Canada have announced their squad for the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup, the confederation’s championship for National Teams that runs this summer from 27 June in Toronto through to the Concacaf Final on 16 July at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California near Los Angeles. Coach John Herdman has selected a squad of 23 footballers that features a mix of returning stars and Concacaf Gold Cup debutants.
All of Canada’s matches at the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup will be broadcast in Canada LIVE via OneSoccer, available as a linear channel on Telus’ Optik TV (Channel 980), on the fuboTV Canada platform as well as online at OneSoccer.ca, and through the OneSoccer app. Fans will find extended coverage for the matches across Canada Soccer’s digital channels on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube featuring the hashtag #CANMNT.
Canada will open their 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup on Tuesday 27 June in Toronto against the winner of the Guadeloupe-Guyana Preliminary Round match (to be played 20 June). From there, Canada will head to Houston where they will face Guatemala on Saturday 1 July and then Cuba on Tuesday 4 July. From the four nations in Group D, the top two will advance to the Concacaf Gold Cup Quarterfinals scheduled for Sunday 9 July in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Concacaf Semifinals are Wednesday 12 July in San Diego, California and Paradise, Nevada near Las Vegas, just four days ahead of the Sunday Concacaf Final.
CANADA’S SQUAD FOR THE CONCACAF GOLD CUP
For the second Concacaf Gold Cup in a row, there is a near even split of 12 returning players and 11 tournament debutants. Of note, Jonathan Osorio is just the third six-time participant (after retired stars Julian de Guzman and Atiba Hutchinson) while Milan Borjan is the 12th five-time participant (third goalkeeper after Pat Onstad and Lars Hirschfeld).
Along with Borjan and Osorio, there are four other veterans taking part in their third of fourth Concacaf Gold Cup: forwards Lucas Cavallini and Junior Hoilett (fourth each) as well as centre backs Kamal Miller and Steven Steven Vitória (third each). Borjan, Hoilett, Osorio and Vitória have all worn Canada’s captain’s armband in the past while all six players were part of the recent Concacaf Nations League Finals as well as last year’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
In all, 16 of the 23 players were part of the recent Concacaf Nations League Finals squad in June while 12 of the 23 were part of last year’s FIFA World Cup in November.
The six other returning players to this year’s Concacaf Gold Cup squad are Samuel Adekugbe, Zachary Brault-Guillard, Richie Laryea, Liam Millar and Dayne St. Clair.
From the group of 11 Concacaf Gold Cup debutants, Scott Kennedy and David Wotherspoon were both part of the Concacaf Nations League Finals and both would have been part of the FIFA World Cup had it not been for Kennedy’s injury (Wotherspoon featured in Canada’s last group match). Two other Concacaf Gold Cup debutants, Charles-Andreas Brym and Jacob Shaffelburg, were part of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in 2021-22.
The seven other debutants are all hoping to make their international “A” debuts with Canada. Centre back Moïse Bombito, midfielder Victor Loturi, goalkeeper Tom McGill and right back Dominick Zator were all part of the recent Concacaf Nations League Finals, but they have yet to make their “A” debuts. Winger Ali Ahmed, centre back Zac McGraw and forward Jacen Russell-Rowe are also hoping to making their “A” debuts, but are also making their first appearance at a Concacaf tournament.
Russell-Rowe from Columbus Crew SC is the youngest player in the squad at age 20. He is a graduate from the FIFA U-17 World Cup Brazil 2019 and he was the 2022 MLS NEXT Pro top goalscorer with 21 goals. The next two youngest at age 22 are Victor Loturi of Ross County FC who recently led all Canadians in the Scottish Premiership minutes Ali Ahmed of Vancouver Whitecaps FC who won the 2023 Canadian Championship Best Young Player Award.
At age 23, Moïse Bombito is a pro rookie with the Colorado Rapids in MLS, Tom McGill is a goalkeeper with England Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion, Jacob Shaffelburg is a winger with Nashville SC who previously won the Canadian Championship Best Young Player Award in 2021, and Liam Millar is a FIFA World Cup winger who helped FC Basel reach the Semifinals in 2022-23 UEFA Conference League.
While Canada’s squad does feature a mix of experienced stars and young talents, the summer tournament will miss a few key stars that will remain in Europe to prepare for the 2023-24 pre-season with existing or new clubs. From Canada’s recent Concacaf Silver Medal performance at the Concacaf Nations League Finals, six players that will miss the Concacaf Gold Cup are Tajon Buchanan, Jonathan David, Alphonso Davies, Alistair Johnston, Ismaël Koné and Cyle Larin.
