Seven 'Caps named to Canada's preliminary roster for Olympic qualifying

Baldisimo celebration

Seven Vancouver Whitecaps FC players have been included in Canada’s 50-man preliminary roster for the upcoming the 2020 Concacaf Men’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament.


The ‘Caps players include goalkeeper Thomas Hasal, defenders Derek Cornelius and Cristián Gutiérrez, midfielders Michael Baldisimo, Patrick Metcalfe, and Ryan Raposo, and forward Theo Bair. Players born on or after January 1, 1997 are eligible to compete in the tournament. Bair, Baldisimo, Metcalfe, and Hasal are all graduates of the Whitecaps FC BMO Academy System.


No later than 10 days prior to the start of the competition, the Member Associations will need to confirm their final 20-player roster.


The 15th edition of the Concacaf Concacaf Men’s Olympic Qualifying will take place in Guadalajara, Mexico, from March 18 to 30, 2021. Group Stage play will take place at both Jalisco and Akron Stadiums, between March 18-25. 


After round-robin play, the first and second place finishers in each group will advance to the semifinals.


Both semifinal matches will be played on March 28, at Jalisco Stadium. The semifinal winners will qualify for the final of this competition and also earn a spot to represent their country at the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament at the Tokyo Summer Games.


The eight competitors have been drawn into two groups of four, with Canada facing El Salvador (March 19), Haiti (March 22), and Honduras (March 25) in the group stage.


TV coverage will be provided by Fox Sports and TUDN in the US and One Soccer in Canada.


CANADA 50-MAN PRELIMINARY ROSTER

Pos.
Player
Club
GK
Breza, Sebastian
Potenza Calcio
GK
Curcija, Nikola
Le Havre
<strong>GK</strong>
<strong>Hasal, Thomas</strong>
<strong>Vancouver Whitecaps FC</strong>
GK
Pantemis, James
CF Montreal
GK
Nogueira, Matthew
CS Maritimo
GK
St. Clair, Dayne
Minnesota United FC
D
Abzi, Diyaeddine
York United FC
D
Bassong, Zorhan
CF Montréal
D
Brault-Guillard, Zachary
CF Montréal
D
Chung, Kadin
Pacific FC
<strong>D</strong>
<strong>Cornelius, Derek</strong>
<strong>Vancouver Whitecaps FC</strong>
D
Dunn, Julian
Toronto FC
D
Farsi, Mohamed
Cavalry FC
D
Godinho, Marcus
FSV Zwickau
<strong>D</strong>
<strong>Cristian, Gutierrez</strong>
<strong>Vancouver Whitecaps FC</strong>
D
Meilleur-Giguere, Thomas
Pacific FC
D
Montgomery, Callum
Minnesota United FC
D
N'sa, Chrisnovic
York United FC
D
Romeo, Rocco
Toronto FC
D
Sturing, Frank
Den Bosch
D
Yao, Karifa
CF Montréal
<strong>M</strong>
<strong>Baldisimo, Michael</strong>
<strong>Vancouver Whitecaps FC</strong>
M
Bayiha, Clement
CF Montréal
M
Choiniere, David
Forge FC
M
Daniels, Aidan
OKC Energy
M
Dias, Lucas
Sporting CP
M
Fraser, Liam
Toronto FC
M
Marshall-Rutty, Jahkeele
Toronto FC
<strong>M</strong>
<strong>Metcalfe, Patrick</strong>
<strong>Vancouver Whitecaps FC</strong>
M
Norman, David
Not attached
M
Okello, Noble
Toronto FC
M
Paton, Benjamin
Blackburn Rovers FC
M
Paton, Harrison
Ross County FC
M
Priso, Ralph
Toronto FC
<strong>M</strong>
<strong>Raposo, Ryan</strong>
<strong>Vancouver Whitecaps FC</strong>
M
Shome, Shamit
FC Edmonton
M
Simpson, Steven
Barnsley FC
M
Tabla, Ballou
CF Montréal
M
Verhoeven, Noah
York United FC
<strong>F</strong>
<strong>Bair, Theo</strong>
<strong>Vancouver Whitecaps FC</strong>
F
Brym, Charles
Lille OSC
F
Buchanan, Tajon
New England Revolution
F
Campbell, Terran
Pacific FC
F
Corbeanu, Theo
Wolverhampton Wanderers
F
Johnson, Malik
Real Monarchs
F
Nelson, Jayden
Toronto FC
F
Ongaro, Easton
FC Edmonton
F
Perruzza, Jordan
Toronto FC
F
Shaffelburg, Jacob
Toronto FC
F
Twardek, Kristopher
Jagiellonia Bialystok