TORONTO – Captain Michael Bradley and forward Jozy Altidore will be available to play for Toronto FC in the second leg of the Canadian Championship final against the Montreal Impact.
The pair were left off the U.S. national team’s initial 23-man roster for the upcoming CONCACAF Gold Cup, which means they’ll remain with TFC and can play in Tuesday’s match at BMO Field. The U.S. announced its roster on Sunday afternoon.
However, TFC defender Justin Morrow was named to the roster, and he will miss the contest against the Impact as American players called up are expected to leave for Gold Cup training camp on Sunday.
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TFC and the Impact drew 1-1 in Montreal last Wednesday. The Reds can repeat as Canadian champions with a win or a 0-0 draw in the return leg. The Impact need to score at least one goal in Tuesday’s contest to have a chance at winning their first Canadian Championship since 2014.
Gold Cup teams are allowed to make six roster changes after the completion of the group stage, with those new players having to come from their 40-man preliminary rosters that they previously submitted. Both Bradley and Altidore are on the 40-man list, and American coach Bruce Arena is expected to recall them should the U.S. team qualify for the tournament’s knockout round.
Morrow has one cap for the U.S., his lone appearance coming in a friendly against Canada in January, 2013.
The CONCACAF Gold Cup runs from July 7-26 across 14 cities in the United States.
The U.S. will open their Gold Cup campaign on July 8 against Panama in Nashville. They will play a tune-up friendly against Ghana in Connecticut on July 1.
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