This article was written after recording The Designated Pundits‘ CF Montréal preview for the 2026 MLS Season with special guest Elias Grigoriadis from “The Ball is Round Montréal.” You can find that video on Spotify below.
2025 Recap
CF Montréal finished 13th in the Eastern Conference with a 6-10-18 record. Their offense was a huge issue, with only 34 total goals scored. Meanwhile, the defense wasn’t much better, finishing 12th out of 15.
A particularly low point was CF Montréal getting eliminated from the Canadian Cup by Forge FC, a team most MLS fans needed to look up.
As happens frequently with slow starts, Laurent Courtois lost his managerial job after just 5 games. Montreal had a huge sell off of players, leaving just a few notables on the roster.
A bizarre trade brought in DP Giacomo Vrioni, a failed NE Revolution DP experiment. This further solidified CF Montréal’s reputation of refusing to spend money to find their own DPs.
Transactions
This offseason CF Montréal parted ways with Giacomo Vrioni and six other players. Matias Cóccaro, the mustached striker, was among those casualties. They also traded Dante Sealy, one of the few bright spots, to the Colorado Rapids two days before Christmas.
Incoming players include Dagur Dan Thórhallsson, a veteran and skilled defender/midfielder with MLS experience in Orlando. They also brought in Brayan Vera from Real Salt Lake and Tomás Avilés (right) from Inter Miami. Shakhtar Donetsk’s Ivan Losenko doesn’t slot right in as a starter, but shows a lot of promise.
Depth Chart
We think CF Montréal will run out a 4-3-3, although there are enough holes that we can’t say for certain. With LW Ivan Jaime paired with a question mark, they obviously still have some work to do.
A potential bright spot could be the fullbacks. With Luca Petrasso and Dagur Dan they have skill and upside. The rest of the back line, the centerbacks, however, are question marks. All 4 could be potential starters this season.
In the midfield we have Victor Loturi and ex-Newcastle academy graduate Matty Longstaff projected with Hennadi Synchuk as the starting #10. There should be some fluidity here throughout the year.
Questions
- Which player outside our projected starting 11 has the best chance to win a starting job?
- Dawid Bugaj is talented. If Dagur Dan moves to LB or midfield, he could get a nice number of minutes.
- What are realistic expectations for 2026?
- Competing with Vancouver in the Canadian Championship (probably not a VW priority) and making the final.
- What is one storyline to follow throughout the 2026 season?
- Does Prince Owusu (pictured below) stay, and can he deliver a second year in a row?
- What styles will CF Montreal match up well against?
- Narrow teams. Their strength is from the wingers and fullbacks.
- What styles will CF Montreal match up poorly against?
- Teams that play a low block. Montreal needs space to work.
- What player improves the most in 2026?
- Victor Lotouri. He had a rough start from Scotland last year, and will look to build on 2025.
- What player regresses in 2026?
- Samuel Piette. Club legend, but he looks to have lost his starting spot, even when healthy.
Hear more, and follow along as I preview all 30 MLS teams before kickoff of the 2026 season!
YouTube- youtube.com/@thedesignatedpundits
Audio Links- linktr.ee/thedesignatedpundits
Bob Ventimiglia is a leading soccer podcaster and handicapper, renowned for his sharp analysis and consistent success at the soccer sportsbook.
As a founding member and MLS expert on the BetUS MLS Show, he earned “Capper of the Week” honors four times during his debut season.
Now, he is producer for “The Designated Pundits” MLS podcast and “The High Impact Pundits” NWSL podcast.
💸 BetUS TV MLS Expert (4x Capper of the Week)
📝 Member- North American Soccer Reporters
