Milan Borjan and Deanne Rose have been named Canada Soccer’s Players of the Month for January 2022. Borjan from Hamilton, Ontario posted back-to-back clean sheets in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers while Deanne Rose from Alliston, Ontario scored a goal and an assist in league and club action for Reading FC.
\u200b
\u200bBorjan backstopped Canada to another two wins in the Concacaf Final Round of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, a 2:0 away win in San Pedro Sula, Honduras and then a 2:0 home win against USA at his hometown Hamilton. The two wins gave Canada 22 points after 10 matches, four points better than second-place USA and Mexico. The Thursday 27 January win was Canada’s first FIFA World Cup Qualifiers win over Honduras in Honduras since 1985 while the Sunday 30 January win was Canada’s first FIFA World Cup Qualifiers win over USA since 1980.
\u200b
\u200bCanada won the first match after an owngoal in the 10th minute and then the 2:0 goal by Player of the Match Jonathan David in the 73rd minute. Canada won the second match on goals by Cyle Larin the seventh minute and Player of the Match Samuel Adekugbe in the 95th minute. Canada have four more matches in the Concacaf Final Round, including a Wednesday away match against El Salvador in San Salvador. The last three matches are scheduled for late March (24 March away in Costa Rica, 27 March against Jamaica back in Canada, and 30 March away in Panama). All matches will be broadcast live on OneSoccer (including Telus channel 980 and onesoccer.ca), Sportsnet and RDS while extended coverage across Canada Soccer’s digital channels will be found on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube featuring the hashtag #CANMNT.
\u200b
\u200bRose, who made her professional debut in September after winning a Gold Medal at the Olympic Games, helped Reading FC win all three of their January matches. They won back-to-back league matches as they moved into sixth place in the FA Women’s Super League (extending their streak to four league wins in a row) then won their fourth round tie to knock Brighton & Hove Albion out of the FA Cup. In the FA Cup road win, Rose scored the 2-0 goal early in the second half en route to a 3:2 win.
\u200b
\u200bCanada Soccer’s Women’s National Team will travel to England in February for the Arnold Clark Cup with matches against England on 17 February in Middlesbrough, Germany on 20 February in Norwich, and Spain on 23 February in Wolverhampton. The four-nation round-robin tournament will be broadcast live in Canada on TSN. Extended coverage will be found across Canada Soccer’s digital channels will be found on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube featuring the hashtag #CANWNT.
\u200b
\u200b
\u200bPLAYERS of the MONTH:
\u200bJanuary 2022 – Milan Borjan & Deanne Rose
\u200bNovember 2021 – Kamal Miller & Jessie Fleming
\u200bOctober 2021 – Alphonso Davies & Jessie Fleming
\u200bSeptember 2021 – Alistair Johnston & Nichelle Prince
\u200bAugust 2021 – Tajon Buchanan & Stephanie Labbé
\u200bJuly 2021 – Tajon Buchanan & Vanessa Gilles
\u200bJune 2021 – Alphonso Davies & Ashley Lawrence
\u200bMay 2021 – Jonathan David & Christine Sinclair
\u200bApril 2021 – Jonathan David & Evelyn Viens
\u200bMarch 2021 – Jessie Fleming & Cyle Larin
\u200bFebruary 2021 – Alphonso Davies & Shelina Zadorsky
\u200bJanuary 2021 – Cyle Larin & Ashley Lawrence