On Tuesday, Canadian men’s national team interim head coach Mauro Biello met with the press to discuss his squad selection ahead of his side’s crucial Copa América play-in against Trinidad and Tobago on March 23.

The youngest 23-man squad since 2019 with only one player over 30 years old, the virtual conference was heavily led by questions about the youth and whether this can be seen as a ‘cultural reset’ of sorts.

With no Milan Borjan, Steven Vitória, or Junior Hoilett, the Canadian side features some very new faces, including former Valour FC goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.

“He’s a young goalkeeper,” Biello said. “But he’s making his mark [in MLS] and he merits this call-up.”

Just 22 years old, the CPL alum is the fourth youngest player called up for the March 23 fixture with only Jacen Russell-Rowe, 21, Ismaël Koné, 21, and Luc de Fougerolles, 18, younger than him.

The youth-heavy approach was the first thing mentioned by Biello, who cited the fast-approaching 2026 World Cup as part of his reasoning behind the idea.

“I have the responsibility of evaluating players to be ready for 2026,” he said. “Giving the opportunity to the players to gain experience, that’s the basis of it … there’s players that will be hungry to make an impact but also to get on to this next journey.”

There’s work to be done in the eyes of Biello, who could not give any idea about a potential captain for his side ahead of a much-needed ‘culture change’ in the squad.

One thing the manager was asked to explain more than once to the media was what exactly he wanted to see out of this shift in mindset. Only being able to enjoy five competitive wins since falling out of the last World Cup, his explanation began with pointing out the national side’s falter in form.

“The squad has slipped over the last year, post-World Cup,” Biello said. “For me, it’s about reigniting the passion and bringing young players that are in form; these are the players that are gonna be hungry, that’s the mindset that I want.”

After a historic World Cup qualifying campaign in 2022 that had CanMNT fans sporting elated smiles after almost every match, the question quickly switched to where that hunger went. The Canadian manager faced those questions head-on, pointing out the organizational distractions as enough reason to throw any player off their game.

“There’s been ‘political distractions,’ if that’s what you want to call them, a coaching change, lots of things happening in the organization,” Biello said. “When these distractions start to multiply, things start to slip a little bit, now it’s about reframing to what’s ahead of us.”

One recent organizational change has been the appointment of Kevin Blue as the new Canada Soccer General Secretary and CEO who is already receiving praise after announcing a friendly fixture for the men’s side against Mexico on Sept. 10.

However, with a win over Trinidad and Tobago, all focus will be shifted to whether or not this new-look Canada squad can get the job done and qualify for this June’s edition of the Copa América.