By Dylan Butler
CF Montréal fell to Forge FC 4-2 on penalty kicks in the 2026 Canadian Championship final after the teams played to a 1-1 deadlock through 120 minutes on Wednesday night at Stade Saputo.
It was CF Montréal's ninth trip to the CanChamp final, and first since lifting the Voyageurs Cup in 2021.
Meanwhile, Forge, who eliminated Montréal from the Canadian Championship for a third straight year, became the first Canadian Premier League team to win the title and clinched a berth in the 2027 Concacaf Champions Cup.
CF Montréal had a golden chance to take an early lead when leading scorer Prince Owusu stepped up to take a penalty kick. But Forge goalkeeper Dimitry Bertaud denied the Ghanaian striker, diving to his left to save the PK.
Instead, Forge entered halftime with the advantage. Antoine Batisse latched onto Noah Jensen's corner kick at the near post and headed past Montréal goalkeeper Sébastian Breza deep into first-half stoppage time.
Four minutes into the second half, CFMTL leveled through Daniel Ríos, who headed in from the edge of the six-yard box.
The hosts were reduced to 10 men in the 54th minute when Brayan Vera was sent off for his second bookable offense.
Bertaud was the hero during the shootout, making two more saves for Forge before Manjrekar James clinched the CPL side's historic win in the fifth round.
Goals
- 45+6' - FOR - Antoine Batisse | WATCH
- 49' - MTL - Daniel Ríos | WATCH
Next Up
- MTL: Saturday, Oct. 24 vs. Nashville SC | 1:30 pm ET (Apple TV) | MLS Regular Season
- FOR: Sunday, Oct. 25 at Pacific (4 pm ET) | CPL Regular Season