Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team have announced their
\u200bsquad for the upcoming FIFA World Cup™ Qualifiers as Canada continues to build
\u200bmomentum towards Qatar 2022. The Canada squad will meet in Florida for their
\u200bpenultimate First Round match against Aruba on Saturday 5 June and then travel
\u200bto Chicago for their decisive Group B match against Suriname on Tuesday 8 June.
Only the group winner will advance beyond the First Round of
\u200bFIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Qualifiers, with the Group B winner to face the
\u200bGroup E winner in a Second Round, a head-to-head series on 12 and 15 June that
\u200bwill start in either Belize, Haiti or Nicaragua. The winner from that Second
\u200bRound then advances to the Concacaf Final Round of eight nations scheduled to
\u200bbegin in the Fall of 2021.
“It’s great to be back together and continue to build on our
\u200bmomentum as every match counts on the road to Qatar 2022,” said John Herdman,
\u200bCanada Soccer’s Men’s National Team Head Coach. “We have an opportunity to
\u200bbuild on our solid start, after we put ourselves in a good position with goals
\u200bdifference in the first two matches so that we can control our destiny in the
\u200bgames to come.”
Canada’s international matches in FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™
\u200bQualifiers will all be broadcast live on OneSoccer with the Saturday Aruba-Canada
\u200bmatch scheduled to kick off at 20.00 ET / 17.00 PT and the Tuesday
\u200bCanada-Suriname match scheduled for 21.00 ET / 18.00 PT (20.00 local in
\u200bBridgeview, Illinois). Canada’s home match on 8 June at SeatGeek Stadium will
\u200bbe played in a closed-door environment. Fans will find extended coverage across
\u200bCanada Soccer’s digital channels on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube
\u200bfeaturing the hashtag #CANMNT.
“We had hoped to play our home match with Canadian fans
\u200bproviding the support and momentum to play a tough nation like Suriname in FIFA
\u200bWorld Cup Qualifiers,” said Herdman. “The reality of the global pandemic and
\u200bthe priority to keep our communities in Canada safe means the match will be
\u200bplayed at a neutral site in Chicago, but we will embrace that challenge.
\u200bWhatever comes at us, we will take it on and do whatever we need to do to
\u200badvance to the next round.”
Canada opened their Group B schedule with back-to-back wins
\u200bin March, starting with the 5:1 victory over Bermuda on 25 March and then the
\u200brecord-setting 11:0 win over Cayman Islands on 29 March. As each Group B nation
\u200bfaces each other only once, goals difference could be the deciding statistic
\u200bthat qualifies a nation for the next round. Canada and Suriname are currently
\u200bthe top-two teams in Group B with perfect six points from their two wins in
\u200bMarch, with Canada on +15 goals difference compared to Suriname on +9 goals
\u200bdifference. Bermuda are next with three points (+1 goals) while Aruba and
\u200bCayman Islands were both eliminated after back-to-back losses in March.
\u200bSuriname, who have drawn on new Dutch-born recruits from leagues in Europe,
\u200bwill face Bermuda on 4 June in a home match in Paramaribo, Suriname.
In all, 30 Concacaf nations are competing in this first
\u200bround with six group winners advancing to a second round of head-to-head
\u200bknockout matches. FIFA have established Canada’s pathway for the FIFA World Cup
\u200bQatar 2022™ Qualifiers beginning with an initial round of four matches against
\u200bGroup B opponents Aruba, Bermuda, Cayman Islands and Suriname.
“We’ve created something here, a brotherhood based on a shared purpose to qualify this team to the FIFA World Cup,” said Herdman. “They care about each other and that’s the first thing. They care about taking this team to the FIFA World Cup and you saw it in March when they had a chance to be back together and build on that spirit in the Canada shirt.”
CANADA SQUAD
\u200bThe Canada squad features a mix of youth and experience from players in Europe, Asia and North America, with notably several players winning league titles, domestic cups and qualification to continental club football in the recent 2020-21 European season. Goalkeeper Milan Borjan won his first double with Red Star Belgrade (SuperLiga and Serbian Cup), midfielder David Wotherspoon helped St. Johnstone to a historic double in Scotland (Scottish Cup and League Cup), and forward Cyle Larin won his first double with Be\u015fikta\u015f JK (Süper Lig & Turkish Cup). Midfielder Stephen Eustáquio, meanwhile, helped FC Paços de Ferreira return to continental football with qualification to UEFA Europa Conference League.
From Europe’s top-5 leagues, both Jonathan David and
\u200bAlphonso Davies won titles in 2020-21. David, whose 13 goals set a record for a
\u200bCanadian in a top-5 league, led Lille OSC to the Ligue 1 title in France.
\u200bDavies, who already has nine club trophies to his credit in three seasons,
\u200bagain helped FC Bayern Munich win the 2020-21 Bundesliga title. David and
\u200bDavies are two of the youngest players in the squad, with only Theo Corbeanu
\u200byounger at age 19. Corbeanu, who made his Canada debut in March, recently made
\u200bhis debut with Wolverhampton in the Premier League.
Corbeanu is one of seven players who have featured in two or
\u200bless international “A” appearances for Canada. Other young players are Alistair
\u200bJohnston of Nashville SC, Frank Sturing of FC Den Bosch (Netherlands), and
\u200bpotential debutants Tajon Buchanan of New England Revolution, Scott Kennedy of
\u200bSSV Jahn Regensburg (Germany), James Pantemis of CF Montréal and Dayne St.
\u200bClair of Minnesota United FC.
As for added experience for the upcoming window, the Canada
\u200bsquad also features Sam Adekugbe of Vålerenga, Doneil Henry of Suwon Samsung
\u200bBluewings, Junior Hoilett recently from Cardiff City FC, Liam Millar who was on
\u200bloan with Charlton Athletic, and Steven Vitória from Moreirense FC. Players
\u200bfrom clubs in Major League Soccer are Lucas Cavallini from Vancouver Whitecaps
\u200bFC, Liam Fraser on loan to Columbus Crew SC, Mark-Anthony Kaye from Los Angeles
\u200bFC, Richie Laryea and Jonathan Osorio from Toronto FC, and Samuel Piette from
\u200bCF Montréal.
In terms of Canada’s most experienced players in the squad,
\u200bBorjan and Piette both recently made their 50thinternational “A”
\u200bappearances in March. Both of them are taking part in their third cycle of FIFA
\u200bWorld Cup Qualifiers on the road to Qatar 2022.
CANADA SOCCER’S MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM PROGRAM
\u200bCanada Soccer’s Men’s National Team, two-time Concacaf champions, were one of only four nations that have finished top-six across all three of Concacaf major tournaments across the past three years: fifth place in Concacaf Nations League A and sixth place at both the 2017 and 2019 Concacaf Gold Cups. In 2019 against Concacaf’s top three nations, Canada earned a victory against USA in Concacaf Nations League as well as eliminated both Mexico (U-15) and Costa Rica (U-17) in Concacaf youth competitions.
It will be an exciting yet busy summer of soccer for Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team Program in 2021. On the heels of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Qualifiers in June, Canada will participate in the 30thanniversary edition of the Concacaf Gold Cup, with their Group B matches scheduled in Kansas City on 11 July against Martinique, 15 July against a yet-to-be-determined Caribbean nation from the preliminary round, and 18 July against USA. The top-two nations from Group B advance to the final round with the Quarterfinals on 24 July, the Semifinals on 29 July, and the Final on 1 August.
FIFA WORLD CUP QATAR 2022™ QUALIFIERS
\u200bConcacaf have established Canada’s pathway for FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Qualifiers beginning with a First Round being played amongst the Concacaf Member Associations ranked 6-35 based on the FIFA Men’s Ranking as of 16 July 2020. From the first round of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Qualifiers, the Group B winner will face the Group E winner in a second-round, head-to-head series. The winner from that second round then advances to the Concacaf Final Round of eight nations in which each nation will play each opponent twice (once at home and once on the road).
CANADA
\u200bGK- Milan Borjan | SRB / FK Crvena zvezda (Red Star Belgrade)
\u200bGK- James Pantemis | CAN / CF Montréal
\u200bGK- Dayne St. Clair | USA / Minnesota United FC
\u200bSamuel Adekugbe | NOR / Vålerenga Fotball
\u200bTajon Buchanan | USA / New England Revolution
\u200bLucas Cavallini | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC
\u200bTheo Corbeanu | ENG / Wolverhampton Wanderers FC
\u200bJonathan David | FRA / Lille OSC
\u200bAlphonso Davies | GER / FC Bayern München
\u200bStephen Eustáquio | POR / FC Paços de Ferreira
\u200bLiam Fraser | USA / Columbus Crew SC
\u200bDoneil Henry | KOR / Suwon Samsung Bluewings
\u200bDavid Junior Hoilett | WAL / Cardiff City FC
\u200bAlistair Johnston | USA / Nashville SC
\u200bMark-Anthony Kaye | USA / Los Angeles FC
\u200bScott Kennedy | GER / SSV Jahn Regensburg
\u200bCyle Larin | TUR / Be\u015fikta\u015f JK
\u200bRichie Laryea | CAN / Toronto FC
\u200bLiam Millar | ENG / Liverpool FC
\u200bJonathan Osorio | CAN / Toronto FC
\u200bSamuel Piette | CAN / CF Montréal
\u200bFrank Sturing | NED / FC Den Bosch
\u200bSteven Vitória | POR / Moreirense FC
\u200bDavid Wotherspoon | SCO / St. Johnstone FC
\u200b
\u200bCANADA A-Z
\u200bPlayer | Age | Where he grew up | First club/active start
\u200bAdekugbe, Samuel | 26 | Calgary, AB, CAN | Manchester United Grassroots
\u200bBorjan, Milan | 33 | Hamilton, ON, CAN | Radnicki JP
\u200bBuchanan, Tajon | 22 | Brampton, ON, CAN | Brampton YSC
\u200bCavallini, Lucas | 28 | Mississauga, ON, CAN | Club Uruguay Toronto
\u200bCorbeanu, Theo | 19 | Hamilton, ON, CAN | Quinndale YS
\u200bDavid, Jonathan | 21 | Ottawa, ON, CAN | Gloucester Dragons
\u200bDavies, Alphonso | 20 | Edmonton, AB, CAN | Edmonton Inter
\u200bEustáquio, Stephen | 24 | Leamington, ON, CAN | Leamington Minor Soccer (house league)
\u200bFraser, Liam | 23 | Vancouver, BC & Toronto, ON, CAN | Waterloo Ducks
\u200bHenry, Doneil | 28 | Brampton, ON, CAN | Brampton YSC
\u200bHoilett, David Junior | 31 | Brampton, ON, CAN | Mississauga SC
\u200bJohnston, Alistair | 22 | Aurora, ON, CAN | Lakeshore SC
\u200bKaye, Mark-Anthony | 26 | Toronto, ON, CAN | Wexford SC
\u200bKennedy, Scott | 24 | Calgary, AB, CAN |
\u200bLarin, Cyle | 26 | Brampton, ON, CAN | Brampton YSC
\u200bLaryea, Richie | 26 | Toronto, ON, CAN | Club Uruguay Toronto
\u200bMillar, Liam | 21 | Brampton, ON, CAN | Brampton YSC
\u200bOsorio, Jonathan | 28 | Brampton, ON, CAN | Toronto Futsal League
\u200bPantemis, James | 24 | Montréal, QC, CAN | Pierrefonds
\u200bPiette, Samuel | 26 | Le Gardeur, QC, CAN | Lionceaux de le Gardeur
\u200bSt. Clair, Dayne | 24 | Pickering, ON, CAN | Ephinay Church Soccer League
\u200bSturing, Frank | 24 | Nijmegen, NED | Oranje Blauw
\u200bVitória, Steven | 34 | Mississauga, ON, CAN | Sudbury Lions
\u200bWotherspoon, David | 31 | Bridge of Earn, SCO |