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Benito Floro says Akindele ‘99.9 percent’ likely to choose Canada over USMNT

Photo by Matthew Emmons/ USA Today Sports

By CARL SETTERLUND

U.S. Men’s National Team coach Jurgen Klinsmann has capped several young dual-national USMNT prospects already this year, but it looks like one, Tesho Akindele, might elude his grasp. At least according to Klinsmann’s counterpart, Canadian national team coach Benito Floro.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Floro said that the 23-year-old FC Dallas forward is ‘99.9 percent’ leaning toward playing for Canada over the United States.

Akindele was born in Calgary, but grew up and went to college in Colorado. The 2014 MLS Rookie of the Year joined the USMNT camp ahead of a January 28 friendly against Chile, but he returned home before the match, reportedly because of an issue with FIFA recognizing his American citizenship.

Floro said Akindele turned down an invite to train with Canada last November, but has since changed his mind about representing his birth nation.

“One week before (Akindele was set to join Canada) someone presented him a big problem — that was to choose to be elected for the U.S. or for Canada,” Floro said on Tuesday, recalling that November invite. “That put (him) in a bad situation. He needed to choose and, I think, he committed a mistake because he agreed to attend our camp and after that he changed his decision.”

Floro said he gave Akindele some space to decide his national team future.

“The United States never called him (after January) and I decided to take two, three, four months to correlate if Akindele is absolutely sure to play with Canada,” Floro said. “It’s true we are not a (powerful) national team but at least, under my control, it never will be second place.”

The 6-foot-1 Akindele continues to produce for FC Dallas in the meantime, with two goals and an assist so far in six games this season.

Klinsmann spoke about Akindele’s potential USMNT future back in January.

“We leave it up to the players and their families to make that decision,” Klinsmann said. “We tell them how we run things, how we organize it. We are also honest where he is in the whole player pool. We have a lot, a lot of competition. Hopefully Tesho and Julio (Morales) will go with us, but no matter what they decide, they have to make it right for themselves.”

What do you think of Floro’s statement? Which national team do you think Akindele should choose? How far could Akindele go with the USMNT?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. I can see Canada making it to one of the next two world cups as the fourth CONCACAF team.

    I can’t see them getting out of their group, but I can see them getting there.

    Reply
  2. Canada has always been two two or three players from having a decent team. What Canada has always needed is for dual nationals to choose them, and that would make all the difference. Aside from Tesho, there are a few other players who would greatly strengthen Canada.

    The USA has a very large player pool and all American players need to be really on top of their game to be chosen. In addition, there are dual USA nationals coming out of the woodwork, being actively sought by Klinsmann at young ages, and this heightens the already tough competition for spots on the American side. Akindele faces huge competition in the USA, but not so much in Canada.

    So, this is not an easy choice for a player, but in this case it makes very good sense. Akindele is also choosing to be a leader – a bit of courage and dedication and a fantastic bit of character. Well done!

    Reply
    • Having Tesho is a good sign for Canada. It reverses a trend of players declaring for other countries. Losing Guys like Begovic and Hargreaves has a cumulative effect over the years.

      While Tesho is not in their class it is a start.

      Reply
      • The younger de Guzman as well….that one has to really hurt given his older brother is a long-time CMNT stalwart.

      • DB,
        Is Hoillett playing for Canada or Jamaica?
        I bet if you sat down and went back to Hargreaves ( or even Landon) you could come up with a pretty useful list of Canada eligible players who declared for other countries. .

      • Hoilett has yet to declare for a national team. Last I read, he’s still holding out hope to become eligible to play for England, which if true is incredibly stupid on his part. He’s never going to be ahead of Sterling, Sturridge, Kane, Wellbeck, Walcott, or Rooney.

  3. Great news! As for those disparaging him saying he’ll never play in a world cup, who cares! He gets to represent his country playing the sport he loves. And there’s no guarantee he would play in a world cup with the US either.

    Reply
      • I like you slowleftarm. You’re not really much of a future thinker. More of a right here, right now kinda of guy. You’d be a great financial planner.

      • Surprised to see you defending this dual national, especially when you rip on German-Americans or Mexican-Americans for picking the US.

      • Remember, only slow gets to decide who’s “American enough” according the the patented slowleftarm “Americaness” calculator

  4. Oh well, I guess Tesho doesn’t aspire to play in the World Cup, or even the Hex. No great loss. He’ll probably realize his mistake when he’s losing 8-1 to Honduras.

    Reply
  5. Good for him, he was never gonna be a vital part of the national team. Might end up with 4 or 5 caps, some camp cupcakes and thats it. With canada he can be an important player. I bet bunbury would have made this same choice a few years back.

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  6. Floro said. “It’s true we are not a (powerful) national team but at least, under my control, it never will be second place.”

    Damn right. That spot is reserved for El Tri.

    Reply
  7. He probably saw that Klinsmann called in Jordan Morris and said well If I’m getting passed over for a college kid then forget it.

    Reply
    • Did you realize that Morris is 20 which is one year younger than Clint was when he signed for the Revs, two years younger than McBride was when he signed with Wolfsburg and one year younger than Drogba when he signed with Le Mans. ?

      The kid still has a little time before his expiration date goes.

      The reality is Tesho probably did have a much better shot at playing regularly with Canada than he ever would have had with the US, college kid or not.

      I guess he did not want to be Bunbury 2.0.

      Reply
      • Which is funny because Bunbury has looked real good out on the wing for the Revs last year and the Nats have had some concerns in that area lately…

      • Be honest, did you think of Bunbury as a right wing option when he was playing for the USMNT? I did not.

        It can only help his case if he wants to make a USMNT comeback.

      • Not sure of your point. He’s younger than those guys were but not as good and not ready for USMNT duty. Another JK head scratcher.

      • slowleftarm,

        I didn’t see Clint at Furman or in his first year with New England. so I can’t tell you how they compare at that age. However, the point is there is still time for Morris to go pro and perhaps, turn out as good as McBride or Clint or maybe even Drogba.

        His experience with the USMNT can only help him in that regard. I have seen very little of the kid but apparently he has some contact with Seattle so Sigi may have had his chance to look him over as well. The Sounders discovered Yedlln so they have some credibility evaluating young talent.

        If the kid is a bust and a waste of time that will show very quickly.

      • “However, the point is there is still time for Morris to go pro and perhaps, turn out as good as McBride or Clint or maybe even Drogba.”

        Okay, so when he goes pro and proves himself then he should get his call up, just like McBride and Cline and Drogba did and everyone else should. I saw a 10 year old kid in the park with some sweet dribbling skills the other day. We should probably cap him up because, well, he’s 13 years younger than Clint was when he got his first call-up.

      • I saw Clint Dempsey at Furman…also Ricardo Clarke, along with other MLS guys like Shea Salinas and Walker Zimmerman.

        He was a durn good player, quite the phenom, actually…but if you’d told me he was going to be a national-team guy and the lead striker at the 2014 World Cup I’d have asked what you were smoking. At that point he was skinny as a rail, looked way smaller than he was because he slumped like an insolent punk, and looked like what he was, which was trailer trash straight out of Nagodoches, Texas. And he had an attitude you couldn’t knock down with a hammer. When he left after a year to go to what was then a very fledgling MLS I figured I’d never see him again…the soccer world was very, very different then…there was no clear path up for anybody; they all had to take their own meandering path up and hope they got lucky. He did; the next thing I know he’s popped up at Fulham and is playing for the USMNT.

        So I’ve seen how fast guys can pop if they have the goods. If Klinsmann is right about Morris, we could know and in quite a hurry.

      • quozzel,

        Three things:

        Did Clint have real long messy hair when he first came up with Revs?

        Didn’t they play him in a number of different positions including defence?

        Early on, didn’t he almost get thrown off the team for having a real serious fight with one of his team mates at training?.

      • He was all over the field, mostly a mid. I don’t remember seeing him play any D but Doug Allison does move his guys around a lot so anything’s possible. I remember Walker Zimmerman was a C-mid for awhile and occasionally was high up in the box until Doug finally moved him to CB. And yeah, he had a mullet at Furman, I believe…as for the teammate thing, I dunno. Maybe at the Revs…once he left Furman I wasn’t following MLS at the time – there really wasn’t much to follow – and so I was REALLY shocked when he turned up at Fulham. I did hear he was a serious pain in the butt in college…though Doug did like him a lot.

        On the same vein, I caught the Clemson spring soccer game this past Saturday…Mike Noonan’s really got those guys playing some good ball too. He’s had Thomas McNamara and Amadou Dia the past two years and it looks like they’ve got another 3-4 like that now…they absolutely put the screws to Davidson, could have named their score. Actually met Noonan a couple years back – actually at a Furman United coaches meeting, go figure – and he really seemed sharp. Lotta good soccer up in that little corner of the world.

  8. Do we know any more about this “citizenship issue” since the previous piece? Tesho is probably not a remarkable loss, but FIFA dragging their heels on these things could be a sign of an issue as relates to Zelalem and other future players. Starting to feel a bit like we have attracted FIFA’s attention on this front, no?

    Reply
      • Just seemed a lot easier when we were trying to shove AJ and Julian Green across the line 12-18 months ago. Maybe the upcoming WC created some urgency, but I’d feel considerably more comfortable if the Zelalem thing gets done on schedule.

      • I am suspecting we are seeing some backlash for Gulati’s support of Prince Ali.

        Blatter does not smile benevolently upon disloyalty.

        Again, those who commented that it is a fascinating world when a Jordanian prince is the last best hope for a transparent, democratic FIFA.

        I’m still shuddering about how bent the Russia World Cup is likely to be. The Russian mob basically runs the country now, and we’re pretty much going to have to put the refs in cryogenic stasis and thaw them out only for matches to keep the Russian goodfellas away from them.

        We’re likely to see some atrocities against fair play that make the Russia/Qatar disasters look like the Good Old Days before this gets better, whatever.

      • Ha yes…. I definitely happen to agree on this. While so much of the outrage around 2018/2022 was directed toward the Qatar decision, the fact remains that Russia has unbelievable potential for disaster.

      • Want to have a fun read? Check out the coverage of the recent Handball Worlds in Qatar. Qatar was getting calls that would make Duke blush.

      • Aron and Green were both born in the US making them citizens from birth. While Zelalem actually lived in the US longer he’s only just recently become a citizen through his father. So they are pretty different situations.

      • I agree and I hope that’s all it is. I just don’t like the noises coming out of FIFA. Leaving aside the question of whether we “should” be recruiting these players (I can practically feel slowleftarm circling), it would be a pity if these players’ futures have become a bargaining chip in the politics going on between USSF and FIFA.

      • No one is likely to ever lose money by overestimating FIFA’s capacity for pettiness but you are probably being slightly overly paranoid.

        Besides, there is nothing to be done about it.

  9. Best for all parties involved, was just going to be another Teal Bunbury scenario. Hope I’m wrong though, Canada needs a star.

    Reply
    • There was a pretty good chance he’d never break through with the US, versus being a regular with Canada. Makes sense to me, he’ll get exposure, extra pay bumps from national team duty etc.

      Reply
    • in the next 2-3 WC cycles Canada could get it together.. not that far fetched. they have a decent player pool and fan support.. just need some support/organization from the CSA and win some duel nationals like Tesho. qualifying over Honduras or Panama is completely doable but getting to the later stages of the Gold Cups and Hex/Qualifying is a good goal for Canada right now.

      picking Aguilla or Belize over the USA would be a mistake, Canada could be good decision for a young player.

      Reply
      • I would agree. The biggest thing holding Canada back is its clown-show federation, but they’ve got enough pro teams and stadia now that you would EXPECT them to at least make the Hex at some point in the near future. Winning their way to the World Cup is probably a bit of an ask at the moment…but it’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility they could host one, maybe 2026 if the USA declines to bid.

      • There’s a chance that if I don’t buy a bottle of Don Julio one of those dollars could hit the lotto. Better odds in my mind than Canada ‘getting it together’.

      • I disagree. The Canadian player pool is pretty weak… mostly MLS squad players and guys kicking it around the lower divisions/lower leagues of Europe…

        Not an impressive pool at all.

        The rest of concacaf has been improving too… Costa Rica, Honduras and Panama are no slouches… It’ll be very tough for Canada, heck, sometimes it seems tough for the U.S.

    • “Floro said. “It’s true we are not a (powerful) national team but at least, under my control, it never will be second place.” ”
      not second place, more like seventh or eighth place lol

      Reply

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