By DAN KARELL
Seven players in Major League Soccer, including first-place Portland Timbers star Will Johnson, were called into the Canadian National Team ahead of the Gold Cup next month.
Toronto FC lead all clubs with four call-ups, losing Ashtone Morgan, Doneil Henry, Kyle Bekker, and Jonathan Osorio to the Canada squad that will meet in Oxnard, California for a ten-day training camp starting on Wednesday. The Vancouver Whitecaps Russell Teibert and goalkeeper Simon Thomas round out the MLS contingent.
Overall, interim head coach Colin Miller went with a much younger squad than the one that failed to exit the group stage in the 2011 Gold Cup. Established veterans like D.C. United’s Dwayne De Rosario, the Montreal Impact’s Patrice Bernier, and PSV Eindhoven midfielder Atiba Hutchinson were all left off the current 22-man squad. Meanwhile, ten of the 22 players were born in 1990 or later.
Though he is currently without a club, former TFC and FC Dallas midfielder Julien de Guzman was included on the team. Canada’s first Gold Cup match is July 7 against Martinique at the Rose Bowl, in Pasadena, California.
What do you make of the roster? Surprised that DeRo and Bernier were left off? How do you see Will Johnson performing for his country?
Share your thoughts below.