Canada’s Alistair Johnston: ‘Our country is under threat, under attack’

The Celtic defender’s star has risen alongside his country’s soccer fortunes as they prepare for a potential Nations League clash with the US

The style and system Jesse Marsch has moulded for the Canadian men’s national team is predicated on pressure; hemming in and harrying opponents until they are deprived of options. It is lovingly labelled the ‘maplepress,’ and it turns out its principles also apply to wedding planning.

Alistair Johnston, one of the spiritual leaders of Marsch’s rapid Canadian revolution over these past 10 months, will tie the knot this summer. When his fiancée Peyton Pesavento looked for time, she was immediately hemmed in. “I only had one date that I could give her in the next two calendar years!” the Celtic defender says with a smile.

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