TORONTO – Atiba Hutchinson’s hiatus from the Canadian national team is over.
Coach Octavio Zambrano on Saturday unveiled his 24-man roster for a friendly against Jamaica that is scheduled for Sept. 2 at BMO Field, and Hutchinson was on the list.
Hutchinson, 34, is one of Canada’s most skilled attacking midfielders, but he’s taken nearly a year off from international duty for Canada, while focusing on his pro career with Turkish club Besiktas.
He sat out the CONCACAF Gold Cup earlier this summer as he was dealing with a nagging quad injury, and he also missed a number of friendlies after Canada was eliminated from qualifying for the 2018 World Cup last fall. His previous appearance for Canada came on Sept. 6, 2016 in a World Cup qualifying match against El Salvador in Vancouver.
A native of Brampton, Ont., Hutchinson is a five-time Canadian player of the year, and has six goals in 77 appearances for his country. The game against Jamaica will be Hutchinson’s first under Zambrano, who was appointed the new coach of the Canadian team in March.
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Four notable players who played for Canada at the Gold Cup are not on this roster: midfielder Scott Arfield, defender Steven Vitoria, goalkeeper Milan Borjan and forward Lucas Cavallini. None of the players refused Zambrano’s call-up. Instead, they were given this game off because their respective club seasons just started, a Canada Soccer official told Sportsnet. The same official said that Hutchinson hasn’t made any decision as to whether he’ll play for Canada in the next round of World Cup qualifying.
Also returning to the Canadian team is midfield veteran Will Johnson, who was not on the Gold Cup roster. Two players receiving their first call ups to the national team are midfielder David Choinière and defender Amer Didic.
Jamaica defeated Canada in the quarterfinals of this summer’s Gold Cup. Canada earned a 3-1 decision over Jamaica in a friendly at BMO Field on Sept. 9, 2014, the last time they squared off in Toronto.
Jamaica is 57th in the current FIFA world rankings. Canada is 95th, sandwiched between Cyprus and Zambia.
The Reds’ previous game in Toronto was Sept. 4, 2015 when it earned a 3-0 win over Belize.
Former national men’s team stalwart Paul Stalteri will be honoured as a member of the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame as part of the pre-match festivities.
CANADA’S ROSTER
Goalkeepers: Simon Thomas (FK Bodo-Glimt/Norway), Jayson Leutwiler (Blackburn Rovers/England), James Pantemis (Montreal Impact).
Defenders: Nik Ledgerwood (FC Edmonton), Manjrekar James (Vasas Budapest/Hungary), Michael Petrasso (Queens Park Rangers/England), Dejan Jaković (New York Cosmos), Samuel Adekugbe (IFK Göteborg/Sweden), Amer Didic (Sporting Kansas City), Marcel de Jong (Vancouver Whitecaps).
Midfielders: Samuel Piette (Montreal Impact), Will Johnson (Orlando City), David Hoilett (Cardiff City/Wales), Alphonso Davies (Vancouver Whitecaps), Atiba Hutchinson (Beşiktas/Turkey), Mark-Anthony Kaye (Louisville City), Tesho Akindele (FC Dallas), David Choinière (Montreal Impact), Jay Chapman (Toronto FC), Raheem Edwards (Toronto FC), Jonathan Osorio (Toronto FC).
Forwards: Tosaint Ricketts (Toronto FC), Cyle Larin (Orlando City), Anthony Jackson-Hamel (Montreal Impact).
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