Stephen Eustáquio and Cloé Lacasse were named Canada Soccer’s Players of the Month for January 2023. Midfielder Eustáquio and forward Lacasse both starred for their respective clubs in Portugal during the first month of the calendar year: Eustáquio scored twice and led FC Porto to a League Cup title while Lacasse scored five times and kept Benfica perfect in the league standings.
Eustáquio led FC Porto to the Taça da Liga Portuguesa (League Cup), the club’s fourth title in the past year. Eustáquio was a goalscorer in both the Semi-Finals on 25 January (a 3:0 win over Académico de Viseu FC) and the Final on 28 January (a 2:0 win oer Sporting). Across the month of January, Eustáquio featured in all six FC Porto matches, including the two wins in the League Cup, a Round of 16 win in the Taça de Portugal (Portugal Cup), plus two wins and a draw in the Primeira Liga. The club is currently in second place in the league standings while also preparing for their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 matches in February and March.
Lacasse, meanwhile, is keeping Benfica perfect at the top of Portugal’s Campeonato Nacional Feminino with 12 league wins through the end of January. This past month, Benfica won all six of their matches in league and cup competitions, notably reaching the Semi-Finals in the Taça de Portugal and taking a lead in the Semi-Finals of the Taça da Liga Portuguesa. In her six matches, Lacasse scored three goals in the Campeonato and two goals in the Taça da Liga. She also earned Player of the Match honours in Benfica’s 4:1 win over Maritimo on 29 January.
Looking ahead to February, Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team will compete at the SheBelieves Cup with matches on 16 February against USA, 19 February against Brazil, and 22 February against Japan. On the men’s side, Canada will also compete in the Concacaf Men’s Under-17 Championship in Guatemala starting with group matches on 11 February against Trinidad and Tobago, 13 February against Barbados, and 15 February against USA.