Tajon Buchanan and Stephanie Labbé have been named Canada Soccer’s Players of the Month for August 2021. Buchanan from Brampton, Ontario scored three goals and an assist in August for Major League Soccer’s first-place New England Revolution while Olympic champion Labbé from Stony Plain, Alberta was the goalkeeping hero that beat Sweden in the Gold Medal Final at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
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\u200bIt was a historic tournament for Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team who attracted a peak national audience of 4.4 million viewers live on CBC, with an additional 725,000 live video views on digital platforms, making this Canada’s most-watched moment at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team are the first Canadian team to win three consecutive medals at the Summer Olympic Games and just the third nation in the world to win three medals in women’s soccer.
Labbé made five appearances at the Olympic Games, including both the Semifinals against USA and Gold Medal Final against Sweden. She posted a clean sheet in the 1:0 win against USA and then was the hero on kicks from the penalty mark against Sweden, making saves against both Anna Anvegård and Jonna Andersson. It was the second time at the Olympic Games that Labbé made two saves on kicks from the penalty mark, also stopping Brazil’s Andressa and Rafaelle in the Quarterfinals on 30 July.
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\u200bAfter the Olympic Games, Labbé made the transfer from Sweden’s 2021 league leaders FC Rosengård to France’s defending champions Paris Saint-Germain FC where she joins Olympic champions Jordyn Huitema and Ashley Lawrence. Labbé, Huitema and Lawrence are three of seven Canadian Olympic champions that will participate in this year’s UEFA Women’s Champions League alongside Kadeisha Buchanan from FCF Olympique Lyonnais, Vanessa Gilles from FC Girondins de Bordeaux, Janine Beckie from Manchester City FC, and Jessie Fleming from last year’s runners up Chelsea FC.
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\u200bComing off a Semifinal finish with Canada at the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup in July, Buchanan helped New England Revolution maintain first place in Major League Soccer. He made five appearances with four wins and one draw, with goals in three successive appearances against Toronto FC (at BMO Field), DC United, and FC Cincinnati. Buchanan was an MLS Team of the Week selection for both Week 19 and Week 21.
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\u200bBuchanan made a record-setting transfer from the New England Revolution to Belgium’s Club Brugge in August. Buchanan will finish the 2021 season in MLS, continuing to chase an MLS Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup, then join his UEFA Champions League side at year’s end. Buchanan is one of five Men’s National Team players attached to UEFA Champions League clubs for the 2021-22 season alongside Jonathan David of Lille OSC, Alphonso Davies of FC Bayern München, and both Atiba Hutchinson and Cyle Larin from Be\u015fikta\u015f JK.
Looking ahead to the month of September, Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team will play three FIFA World Cup Qualifiers as they kick off the Concacaf Final Round on the road to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Tickets for Canada’s two home matches at BMO Field in Toronto are available via Ticketmaster.ca, with the first match on Thursday 2 September against Honduras and the next match on Wednesday 8 September against El Salvador. In between the two home matches, Canada will play away against USA in Nashville, TN on Sunday 5 September.
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\u200bCanada’s two home matches will be broadcast live on OneSoccer (Canada v Honduras at 20.00 local / 20.00 ET / 17.00 PT; Canada v El Salvador at 19.30 local / 19.30 ET / 16.30 PT) while the away match will be broadcast live on TSN and RDS (USA v Canada on 5 September at 19.00 local / 20.00 ET / 17.00 PT). Fans will find extended coverage across Canada Soccer’s digital channels on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube featuring the hashtags #CANMNT.
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\u200bPLAYERS of the MONTH:
\u200bAugust 2021 – Tajon Buchanan and Stephanie Labbé
\u200bJuly 2021 – Tajon Buchanan and Vanessa Gilles
\u200bJune 2021 – Alphonso Davies and Ashley Lawrence
\u200bMay 2021 – Jonathan David and Christine Sinclair
\u200bApril 2021 – Jonathan David and Evelyn Viens
\u200bMarch 2021 – Jessie Fleming and Cyle Larin
\u200bFebruary 2021 – Alphonso Davies and Shelina Zadorsky
\u200bJanuary 2021 – Cyle Larin and Ashley Lawrence