Fresh off making his debut for the Canadian senior team, Alessandro Busti will now try to help Canada qualify for the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Busti, an 18-year-old goalkeeper with the Juventus under-23 side, is one of 20 players named to Canada’s roster for next month’s Concacaf U-20 Championship. Canada Soccer revealed the squad list on Wednesday for the Concacaf U-20 Championship, which serves as the qualifying tournament for next year’s FIFA U-20 World Cup to be held in Poland.
Busti earned his first cap for Canada in a 5-0 win over Dominica in a Concacaf Nations League qualifying match held at Toronto’s BMO Field earlier this month.
Born in Toronto, Busti has lived most of his life in Turin, Italy, where he’s been in the youth system of Serie A club Juventus since he was 10 years old.
Earlier this year, the young goalkeeper received a call from Canadian men’s team coach John Herdman, who wanted to gauge his interest in playing international soccer for his birth country. Even though he’s spent little time in Canada — he moved to Italy with his parents when he was only six months old – Busti jumped at the opportunity to represent the Reds.
“It was a surprise, because I didn’t think I would have the chance. I talked to my parents and my agent, and I decided to go. My parents told me that Canada is a good country. Sometimes before I [went] to sleep [as a child], my mother sang the anthem to me,” Busti told Sportsnet ahead of the Dominica game.
“I was singing ‘O Canada’ to him and his twin sister when they were little. Every night with some nursery rhymes. He truly feels Canadian. I tried to pass [that on] to both my kids,” his mother Paola recalled.
“He was [previously] called up on the Italian national under-18 team. But as soon as Canada called him he didn’t have any doubts on who to pick.”
The 2018 Concacaf U-20 Championship runs from Nov. 1-21 in Bradenton, Fla. Thirty-four teams are divided into six round-robin groups. The six group winners advance to the next round where they’ll be put into two groups. The two group winners advance to the final and qualify for the World Cup. The two second-place teams will also earn a World Cup berth.
Canada will compete in Group D with Panama, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Guadeloupe, Dominica and Martinique. The Canadians’ first game is against Dominica on Nov. 2.
Canada previously won this Concacaf tournament in 1986 and 1996. The United States are the defending champions.
CANADA’S ROSTER
GK – Alessandro Busti | ITA / Juventus FC U-23
D – Émile Legault | Unattached
D – Daniel Kinumbe | CAN / Ottawa Fury FC
MF/D – Michael Baldisimo | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC
D- Julian Dunn | CAN / Toronto FC II
MF/D – Yohan Le Bourhis | CAN / Académie Impact de Montréal
MF- Clément Bayiha | CAN / Ottawa Fury FC
MF – Noble Okello | CAN / Toronto FC II
F – Theo Bair | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC
MF – Mathieu Choinière | CAN / Impact de Montréal
MF – Noah Verhoeven | USA / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Academy
MF / DF – Dante Campbell | CAN / Toronto FC II
DF – Terique Mohammed | CAN / Toronto FC II
MF – Benson Fazili | LTV / FK Metta
F – José Hernández | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Academy
DF – Antonio Rocco Romeo | CAN / Toronto FC II
F – Adonijah Reid | USA / FC Dallas
GK – Thomas Hasal | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Academy
F – Jordan Perruzza | CAN / Toronto FC II
MF – Steffen Yeates | USA / University of Connecticut
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