Crepeau or St. Clair? A CPL keeper weighs in on debate for Canadian No. 1

It is becoming a big story. The Canadian soccer zeitgeist is enthralled and intrigued. Who will wear the gloves in goal for the men’s national team at the 2026 World Cup?

As it stands now ahead of the Concacaf Nations League, Maxime Crepeau — one of Canada’s heroes at last year’s Copa America run — is injured and has missed the last two matches for his club, Portland, in Major League Soccer. His understudy at the Copa, Dayne St. Clair, has conceded only a single goal in three outings for Minnesota.  

As you can imagine, the Max vs. Dayne debate is raging within fan circles and everyone has an opinion with distinct camps forming on either side. So, I thought I would approach someone with genuine knowledge in goal to get an expert opinion on who should be the No. 1 choice for Canadian manager Jesse Marsch.

Nate Ingham has been one of the faces of the Canadian Premier League since its inception in 2019, respected as one of the top goalkeepers in the CPL following stints at York United FC and his current club, Atletico Ottawa.

“This whole debate is magnified by the fact that Marsch went with Dayne in his first game in charge,” Ingham believes. “That’s where this whole thing stems from. At the time, I would’ve bet my house that Max plays every minute. Dayne is talented of course and deserving of a game, but for him (to get the first start) under the new coach said a lot. He didn’t have his best night and then Max followed up with a clean sheet masterclass against France and rolls into Copa America where he was, in my opinion, the goalkeeper of the tournament.”

Of course, at six-foot-three, St. Clair is a formidable presence. He certainly presents himself as a typical modern goalkeeper, something that Ingham believes is key to the perception a new coach such as Marsch would be drawn to.

“For a Canadian team that prides themselves on athleticism, Dayne’s profile and build bode well for him,” Ingham added. “A very long athletic keeper makes him a great shot stopper from distance. He is also agile enough to come for crosses and get them at a good height with his length, without being a big brute and bowling guys over. Even though he has several inches of height on Max, he’s still quick enough to get off his line to make one-v-one saves, and he’s very quick laterally across his net which allows him to make some game-changing saves, too. Both goalkeepers are good enough with their feet, but neither are good enough for it to be a quality that any decision will be made on.”

Despite Crepeau’s height disadvantage — he is officially listed as five-foot-11 — Ingham is a strong believer in his abilities, rating him as a better goalkeeper than St. Clair in some important areas.

“For a guy that is shorter, and looks less athletic, Max crushes Dayne in areas such as sweeper, high claims, punches, etc … These are qualities that are massively important for the way Canada plays,” Ingham continued. “Max’s positioning and decision-making is, without exaggeration, world class. It affects some of his other stats in a negative way because he prevents so many goal-scoring opportunities from happening. He has to make substantially less saves than a guy like me, or Jonathan Sirois at Montreal, or his Portland teammate James Pantemis, or Dayne because of how he plays. He’s a defender’s dream.

“I cannot understate how much of his game goes unnoticed, and how much he helps the team as a whole defend. In one-v-one situations, he becomes very ‘wall-like’ with his little steps and big frame and he has noticeably better reactions and hand movement in comparison to Dayne.”

Those qualities help sway the debate for Ingham.

“For me, Max is the hands-down starter. The fact that Marsch is questioning it makes me think he sees something very special in Dayne. The other big question mark for Max, which unfortunately has to be said, is injuries have been a problem for him since he was 16 years old. So, he’s going to have to stay healthy,” Ingham said.

That is an emphatic vote of confidence for Crepeau. Make no mistake: the battle for the starter’s job is wide open. With a lot of football still to play between now and the World Cup — including a pair of tournaments this year — nothing is certain. Could Pantemis or Sirois force Marsch’s hand?  How about Tom McGill at Millwall in England? 

The goalkeeper’s union is strong and proud. Over the coming weeks, I will ask others for their opinions on the current situation. However, according to one of the CPL’s finest, the decision is straightforward.

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