Published: October 26, 2026
MONROVIA – Samsy Keita, the son of former Liberia national team coach Ansu Keita, became the youngest player ever to start a match for CF Montréal on Saturday. He made three saves in his Major League Soccer debut, a 2-0 home loss to Nashville SC.
Keita was 17 years and 89 days old. The win clinched the 2026 MLS Supporters’ Shield for Nashville, which finishes as the league’s best regular-season team.
The debut came weeks after Keita was named best goalkeeper at the UEFA Friendship Cup while playing for Canada’s under-18 national team.
Nashville went ahead in the 52nd minute. Keita saved a header by Sam Surridge from a Reed Baker-Whiting cross, but Surridge scored on the rebound. Hany Mukhtar made it 2-0 in the 76th minute, seizing on a misplaced pass in Montréal’s defensive third and beating Keita with a low shot from close range.
The defeat left Montréal at six wins, 18 losses and seven draws. Nashville improved to 21-3-7.
Keita joined the CF Montréal Academy from Celtix du Haut-Richelieu in July 2024. He helped the club’s under-16 team reach the MLS NEXT playoffs last year and began training with the first team at 15. He was invited to Montréal’s preseason camp in Marbella, Spain, in January. On Feb. 6, he signed his first professional contract, which runs through the 2028-29 season with options for 2029-30 and 2030-31.
He has represented Canada at the under-16 and under-17 levels and, at 16, was named to Canada’s squad for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Qatar in November 2025.
Keita remains eligible to play for Liberia.
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