Six Vancouver Whitecaps have been named to the Canadian men’s squad set to compete at the CONCACAF U-20 Championship this month in Jamaica.
Among the players on coach Rob Gale’s 20-man roster are Whitecaps goalkeeper Marco Carducci and Vancouver teammate Samuel Adekugbe.
Others included in the Canadian team are 2011 U-17 World Cup veterans Michael Petrasso and Luca Gasparotto, as well as Marco Carducci, Kianz Froese, Marco Bustos, Hanson Boakai and Jordan Hamilton—all played for Canada at the 2013 U-17 World Cup.
“I am excited to get this squad together and we are all looking forward to the learning experience of a world cup qualifying campaign. This is an opportunity to continue the players development and expose them to demands of an international football tournament,” Gale said in a media release.
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Midfielders Fraser Aird (Rangers) and Dylan Carreiro (on loan at Arbroath), who have been getting regular playing time for their Scottish clubs, were not included in the roster.
“(I’m a) bit disappointed to lose some key characters with clubs not releasing them but it will provide opportunities for talented players to step up and prove they can apply themselves at this level,” Gale admitted.
Canada has been drawn into Group B with Cuba, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras and defending CONCACAF champion Mexico.
The other pool includes Aruba, Guatemala, Jamaica, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, and the U.S.
The 12-team qualifying event, scheduled for Jan. 9-24 in Kingston and Montego Bay, will send four teams to the FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand later this year.
The Group A and B winners move to the tournament final and automatically qualify for the World Cup. The second and third placed teams in each group will square off in playoff games for the other two World Cup berths.
Canada begins play on Jan. 10 against Haiti.
Canada has not qualified for the FIFA U-20 world Cup since 2007 when it hosted the event.
The Reds’ best showing was in 2003, when they made it to the quarterfinals of the tournament.
Gale, obviously, wants to qualify for the World Cup. But his main focus is to help develop his crop of youngsters into players who could one day earn a place in Canada’s senior side.
It’s a job he takes very seriously, and he doesn’t believe player development should be tied to how the current senior coach, in Canada’s case Benito Floro, likes to play. Instead, young players should learn how to play within a number of tactical systems.
“What you want is to be able to create players who can deal with pressure situations, and give them a technical foundation that they can go express themselves regardless of who’s in charge of the men’s team,” Gale told Sportsnet in a recent interview.
CANADA’S ROSTER
Goalkeepers: Marco Carducci (Vancouver Whitecaps) Nolan Wirth (Oregon State University)
Defenders: Samuel Adekugbe (Vancouver Whitecaps), Alexander Comsia (RC Strasbourg/France), Luca Gasparotto (Rangers FC/Scotland), Jackson Farmer (Vancouver Whitecaps), Jordan Haynes (Vancouver Whitecaps), Brandon John (Erzgebirge Aue/Germany), Rares (Chris) Serban (University of British Columbia)
Midfielders: Manuel Aparicio (Toronto FC), Louis Béland-Goyette (Montreal Impact), Hanson Boakai (FC Edmonton), Marco Bustos (Vancouver Whitecaps), Kianz Froese (Vancouver Whitecaps), Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé (Montreal Impact), Chris Nanco (Syracuse University), Michael Petrasso (Queens Park Rangers)
Forwards: Calum Fergusson (Inverness Caldeonian Thistle/Scotland), Jordan Hamilton (Toronto FC), Cyle Larin (unattached)