FORT LAUDERDALE — Inter Miami CF goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair, 29, said his free-agency move to the reigning MLS Cup 2025 champions was driven by one overriding goal: preparing for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, where Canada will compete as a co-host nation.
“When I weighed my options, it made the most sense in terms of the preparation not only for my career, but especially for the World Cup, playing in bigger stadiums, more people, more pressure,” St. Clair said. “I came here to surround myself with the best of the best.”
That company includes Lionel Messi, Rodrigo De Paul and Luis Suárez — the core of the Inter Miami squad that captured MLS Cup 2025. Training alongside that caliber of talent daily, St. Clair said, was precisely the kind of discomfort he sought before stepping onto the World Cup stage.
“There’s no bigger honor than to be able to do that on a world stage and represent not only yourself and your family, but a whole country and all those people who are in it,” St. Clair said.
Canada opens World Cup Group B play against Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 12 in Toronto, near St. Clair’s hometown. Jesse Marsch’s squad then travels to Vancouver to face Qatar on June 18 and Switzerland on June 24. A group-stage victory would be a first in Canadian men’s soccer history.
“We also know if we win our group, we get to stay in Canada, so that’s a huge incentive for us,” St. Clair said. “We’re doing things we’ve never done before.”
Canada’s Group B opener in Toronto is set for Thursday, with St. Clair expected to be in goal as Les Rouges pursue their first-ever World Cup win on home soil.