Sat February 11, 2017 League 1 Ontario--Nine League1 Alumni Named To 20-Man CAN U20 Squad
For CONCACAF Championship (from League 1 Ontario website)

Nine League1 Alumni Named To 20-Man CAN U20 Squad For CONCACAF Championship
02/11/2017, 7:30am EST
By League1 Ontario staff

Canada Soccer have announced their roster for the 2017 CONCACAF Men's Under-20 
Championship. Coach Rob Gale has selected 20 players for the international 
competition that runs 17 February to 5 March in San José, Costa Rica.

Nine of the 20 players - nearly half the squad - are League1 Ontario alumni. 

The 12-nation CONCACAF Men's Under-20 Championship equally serves as the 
qualification route for the FIFA U-20 World Cup Korea Republic 2017. Only four 
CONCACAF nations will qualify for the biennial event, which runs 
this 20 May to 11 June.

Canada will kick off against Honduras on 17 February in San José, Costa Rica. 
Canada will also face Mexico (20 February) as well as Antigua & Barbuda 
(23 February) in a difficult group that will advance only two nations 
to the second round.

"These are the tests you want for your players (because) you want to expose 
them to tough matches so they can learn as they develop towards the 
Men's National Team," said Rob Gale, Canada Soccer's Men's National U-20 
Team Coach. "At this level, there are no easy games, so it is vital that 
we get our moments right and they get the performances we need on the day."

From the six nations that advance into the second round, four qualify for 
the FIFA U-20 World Cup Korea Republic 2017, while the top two play for 
the CONCACAF Men's Under-20 Championship trophy on 5 March.

Canada's 20-man squad features players currently attached to clubs in nine 
different countries, including Canadian clubs Vancouver Whitecaps FC, 
Toronto FC, and Impact Montréal FC. Players from those three Canadian 
clubs are: Vancouver's Kadin Chung and Thomas Hasal; Toronto's Dante Campbell, 
Aidan Daniels, Liam Fraser, Shaan Hundal, and Luca Uccello; and Montréal's 
Thomas Meilleur-Giguère.

Eight players are attached to clubs from six countries in Europe: 
Liam Millar (Liverpool), Kosovar Sadiki (Stoke City), and Kris Twardek 
(Millwall) in England; Zachary Brault-Guillard (Olympique Lyonnais) 
in France; Gabriel Boakye (Energie Cottbus) in Germany; Emmanuel Zambazis 
(Iraklis 1908) in Greece; Tristan Borges (sc Heerenveen) in Netherlands; 
and Dario Zanatta (Heart of Midlothian) in Scotland. 

Also featured in the squad, Diego Gutierrez (CD Palestino) arrives from 
Chile while Kamal Miller (Syracuse), Aymar Sigue (Penn State), 
and Dayne St. Clair (Maryland) all arrive from universities in USA.

Alongside their time with clubs, all 20 players have experience in Canada 
Soccer's Men's EXCEL Program. By the time Canada faces Honduras on the 
opening day, this group will have accumulated more than 1,400 days 
in national youth camps. Six of those players will have accumulated more 
than 100 camp days in the program: Boakye, Borges, Campbell, Chung, 
Meilleur-Giguère, and Uccello.

Fourteen of the 20 players will be making their debut in a CONCACAF 
youth tournament, while six players participated at the 2015 CONCACAF 
Men's Under-17 Championship in Honduras. Those six players are Boakye, 
Borges, Campbell, Chung, Daniels, and Sadiki.

All 20 players also have international experience playing in CONCACAF 
away from home at the U-20 level, with everyone have playing 
an international match away in Central America.

Outside the group of 20 players, Canada's three standby players 
(in case of injury) are Matthew Constant, Marcus Godinho, 
and Dayonn Harris. Unavailable for selection through injury were 
David Choinière, Philip Di Bennardo, James Pantemis, and Shamit Shome.

Canada Soccer's Men's EXCEL Program channels our nation's exceptional 
players into the best soccer environments. The Canada Soccer Pathway 
works in collaboration with our provincial and territorial partners 
as well as the professional clubs and academies. For Canada's elite 
players, the program emphasizes player development on the pathway 
to representing Canada's Men's National Team in international soccer.


 CONCACAF Men's Under-20 Championship
 Canada's all-time results at the CONCACAF Men's Under-20 Championship 
 since 1973 (all-time record 47 win, 19 draws, 29 losses). Canada won 
 CONCACAF titles in 1986 and 1996 and have qualified for eight 
 FIFA U-20 World Cups.

Canada's Rank & Host Nation
 4th place at Mexico 1973
 4th place at Canada 1974
 5th place at Puerto Rico 1976
 2nd place at Honduras 1978 (qualified for Japan 1979)
 3rd place at USA 1980
 5th place at Guatemala 1982
 2nd place at Trinidad and Tobago 1984 (qualified for USSR 1985)
 1st place at Trinidad and Tobago 1986 (qualified for Chile 1987)
 6th place at Guatemala 1988
 5th place at Guatemala 1990
 3rd place at Canada 1992
 3rd place at Honduras 1994
 1st place at Mexico 1996 (qualified for Malaysia 1997)
 Group A 3rd place at Trinidad Tobago 1998
 Group A 1st place at Canada 2001 (qualified for Argentina 2001)
 Group B 1st place at USA 2002 (qualified for UAE 2003)
 Group B 1st place at Honduras 2005 (qualified for Netherland 2005)
 *Did not play in 2007 (already qualified as hosts of Canada 2007)
 5th place at Trinidad and Tobago 2009
 7th place at Guatemala 2011
 6th place at Mexico 2013
 9th place at Jamaica 2015

*League1 alumni in bold

CANADA 
1- GK- Dayne St. Clair | USA / University of Maryland
 2- FB- Zachary Brault-Guillard | FRA / Olympique Lyonnais
 3- FB- Gabriel Boakye | GER / Energie Cottbus U-19
 4- CB- Kosovar Sadiki | ENG / Stoke City U-23
 5- CB- Thomas Meilleur-Giguère | CAN / Impact Montréal FC
6- M- Liam Fraser | CAN / Toronto FC II
 7- M- Diego Gutiérrez | CHI / CD Palestino
8- F- Luca Uccello | CAN / Toronto FC II
 9- F- Dario Zanatta | SCO / Heart of Midlothian FC
10- M- Tristan Borges | NED / sc Heerenveen
 11- W- Kris Twardek | ENG / Millwall FC
12- F- Shaan Hundal | CAN / Toronto FC II
 13- M- Dante Campbell | CAN / Toronto FC II
14- M- Aidan Daniels | CAN / Toronto FC II
 15- CB / FB- Kamal Miller | USA / Syracuse University
 16- CM- Emmanuel Zambazis | GRE / Iraklis 1908 FC
 17- F- Aymar Sigue | USA / Penn State University
 18- GK- Thomas Hasal | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-18 Residency
 19- F- Liam Millar | ENG / Liverpool FC U-18
 20- FB / RW- Kadin Chung | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2

back to 2017 League 1 Ontario Men's index

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