VANCOUVER, BC - Vancouver Whitecaps FC confirmed on Tuesday that defenders Sam Adekugbe and Marcel de Jong, and midfielders Alphonso Davies and Russell Teibert have been called up to the Canada men's national team for the upcoming CONCACAF Gold Cup.
The four players from Whitecaps FC are the most of any club team on the 23-man roster.
Octavio Zambrano's squad will meet in Alliston, Ontario on Wednesday for a pre-tournament camp ahead of the opening match on July 7 against French Guiana in Harrison, New Jersey. Canada will then move to Dallas, Texas for the July 11 match against Costa Rica before rounding out their group stage schedule in Houston, Texas against Honduras on July 14.
For the first time, MLS will break for the group stage of the competition.
The quarterfinal round is set for July 19-20, and the semifinals are slated for July 22-23, before the tournament culminates with the July 26 final.
“We have a dynamic team that has speed and offensive weapons,” said Zambrano. “We have a balance between offence and defence. We want to go forward and have a high tempo, but we also have to make sure we have the defenders that are up to the task in our end.”
De Jong, Davies, and Teibert return to international duty after featuring in Canada's last fixture, a 2-1 friendly win over Curaçao on June 13 at Stade Saputo. Adekugbe reports to the national team for the first time since participating in a training camp in February 2016, which included a friendly versus United States at StubHub Center.
De Jong, who has three goals in 51 appearances for Canada, will be making his fifth Gold Cup appearance - the most of anyone on the team. Teibert, who has one goal in 18 national team appearances, will be playing in his third Gold Cup, while Adekugbe and Davies are among the 14 debutants on the roster. Adekugbe has three international appearances under his belt, while Davies is looking to add to his senior resume after making his debut versus Curaçao, becoming the youngest player to appear in a Canadian men's national team match at the age of 16.
Taking place every two years, the CONCACAF Gold Cup is the official national team championship of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.
Canada are two-time CONCACAF champions, having won the CONCACAF Championship in 1985 and the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2000. Since the first edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 1991, Canada's best finishes are first place in 2000, and semifinal finishes in 2002 and 2007.
CANADA
1- GK- Maxime Crépeau | CAN / Impact Montréal FC
2- FB- Fraser Aird | / Unattached
3- CB- Manjrekar James | HUN / Vasas Budapest
4- CB- Steven Vitória | POL / Lechia Gdańsk
5- CB- Dejan Jaković | USA / New York Cosmos
6- M- Samuel Piette | ESP / CD Izarra
7- M- Russell Teibert | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC
8- M- Scott Arfield | ENG / Burnley FC
9- F- Tosaint Ricketts | CAN / Toronto FC
10- M- David Junior Hoilett | WAL / Cardiff City FC
11- FB- Samuel Adekugbe | ENG / Vancouver Whitecaps FC
12- M- Alphonso Davies | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC
13- M- Jonathan Osorio | CAN / Toronto FC
14- M- Mark-Anthony Kaye | USA / Louisville City FC
15- CB- Adam Straith | CAN / FC Edmonton
16- M- Anthony Jackson-Hamel | CAN / Impact Montréal FC
17- FB- Marcel de Jong | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC
18- GK- Milan Borjan | POL / MKS Korona Kielce
19- F- Lucas Cavallini | URU / CA Peñarol
20- M- Patrice Bernier | CAN / Impact Montréal FC
21- M- Raheem Edwards | CAN / Toronto FC
22- GK- Jayson Leutwiler | ENG / Shrewsbury Town FC
23- M- Michael Petrasso | ENG / Queens Park Rangers
