Canada coach Jesse Marsch has added set-piece coach Nicolas Gagnon to his staff.
Gagnon most recently worked in England for Southampton, which is headed back to England's second-tier Championship after a season in the Premier League.
Gagnon, who attended the University of Sherbrooke, was with CF Montreal from 2012 to 2021, working with the academy and coaching the under-17 team before finishing his time there as coach of the club's reserve side.
He then set up his own set-piece consulting service.
In late 2023, he spent four months as set piece coach for Turkey's second-division side Goztepe, leaving the job early because of a family matter back home. When he was ready to return, club owner Sport Republic offered him a job instead at Southampton, which it also owned, in October 2024.
Before joining Montreal, Gagnon was an educator with the Regional Associations of Richelieu-Yamaska, the South Shore and the Eastern Townships programs.
"Nicolas has a lot of expertise in this area and he's Canadian," said Marsch, an American. "I'm continuing to try to build this whole program around Canadians, so that part's exciting."
Gagnon joins Mauro Biello, Ewan Sharp and Pierre Barrieu as permanent members of Marsch's staff.
Paolo Ceccarelli serves as part-time goalkeeper coach with Marsch bringing in a variety of guest coaches, from former striker Dwayne De Rosario and Halifax Wanderers coach Patrice Gheisar to Canadian women's coach Casey Stoney, for camps.
Canada, currently ranked 30th in the world, plays next against No. 25 Ukraine and No. 41 Ivory Coast at the inaugural Canadian Shield Tournament in Toronto June 7 and 10. New Zealand, ranked 86th, is the other team in the four-country competition at BMO Field.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 20, 2025.
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
