Maxime Crepeau will start in goal for Canada at the World Cup, coach Jesse Marsch revealed Thursday.

Marsch had to decide between two starting-caliber goalkeepers in Crepeau and Dayne St. Clair, both Major League Soccer veterans. The coach said last week that he would be “tormented” when having to tell one of them he didn’t win the starting job.

St. Clair, 29, is a two-time All-Star and the 2025 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year. He joined Inter Miami this year after a seven-year run with Minnesota United.

But Marsch went with the more experienced Crepeau, 32, whom he briefly coached when Crepeau was an academy player for the Montreal Impact (now CF Montreal).

“Max’s maturity and experience, I think, is exactly what we need in the goal, along with all of his goalkeeping qualities,” Marsch said. “Right now, the security that we get with Max, along with his overall talent and intelligence, makes us a better team heading into the World Cup.”

Crepeau is in his first season with Orlando City after time with Montreal, the Vancouver Whitecaps, Los Angeles FC and the Portland Timbers. He also backstopped Canada’s run to the semifinals of Copa America in 2024, early in Marsch’s tenure.

“Dayne and I knew that one guy would be happy, and the other guy would get the other face of the (coin); we knew that a moment like this would bring up raw emotions,” Crepeau said. “Both of us are here to support one another in those terms.”

–Field Level Media