Minnesota United’s pair of Canadian men’s national team players are not going to shut up and dribble. But Dayne St. Clair and Tani Oluwaseyi’s responses to President Trump’s comments about their home country were shared in a diplomatic way.

Trump has repeatedly said he wants to annex Canada and have the United States’ northern neighbor become “the 51st state.” While Trump might be using that comment as a negotiating tactic in a budding tariff war between the countries, he continues to repeat it, including during his first Cabinet meeting last week.

St. Clair and Oluwaseyi talked to the Pioneer Press about Trump’s comments after the Loons’ 1-0 home-opening win over CF Montreal in St. Paul on Saturday. They heard “O Canada” sung before the match at Allianz Field, and afterward, they followed the lead of Canada coach Jesse Marsh’s response last week.

Marsch, a native of Racine, Wis., said he found Trump’s comments: “Unsettling and frankly insulting. If I have one message to our president, it’s lay off the ridiculous rhetoric about Canada being the 51st state.”

“As an American, I’m ashamed of the arrogance and disregard that we’ve shown one of our historically oldest, strongest and most loyal allies,” Marsch continued to say during an event in L.A. “Canada is a strong, independent nation that’s deep-rooted in decency. It’s a place that values high ethics and respect, unlike the polarized, disrespectful and often now hate-fueled climate that’s in the U.S.”

St. Clair, in line to be Canada’s starting goalkeeper this year and into the 2026 World Cup, said Marsch “answered the question perfectly. He answered as many Canadians think in terms of feeling of disrespect toward our country.”

Oluwaseyi, a forward who joined the Canadian team for the first time last year, didn’t want to dive too much into the political fray but was willing to address the matter.

“It’s pretty self explanatory,” Oluwaseyi said. “I don’t think any country would love for another head of state to be calling your country a part of theirs, especially because we have such different identities. I heard (Marsch’s) comments. The thing about Jesse is if he going to say something, he is going to say it quite strongly. Props to him for that, especially him being American.”

Trump’s rhetoric was a subplot when the U.S. played Canada in the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off hockey tournament in February. St. Clair could see it being a theme in the CONCACAF Nations League soccer tournament later this month.

“We saw how big it was for hockey,” St. Clair said about the Canadian’s overtime win over the U.S. in Boston. “We obviously know that we play Mexico first, and there is a chance we could play the U.S.”

In the semifinals on March 20, Canada plays Mexico and the U.S. faces Panama at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. Based on results, the U.S. could play Canada in either the final or third-place match on March 23.

This story has already crossed over to the soccer field with fans in Vancouver booing the “Star Spangled Banner” before the Whitecaps played the Los Angeles Galaxy on Sunday.

Both St. Clair and Oluwaseyi are from the Toronto area. St. Clair was born in Pickering, Ontario. Oluwaseyi was born in Abuja, Nigeria and moved to Mississauga, Ontario, when he was a child. Both came to the U.S. to play college soccer — St. Clair at Maryland and Oluwaseyi at St. John’s (N.Y.) — and were drafted by the Loons.