Crepeau and St. Clair seek fresh starts in Florida
Canada's top-two goalkeepers have joined MLS clubs in the Sunshine State ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026.
Canada's top goalkeepers on move in MLS offseason
Dayne St Clair has teamed up with Messi at Inter Miami
Maxime Crepeau seals switch to rivals Orlando City
Maxime Crepeau's battle with Dayne St. Clair to claim Canada's starting spot in goal at the FIFA World Cup 2026™ is poised to heat up in the Florida sunshine over the coming months.
This week, St. Clair teamed up with global icons Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez at reigning Major League Soccer (MLS) champions Inter Miami, while Canadian compatriot Crepeau sealed his switch to inter-state rivals Orlando City.
St. Clair, the 2025 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year, was a free agent after spending seven seasons with Minnesota United. Meanwhile, Crepeau has joined Orlando City after two seasons with the Portland Timbers.
Jesse Marsch is keeping his options open ahead of the global showpiece and both stoppers will be looking to impress the Canada coach at their new clubs.
"They keep making big headaches for me. But I would say across the board we now have almost a two-person competition at almost every position on the team," Marsch recently told TSN. “So what a great problem to have, but certainly as we get closer and closer to the World Cup and defining what our first group is, what the whole squad looks like, it will be a big challenge for me. A big challenge.”
The moves should help both players in their development, with St. Clair playing in Inter Miami's intense spotlight alongside Messi. MLS veteran Crepeau, for his part, will be looking to help Orlando City bounce back from a disappointing end to the 2025 campaign.
St. Clair appears to have the edge over Crepeau after a stellar season and having been a member of John Herdman's squad at Qatar 2022, but there is all to play for in the build-up to the World Cup.
The duo are good friends, as well as rivals, and are looking to spur each other on in the months ahead.
"It goes down to the old saying iron sharpens iron," St. Clair said in a recent interview with OneSoccer. "For us, we know that we need each other in training to push each other... obviously we're serving each other so you rely on the other guys who are called into camp to dictate the training."
Crepeau added: "It's very rich to have one another, not only because we've been together five, six years... not only do we know one another on the field, how to approach certain topics and how to cover certain details but we get to know each other very well, family members and all that stuff so it's something in football that is very valuable in life. It's something that is very important to have."
Canada have been drawn in Group B of the World Cup alongside Qatar, Switzerland and the UEFA Playoff A winner, which will be one of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Northern Ireland and Wales.