The Concacaf Nations League is a competition which provides extra ‘competitive’ encounters for national teams such as Canada, from which they can benefit in terms of playing minutes and pool expansion.
Moreover, it’s a platform in which coaches can hand debuts to rising stars in comfortable games ahead of much stiffer tests.
Case in point; what Canada boss John Herdman did when he deployed 18-year-old Alessandro Busti between goal against Dominica in the Reds’ last Nations League appointment.
Born in 2000, Busti comes from Juventus’ U-23 team and is one of the players with which Herdman is hoping to lay the foundations of a solid national team ahead of upcoming events such as the Gold Cup — but also with an eye on the 2026 FIFA World Cup.