While a squad of MLS-based American players will be taking part in the USA's first senior national team camp of 2017 in California this month, another one filled with Canadian MLSers will be down in South Florida doing the same.
The Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) announced on Tuesday a 28-man roster that will open the year with a camp in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The team is made up mostly of MLS players, including Toronto FC's Tosaint Ricketts, new Orlando City signing Will Johnson, and Tesho Akindele of FC Dallas. It will be trimmed to 18 players for a road friendly vs. Bermuda on Jan. 22.
In total, there are 14 players on the 28-man squad that play for first teams in MLS. Regular call-ups Cyle Larin (Orlando City) and David Edgar (Vancouver Whitecaps) missed out due to injury.
"We want to give our players an early advantage heading into their preseasons, but also give our staff an opportunity to observe, evaluate, and educate a larger group of players," said Canada interim head coach Michael Findlay in a statement released by the CSA. "This project also provides an internal competition within the larger group as only 18 will be selected for travel to the match."
Canada will train in Florida from Jan. 12-18 before departing for Bermuda. Here's the full 28-player roster:
Goalkeepers (3): Marco Carducci (Unattached), Callum Irving (Ottawa Fury FC), Sean Melvin (Vancouver Whitecaps 2)
Defenders (7): Nana Attakora (San Francisco Deltas), Dejan Jakovic (Unattached), Wandrille Lefevre (Montreal Impact), Jamar Dixon (Ottawa Fury), Nik Ledgerwood (FC Edmonton), Ashtone Morgan (Toronto FC), Karl W. Ouimette (Unattached)
Midfielders (13): Tesho Akindele (FC Dallas), Kyle Bekker (Unattached), Marco Bustos (Vancouver Whitecaps), Jay Chapman (Toronto FC), Marcel de Jong (Vancouver Whitecaps), Ben Fisk (FC Edmonton), Carl Haworth (Ottawa Fury), Will Johnson (Orlando City), Ben McKendry (Vancouver Whitecaps), Jonathan Osorio (Toronto FC), Adam Straith (Unattached), Russell Teibert (Vancouver Whitecaps), Maxim Tissot (Unattached)
Forwards (5): Molham Babouli (Toronto FC), Raheem Edwards (Toronto FC II), Jordan Hamilton (Toronto FC), Anthony Jackson-Hamel (Montreal Impact), Tosaint Ricketts (Toronto FC)
