It all comes down to this.
After nearly a full year of putting together a weekly Canada roster for next month’s FIFA World Cup, Steven Caldwell has turned in his final Race for the Roster ahead of Friday’s official roster reveal.
With news coming out of the training camp roster and Jesse Marsch’s Monday press conference from Charlotte, NC, a couple of things are clear. The goalkeepers are set with Dayne St. Clair, Maxime Crepeau and Owen Goodman the three choices. Portland’s James Pantemis was not selected for the camp rosrter.
Junior Hoilett and Sam Adekugbe also didn’t get invites, meaning that 11 players from Canada’s 2022 roster in Qatar have not returned. Also not coming back from the last World Cup are goalkeepers Pantemis and Milan Borjan, defender Kamal Miller, midfielders Liam Fraser, Mark-Anthony Kaye, David Wotherspoon and Sam Piette and forwards Ike Ugbo and Lucas Cavallini.
For Caldwell, the absence of Hoilett means a change to his squad. With the Swindon Town man out of the picture, Toronto FC midfielder Jonathan Osorio has been slotted back in to the team. Caldwell’s plan was always to have one or the other, but his decision has been made for him by Marsch.
With the camp roster at 32, there are decisions still to be made ahead of Friday. Six cuts remain before the final squad is submitted. Here’s how Caldwell sees the bubble shaking out.
Caldwell has Los Angeles FC’s Jacob Shaffelburg, Middlesbrough centre-back Alfie Jones, Ali Ahmed of Norwich City and Tigres attacker Marcelo Flores in his team. Marsch all but confirmed that Union SG’s Promise David, still rehabbing from a February hip surgery, will be in the team. Marsch says that he is hopeful that the 24-year-old Brampton, Ont. native will be ready for the June 12 opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
With that quintet in the squad, Caldwell lists five who will miss out. On the outside looking in are Austin FC’s Jayden Nelson, Vancouver Whitecaps’ Ralph Priso, Daniel Jebbison, who spent the season on loan with Preston North End from Bournemouth, Sporting Kansas City’s Zorhan Bassong and Jacen Russell-Rowe of Toulouse. The final decisions will be tough ones.
Caldwell cautions that much of his decision-making was made based on injury availability. The five players he has included are no-doubters if healthy, but all of them are carrying knocks, some more severe than others. Caldwell also acknowledges that this Canada squad is wing-heavy, so if injuries are still a concern on the backline, Priso might be included as insurance.
Here’s a look at the final squad ahead of Friday’s reveal.
Race for the Roster (Final squad):
Forwards
STARTERS: Jonathan David (Juventus) and Cyle Larin (Southampton, on loan from Mallorca)
BENCH: Tani Oluwaseyi (Villarreal), Promise David (Union SG) INJ, and Marcelo Flores (Tigres)
Midfield and Defenders
STARTING MIDFIELDERS: Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich) INJ, Ismaël Koné (Sassuolo), Stephen Eustaquio (Los Angeles FC, on loan from Porto) Jonathan Osorio (Toronto FC) and Tajon Buchanan (Villarreal)
BENCH: Jacob Shaffelburg (Los Angeles), Liam Millar (Hull City), Nathan Saliba (Anderlecht), Mathieu Choiniere (Los Angeles FC) and Ali Ahmed (Norwich City)
STARTING DEFENDERS: Richie Laryea (Toronto FC) INJ, Derek Cornelius (Rangers, on loan from Marseille), Moise Bombito (Nice) INJ and Alistair Johnston (Celtic)
BENCH: Niko Sigur (Hajduk Split), Alfie Jones (Middlesbrough) INJ, Joel Waterman (Chicago Fire) and Luc de Fougerolles (Dender, on loan from Fulham)
Goalkeeper
STARTER: Dayne St. Clair (Inter Miami)
BENCH: Maxime Crepeau (Orlando City) and Owen Goodman (Huddersfield Town, on loan from Crystal Palace)
