Canada selects squad for Men’s International Friendly against El Salvador

Canada Soccer have announced their 23-man squad for an October Men’s International Friendly match against CONCACAF rivals El Salvador. Head Coach Octavio Zambrano will assemble the squad just north of Toronto for a training camp before heading south for the match on 8 October in Houston, TX, USA.

The Canada-El Salvador match will be broadcast live on migmultidev-canada-soccer.pantheonsite.io at 17.00 ET / 14.00 PT (16.00 local). The match will be played at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, with a portion of the net proceeds to be donated to Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. Fans can follow the Canadian team throughout their October camp on Canada Soccer’s digital channels including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube.

“This is a timely match for Canada to face El Salvador (and) a perfect fit for our progress,” said Octavio Zambrano, Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team Head Coach. “It is an important match as we continue to assess our program and players.”

The October match follows Canada’s recent 2:0 victory over Jamaica in Toronto on 2 September 2017. Anthony Jackson-Hamel and Jonathan Osorio were the goalscorers while Jayson Leutwiler posted the clean sheet in front of 21,724 fans at BMO Field. All three will be in Canada’s lineup for the match in Houston.

Experienced players in the squad include Tosaint Ricketts of Toronto FC, Adam Straith of VfL Sportfreunde Lotte in Germany, Dejan Jakovic of New York Cosmos, and Samuel Piette of Impact Montréal FC. Also in the squad are Scott Arfield of Burnley FC, Cyle Larin of Orlando City SC, and Steven Vitoria of Lechia Gdańsk in Poland. Selected goalkeepers are Leutwiler (Blackburn Rovers in England) and Simon Thomas (FK Bodø/Glimt in Norway).

Young players in the squad include Fraser Aird of Dunfermline Athletic in Scotland, Juan Cordova of CD Huachipato in Chile, Raheem Edwards of Toronto FC, Mark-Anthony Kaye of Louisville City FC, and Michael Petrasso of Queens Park Rangers in England. Keven Aleman of CD Saprissa in Costa Rica, meanwhile, has received his first call up to the Men’s National Team since 2014. In all, 15 of the 23 players called into camp are aged 25 or younger.

“We are bringing a young group including some we have not had in our Men’s National Team before, so we want to see how they act and react in the environment,” said Zambrano. “It is important for us to see how the young players embrace the challenge.”

Four players received their first international call-up to the Men’s National Team: Louis Béland-Goyette of Impact Montréal FC; Caniggia Elva of VfB Stuttgart II; Milovan Kapor of Hapoel Hadera FC in Israel; and Kris Twardek of Millwall FC in England. Alongside the four debutants, two other players are hoping to make their international “A” debut: Kwame Awuah of New York City FC and Jordan Schweitzer of Orlando City B.

Canada and El Salvador have a long history of competition dating back 40 years through FIFA World Cup Qualifiers and the CONCACAF Gold Cup. In recent years, the two sides posted scoreless draws in a pair of 2015 matches before Canada won 3:1 over El Salvador in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in September 2016. Overall, Canada has the edge with 8 wins, 4 draws, and 4 losses in 16 international matches.

Coming out of the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Canada have a 2017 international record of four wins, three draws, and one loss in eight matches. El Salvador have a 2017 international record of three wins, three draws, and five losses in 11 international matches.

Canada are two-time CONCACAF champions, having won the CONCACAF Championship in 1985 and the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2000. In five matches under new head coach Octavio Zambrano, Canada’s international record is two wins, two draws, and one loss.

CANADA
1- GK- Simon Thomas | NOR / FK Bodø/Glimt
2- FB- Juan Córdova | CHI / CD Huachipato
3- FB- Kwame Awuah | USA / New York City FC
4- CB- Dejan Jaković | USA / New York Cosmos
5- CB- Milovan Kapor | ISR / Hapoel Hadera FC
6- M- Samuel Piette | CAN / Impact Montréal FC
7- M- Jordan Schweitzer | USA / Orlando City B
8- M- Scott Arfield | ENG / Burnley FC
9- F- Anthony Jackson-Hamel | CAN / Impact Montréal FC
10- F- Cyle Larin | USA / Orlando City SC
11- W- Tosaint Ricketts | CAN / Toronto FC
12- W- Kris Twardek | ENG / Millwall FC
13- FB- Mark-Anthony Kaye | USA / Louisville City FC
14- W- Caniggia Elva | GER / VfB Stuttgart II
15- CB- Adam Straith | GER / VfL Sportfreunde Lotte
16- W- Fraser Aird | SCO / Dunfermline Athletic
17- W- Raheem Edwards | CAN / Toronto FC
18- GK- Jayson Leutwiler | ENG / Blackburn Rovers
19- CB- Steven Vitória | POL / Lechia Gdańsk
20- FB- Michael Petrasso | ENG / Queens Park Rangers
21- M- Jonathan Osorio | CAN / Toronto FC
23- M- Louis Béland-Goyette | CAN / Impact Montréal FC
24- M- Keven Aleman | CRC / CD Saprissa

CANADA A-Z
Name | Birthyear | City where they grew up | First club/active start
Aird, Fraser | 1995 | Scarborough, ON, CAN | North Scarborough SC
Aleman, Keven | 1994 | Brampton, ON, CAN | Toronto Spanish League
Arfield, Scott | 1988 | Livingston, SCO |
Awuah, Kwame | 1995 | Toronto, ON, CAN | Club Uruguay Toronto
Béland-Goyette, Louis | 1995 | Montréal, QC, CAN | ASA Pointe-Claire
Córdova, Juan | 1995 | Los Anges, CHI | San Esteban Association
Edwards, Raheem | 1995 | Toronto, ON, CAN | Erin Mills SC
Elva, Caniggia | 1996 | Calgary, AB, CAN | Vieux Fort Primary
Jackson-Hamel, Anthony | 1993 | Québec, QC, CAN | Impact Junior ARS Québec
Jaković, Dejan | 1985 | Etobicoke, ON, CAN | Rexdale SC
Kapor, Milovan | 1991 | Toronto, ON, CAN |
Kaye, Mark-Anthony | 1994 | Toronto, ON, CAN | Wexford SC
Larin, Cyle | 1995 | Brampton, ON, CAN | Brampton YSC
Leutwiler, Jayson | 1989 | Neuchâtel, SUI | FC Cornaux
Osorio, Jonathan | 1992 | Brampton, ON, CAN | Toronto Futsal League
Petrasso, Michael | 1995 | Woodbridge, ON, CAN | Kleinburg SC
Piette, Samuel | 1994 | Le Gardeur, QC, CAN | Lionceaux de le Gardeur
Ricketts, Tosaint | 1987 | Edmonton, AB, CAN | Edmonton Juventus
Schweitzer, Jordan | 1994 | Seattle, WA, USA | Silver Lake SA
Straith, Adam | 1990 | Victoria, BC, CAN | Bays United SC
Thomas, Simon | 1990 | Victoria, BC, CAN | Bays United SC
Twardek, Kris | 1997 | Ottawa, ON, CAN | West Carleton SC
Vitória, Steven | 1987 | Mississauga, ON, CAN | Sudbury Lions