When Canada hosted Chile last week at Toronto’s BMO Field, the match acted as a farewell to a program stalwart. Brampton, Ont.’s David “Junior” Hoilett made his 70th and final appearance for Canada in the 1-0 win. The game was a celebration of his contributions to the national team and a chance to say goodbye in a stadium only a short drive away from his hometown.
On Saturday afternoon in Montreal, another CanMNT veteran will be honoured, yet whether or not it’s a goodbye remains to be seen. Le Gardeur, Que.’s Samuel Piette is set to receive his 70th cap when the CanMNT team welcomes Peru at Stade Saputo. The long-time CF Montreal defender will get his flowers the way Hoilett did, but their circumstances aren’t identical.
You can catch Canada vs. Peru LIVE from Montreal’s Stade Saputo on Saturday on TSN4/5, TSN.ca and the TSN App with coverage getting underway at 1pm ET/10am PT ahead of a 2pm ET/11am PT kick-off.
While Hoilett is 36 and currently without a club after his short-term deal with Swindon Town expired in the summer, Piette turns 32 next month and has been a regular contributor to CFMTL this season. In his 10th season with the club, Piette has made 17 league appearances, including 14 starts. He’s averaged just under an hour of gametime over his last five matches.
What this is all to say, then, is that Piette might not be ready to walk out the Canada exit door just yet. If this is it for him, it probably won’t be by his own accord. This is something Canada manager Jesse Marsch acknowledged this week.
“He’s still playing competitively, and he told me that he didn’t want to retire from the national team until he’s done playing, he doesn’t want to make any sort of announcement, and I said I respect that,” Marsch said.
Making his senior debut in 2012 at the age of 17 in a friendly against the United States, Piette became Canada’s third-youngest debutant ever at the time. He would go on to become a fixture in Canada teams throughout the 2010s, appearing in Gold Cups in both 2015 and 2017. While Piette was named to the 2022 World Cup squad, as well as the 2024 Copa America team, he saw game action in neither. No longer a usual call-up, his last appearance in a Canada shirt came in a 12-minute cameo during a 4-0 loss to the Netherlands in a summer of 2024 friendly.
Still, this will be a chance for a solid soldier for the program for nearly 15 years to be celebrated in his own park. Clearly a popular figure amongst his peers, Piette’s Canada teammates spoke effusively of him during training this week. The opportunity to put a spotlight on Piette is something they welcome.
“I’ve had him as a teammate for so long – an extraordinary guy,” former CFMTL and current Los Angeles FC midfielder Mathieu Choiniere said. “On the field, he’s a leader. He’s a guy who brings the voice, he’s there for his team, he puts his teammates first. And it’s his style of play, too. That’s what he brings. He makes others shine. Even in everyday life, he’s a guy who’s like that. He’s generous and sharing those moments with him is great.”
Currently Canada’s vice-captain, Stephen Eustáquio cites Piette as an important figure for him when he was just finding his footing within the national setup.
“When I came into the program, he was one of the main leaders of the team,” the Swansea City midfielder said. “I remember back then when my brother [Mauro] started playing for Canada, as well, Samuel Piette was one of the best talents Canada had produced at the time. To be honest, to be in the Qatar [World Cup] cycle with him was amazing. He easily pathed the way for us midfielders with the lot of experience he has and a lot of talent. He helped us a lot and he deserves all the recognition possible, especially in his city, as well. So I think it’s going to be a very nice moment for him and I’m happy that I’m going to be here to support him.”
For Canada, Saturday’s match will be the second straight against South American opposition. Marsch’s side played two men up for much of the victory over Chile with the visitors reduced to nine men by the 50th minute with both Lucas Cepeda and captain Gabriel Suazo sent off. Jonathan David’s 12th-minute marker was the game’s only goal.
Peru has missed out on 11 of the past 12 World Cups, including this past summer’s. Their lone appearance was a group-stage exit at Russia 2018. Things have gone considerably better at Copa America over the past 15 years. Since 2011, Peru has finished in third place twice, fourth place once and were runners-up in 2019.
Their most recent tournament, 2024, was a disappointment, though. Peru crashed out in the group stage, failing to record a victory. Their lone point came in a scoreless draw with Chile on Matchday 1. On Matchday 2, Peru fell 1-0 to Canada on a David goal in Kansas City. Their 2-0 loss to eventual champions Argentina on the final matchday took them out of the tournament.
Managed by former Brazil gaffer Mano Manezes, who took over this past January, Peru is coming off of a pair of games against CONCACAF teams. Following a 4-1 drubbing by the United States, Los Incas bounced back to earn a 1-1 draw with Mexico on Tuesday. Jairo Velez notched Peru’s goal in the 29th minute.
Saturday’s match will be just the fourth-ever meeting between the two sides. Prior to the Copa America game, each team split a pair of friendlies. In 2010, Los Incas were 2-0 winners over the CanMNT at BMO Field. Before that, Canada beat Peru in Lima by a score of 3-1. Nick De Santis, Lyndon Hooper and John Catliff were the goal scorers for Canada on that day.
After the game on Saturday, Canada will play once more before the international window closes and everybody returns to their respective club teams. On Tuesday, the team visits St. Paul’s Allianz Field, home of Minnesota United, to renew their rivalry with the USMNT. With the current political climate, Tuesday’s match could be a fiery one.
