So John Herdman has a sturdy crowd to choose from when he puts Canada’s defence together but who’ll be shooting the long balls forward and pressing the offensive? Let’s check out who he’s brought for the midfield.
If you haven’t read about his Defence and Goalie picks for the 26-man squad, you can here:
Stephen Eustaquio
Appearances: 26
Club: Porto
Much like Vitoria, Eustaquio has represented Portugal at the U-21 level given his parent’s connection. He committed himself to playing for Canada at the senior level from February 2019. He made his senior debut in November 2019 to replace Mark-Anthony Kaye. He was called up to the CONCACAF team in 2021 and later scored his first goal in the group game against Martinique and a second just days later during their game against Haiti. He helped Canada make it to the final 8 with a goal in the 2 – 0 victory over Costa Rica.
Liam Fraser
Appearances: 8 U20 / 15 Senior
Club: Deinze
Fraser was initially called up to Canada’s U-20 team in 2015 and made 8 appearances. He later made his debut with the senior team in October 2019 being brought on as a substitute during the 2 – 0 win over the United States. In July 2021, he was asked to join the team during the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Atiba Hutchinson
Appearances: 19 U20 / 10 U23 / Senior 97
Goals: 9
Club: Besiktas
At 39, Hutchinson is the oldest player in the 26-man squad and one that’s made the most appearances for Canada as a youth and a senior. He’s also a regular pick for the Canada coach; John Herdman. Hutchinson made his senior debut with Les Rouges way back in January 2003 in their friendly against the United States. He would go on to earn 89 caps and scoring 8 goals as of November 2021.
He’s won awards including the Canadian Men’s Player of the Year (3 times) and became the first Canadian player to win the Danish Superliga Player of the Year.
before he announced his retirement from national duty in 2019. That didn’t stick though and he would go on to join the team in their qualifiers for the World Cup, captaining the team in their 2 – 1 win against Mexico. It was also his 90th appearance for Canada, tipping Julian De Guzman for number of appearances.
This is Canada’s second time competing in the World Cup… amazing that isn’t it. Check out our timeline of how we got to this point here:
Mark-Anthony Kaye
Appearances: 4 U23 / Senior 37
Goals: 2
Club: Toronto FC
Kaye first represented Canada with the U23 team during their friendlies against Guyana and Grenada in March 2016, before taking part in the Aspire tournament in the following March 2017.
Only a few short months after that, he found himself being called up to the Senior team in their friendly against Curacao. He then went on to appear in both the 2017 and 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup tournaments.
During Canada’s stellar 11 – 0 annihilation of the Cayman in March 2021, Kaye would score his first goals of his national career.
Ismael Kone
Appearances: Senior 5
Goals: 1
Club: CF Montreal
Kone is a relative newcomer to the Senior squad. While able to play for both Canada and Ivory Coast, he chose instead to join Les Rouges and was included in Canada’s qualification games for the World Cup.
In March of this year, he made his debut against Costa Rica, coming on as a substitute for Jonathan Osorio. Only a week ago (11 November), Kone managed to score in the team’s friendly warmup game against Bahrain. His exceptional performance caught the attention of Herdman and he was called up for Qatar.
Jonathan Osorio
Appearances: U20 3 / Senior 56
Goals: 5
Club: Toronto FC
Osorio would be called up to the Senior team in May 2013 for Canada’s friendly against Costa Rica and finally make his debut coming on as a substitute to replace Samuel Pitte in the second half.
He’s been called up 5 times to represent the country 5 times during the CONCACAF Gold Cup team, managing to score during the Bermuda game in 2017. He’s also famed for being the player that scored the first goal against Mexico since 1980.
Samuel Piette
Appearances: U17 7 / U20 5 (3 goals) / U23 8 / Senior 65
Club: CF Montreal
Piette is probably the player with the most appearances across all of the different age groups from U17 to Senior and he’s only 28.
He made his senior debut in June 2012 as a very late substitute for Julian De Guzman in their game against the United States. While his game time was small, he became the third youngest Canadian player to be in the Seniors.
He’s also gone on to represent Canada at the CONCACAF Gold Cup tournaments 4 times (2015 – 2021), before being called up to the national squad for Qatar.
David Wotherspoon
Appearances: Senior 10
Goals: 1
Club: St Johnstone
Wotherspoon is Scots Canadian and prior to playing for Canada, had appeared for the Scottish national team at the U18, U19 and U21 levels.
Thanks to his mother’s Canadian heritage, the Scot was eligible to play for Canada and was duly selected to join the squad during their friendly game against New Zealand in March 2018. He was later called up to the CONCACAF Gold Cup squad for 2019 but was later excluded and was unable to make the commitment in the 2021 edition.
He would score his first goal in the 2022 World Cup Qualifiers in Canada’s game against the Cayman Islands.
Up front!
So who will be knocking in goals for Canada at the World Cup? Check out the blockbuster group of forwards selected for the Squad.
So who is Canada up against in the World Cup? Morocco, Belgium and Croatia.. but who are they and are they any good?
Check out more in our blog here:
