Forge Beat Montreal on Penalties to Become First CPL Club to Win the Canadian Championship

Forge FC made Canadian soccer history on Wednesday night, beating CF Montreal 4-2 in a penalty shootout to win the 2026 Canadian Championship after the final finished 1-1 through 120 minutes at Stade Saputo in Montreal.

The Hamilton club is the first Canadian Premier League team to lift the Voyageurs Cup since the CPL began play in 2019. The win also sends Forge into the 2027 Concacaf Champions Cup, the top club competition in North and Central America. It was the third straight year Forge have knocked Montreal out of this competition, and Montreal's ninth trip to the final, their first since they last won the cup in 2021.

Bertaud kept Forge in the final

Montreal started fast on October 21 and put Forge under pressure from the opening minutes. Fabian Herbers forced a save from Dimitry Bertaud in the third minute, and Daniel Rios headed a second early chance into the goalkeeper's arms.

The home side had a far better chance to lead midway through the half. Manjrekar James fouled Prince Owusu, Montreal's leading scorer, inside the box, and referee Michael Venne pointed to the spot. Owusu took the kick himself, but Bertaud read his stutter step and saved it to keep the game scoreless.

Forge barely threatened before they scored. Six minutes into first half stoppage time, Antoine Batisse met a corner from captain Noah Jensen at the near post and headed past Sebastian Breza to give the visitors a 1-0 lead at the break.

Ten men, extra time, then penalties

Montreal levelled four minutes after halftime. Victor Loturi lifted a pass into the box, Herbers headed it across, and Rios headed in from close range to make it 1-1.

Five minutes later the hosts were down to ten men. Brayan Vera, already booked, was shown a second yellow card for what the referee judged to be a dive inside the Forge box. Montreal kept attacking with ten men, but neither side found a second goal in normal time.

Extra time brought chances at both ends. Breza made a big save early in the first period and Rezart Rama cleared a Forge effort off the line. Bertaud then denied Owusu again in the opening seconds of the second period, and Forge substitute Ben Paton curled a long shot off the crossbar in the dying moments.

Designated player Alexis Sanchez never got on the pitch for Montreal. He stayed on the bench for all 120 minutes, and the home side ran out of time to bring him on for the shootout.

In the shootout, Bertaud saved Montreal's first kick, from Owusu, and their third, from Hennadii Synchuk. Breza stopped one Forge kick, from Daniel Krutzen, but Forge scored their other four, and James, a former Canada international, put away the clinching kick in the fifth round. Bertaud was named the tournament's most valuable player.

A full trophy cabinet in Hamilton

Forge have now won a trophy in each of their eight seasons, and head coach Bobby Smyrniotis adds the one title that had been missing from his record. The club can add another on Sunday, when the CPL Shield, given to the league's best regular season team, is decided on the final day.

For Montreal, the defeat ends the club's best remaining hope of salvaging a hard season. Supporters groups had called the final the club's last glimmer of hope, and Montreal sit bottom of the MLS Eastern Conference with their coach working on an interim basis.