VANCOUVER, BC - The Canadian Soccer Association announced today that nine players who have developed in the Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency program have been named to the Canadian U-20 men’s national team roster for an upcoming training camp in England and Spain.
The camp, which will run from November 8 to 19, will feature three high-profile friendlies against the U-20 squads from England, Russia, and the United States.
Included on the 18-man roster are four Whitecaps FC first-team players: Marco Carducci, Sam Adekugbe, Marco Bustos and Kianz Froese. Also included is Residency midfielder Jordan Haynes, as well as Residency graduates Nolan Wirth and Chris Serban and Residency products Alex Comsia and Sadi Jaladi.
The team will come together in Bournemouth, England on November 9 and will face England at Bournemouth’s Dean Court on November 12. Then, the Red and White will travel to Marbella, Spain, where they will battle Russia on November 15 and USA on November 18.
Froese, Carducci, Haynes, and Wirth all played for the Canadian U-20 side earlier this year, helping the team to a second-place finish at the 2014 Dale Farm Milk Cup in July. Bustos, Carducci, and Haynes also played for the Canadian U-17 side in both the 2013 U-17 CONCACAF Championships and the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup, while Froese played in the latter.
Adekugbe has participated in Canadian training camps at both the U-18 and senior men’s levels, the most recent of which was a 10-day camp for Benito Floro’s senior men’s squad in September 2013.
The series of friendlies will serve as another opportunity for Canadian U-20 head coach Rob Gale to test the depth of his squad as he prepares for the 2015 CONCACAF U-20 Championship, which will take place in Montego Bay, Jamaica in January of next year, and will serve as a qualifier for the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
“We have good competition for places,” said Gale. “By no means is anyone guaranteed to make the starting XI with the competition we have so this camp is going to be an excellent test for the players with the opposition but also a chance for them to show that they can compete and take those spots going into January.”
CANADA
GK- Marco Carducci | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC
GK- Nolan Wirth | USA / Oregon State University
D- Sam Adekugbe | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC
D- Marko Aleksic | CAN / FC Edmonton
D- Alexander Comsia | FRA / RC Strasbourg
D- Luca Gasparotto | SCO / Rangers FC (on loan at Airdrieonians)
D- Jordan Haynes | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency
D- Rares (Chris) Serban | CAN / University of British Columbia
M- Manny Aparicio | CAN / Toronto FC
M- Louis Béland-Goyette | CAN / Impact de Montréal
M- Hanson Boakai | CAN / FC Edmonton
M- Marco Bustos | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC
M- Dylan Carreiro | SCO / Dundee FC (on loan at Arbroath)
M- Kianz Froese | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC
M- Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé | CAN / Impact de Montréal
M- Michael Petrasso | ENG / Queens Park Rangers (on loan at Notts County)
F- Sadi Jalali | CAN / FC Edmonton
F- Jordan Hamilton | CAN / Toronto FC (on loan at C.D. Trofense)
Bold - Current Whitecaps FC first team or Residency player
Italics - Whitecaps FC Residency product
