of replacement pitches that we person present is much, overmuch amended than erstwhile I played," said the 51-year-old Marsch, a erstwhile U.S. international.

Canada is 10-2-2 all-time against Guatemala and unbeaten successful the past 5 meetings (4-0-1), dating backmost to a 2-0 nonaccomplishment successful August 2004 successful World Cup qualifying successful Burnaby, B.C. The teams played to a scoreless gully the past clip they met, successful radical play astatine the 2023 Gold Cup.

"I cognize we're not the favourite team," Guatemala manager Luis Fernando Tena said done an interpreter. "We recognize that. We cognize the stakes — they're precise precocious close now, specifically for Canada. But, well, surprises ever travel successful soccer. So we person religion successful us."

Canada had hoped to get influential midfielder Stephan Eustaquio back, with Portugal's FC Porto retired of the FIFA Club World Cup. But Marsch said Saturday that Porto, which failed to beforehand retired of the radical signifier astatine 0-2-1, had gone backmost connected its connection and refused to merchandise him.

Canada antecedently mislaid Toronto FC midfielder Jonathan Osorio and Vancouver Whitecaps winger Ali Ahmed to injury, leaving its tourney roster astatine 23 alternatively of 26.

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The Canadian men, who won the tourney successful 2000, are successful the quarterfinals for the 5th consecutive edition.

Canada survived a carnal matter with El Salvador, which had 2 players sent off. Marsch said helium did not expect the aforesaid benignant of physicality from Guatemala.

"They've got immoderate velocity and creativity up beforehand and immoderate beardown antiaircraft players connected the backline," helium said.

"I deliberation they're athletic, possibly a small spot much diversion than El Salvador but I deliberation much disciplined," helium added. "I don't deliberation we're going to spot specified a chaotic show arsenic what El Salvador delivered. But astatine the aforesaid clip I deliberation it volition beryllium precise spirited. And they volition effort to acceptable the code early, that it's not going to beryllium an casual time for us."

Guatemala finished runner-up to No. 33 Panama successful Group C, beating No. 63 Jamaica 1-0 and unranked Guadeloupe 3-2 and losing 1-0 to Panama.

Guatemala looks to scope the tourney semifinals for conscionable the 2nd time, pursuing 1996 erstwhile it mislaid 1-0 to eventual champion Mexico. The Guatemala roster features 4 MLS players including Hagen and 18-year-old CF Montreal midfielder Olger Escobar.

Sunday's victor volition look either the 16th-ranked U.S. oregon No. 54 Costa Rica successful Wednesday's semifinal successful St. Louis.

Tajon Buchanan and Nathan Saliba pb Canada with 2 goals apiece. Acting skipper Jonathan David, meanwhile, has 7 goals successful 7 appearances astatine the tourney and leads Canada successful all-time Gold Cup scoring.