Twelve of the 23 players named Thursday to the roster for the Canadian national team’s upcoming friendly against Panama are from MLS.
All three Canadian clubs and D.C. United will be represented in the match Nov. 18 in Panama City, in Canada's final game of 2014. They are looking to build on the momentum created from strong performances in a 3-1 win over Jamaica on Sept. 9 and a 1-0 loss to Colombia on Oct. 14.
“It’s another important game for us because we need to continue improving our tactical play and we are going to play against a very good team that has an experienced coach,” head coach Benito Floro said in a release. “It’s a very good, organized team on the pitch with a good tactical sense both in attack and defense.”
The release also noted that FC Dallas rookie forward Tesho Akindele declined an invitation to join the camp, that will kick off Nov. 9 in Orlando, Fla.
Of note, Montreal Impact defender Maxim Tissot received his first national-team call-up.
The other MLS players to get the call include D.C. United defender Nana Attakora; midfielders Issey Nakajima-Farran and Patrice Bernier and defender Karl W. Ouimette of the Impact; midfielders Russell Teibert and Bryce Alderson of the Vancouver Whitecaps; forward Dwayne De Rosario, midfielders Jonathan Osorio and Kyle Bekker and defender Ashtone Morgan from Toronto FC.
ROSTER BY POSITION:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Milan Borjan (Ludogorets Razgrad/Bulgaria), Lars Hirschfeld (Valerenga/Norway), Kenny Stamatopoulos (AIK/Sweden)
DEFENDERS (7): Nana Attakora (D.C. United/USA), David Edgar (Birmingham City/England), Doneil Henry (Toronto FC/Canada), Nik Ledgerwood (Energie Cottbus/Germany), Ashtone Morgan (Toronto FC/Canada), Karl W. Ouimette (Impact de Montréal/Canada), Maxim Tissot (Impact de Montréal/Canada)
MIDFIELDERS (10): Bryce Alderson (Vancouver Whitecaps FC/Canada), Kyle Bekker (Toronto FC, Canada), Patrice Bernier (Impact de Montréal/Canada), Julian de Guzman (unattached), Atiba Hutchinson (Besiktas/Turkey), Issey Nakajima-Farran (Impact de Montréal/Canada), Jonathan Osorio (Toronto FC/Canada), Adam Straith (unattached), Daniel Stanese (FC Augsburg II/Germany), Russell Teibert (Vancouver Whitecaps FC/Canada)
FORWARDS (3): Dwayne De Rosario (Toronto FC/Canada), Marcus Haber (Crewe Alexandra/England), Tosaint Ricketts (Hapoel Haifa/Israel)
