As part of their preparations for the 2015 CONCACAF U-20 championship, to be held in Jamaica in January, the Canada Under-20 national team invited 21 players to a training camp in Sunrise, Florida, from Dec. 11-17. Head coach Rob Gale's roster includes six current MLS professionals, eight players tied to MLS academy programs and one of the top prospects in college soccer, UConn sophomore Cyle Larin.
Among professionals, each Canadian MLS team had two players selected: Manny Aparicio and Jordan Hamilton from Toronto FC, Marco Carducci and Marco Bustos from the Vancouver Whitecaps and Louis Béland-Goyette and Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé from the Montreal Impact.
Additionally, seven players are either current players in the Vancouver Whitecaps' residency program or are collegiate players who have spent time with the Whitecaps' youth setup. The Impact's academy also had one player named to the squad.
The camp gives an opportunity to several players to make their final case to be named to the qualifying roster.
“The squad is not finalized yet, with myself and the staff still looking to select the final squad members who have not featured with us in international competition yet this season and those that have not fully convinced us they are ready for the level of competition we face," Gale said in a federation statement. "All will be afforded the opportunity to stake their claim for a spot on the plane on 8 January into Jamaica, and as it should be – it’s up to them to prove their worth."
The CONCACAF U-20 Championship will run from Jan. 9-24 in Jamaica and will see 12 teams compete for four spots at the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, to be held in New Zealand. Canada are in Group B with Cuba, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras and Mexico. The winner of each group qualifies directly to the U-20 World Cup, while the four teams that finish second and third in the two groups will compete in one-game playoffs to determine the final qualifiers.
Canada have not qualified for the FIFA U-20 World Cup since hosting the tournament in 2007. Their best performance came in 2003, when they reached the quarterfinals before losing to Spain.
Canada U-20 camp roster by position:
GOALKEEPERS (2): Marco Carducci (Vancouver Whitecaps), Nolan Wirth (Oregon State, Vancouver Whitecaps Academy)
DEFENDERS (7): Marko Eleksic (FC Edmonton), Sebastian Cabrera (Union Española, Chile), Quinton Duncan (Tulsa, Vancouver Whitecaps Academy), Jackson Farmer (Vancouver Whitecaps Residency, played on loan with Charleston Battery in 2014), Jordan Haynes (Vancouver Whitecaps Residency), Brandon John (Erzgebirge Aue, Germany), Chris Serban (University of British Columbia, Vancouver Whitecaps Academy)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Manny Aparicio (Toronto FC), Louis Béland-Goyette (Montreal Impact), Hanson Boakai (FC Edmonton), Marco Bustos (Vancouver Whitecaps), Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé (Montreal Impact), Chris Nanco (Syracuse), Mitch Piraux (Vancouver Whitecaps Residency)
FORWARDS (5): Jordan Hamilton (Toronto FC), Brody Huitema (Duke, Vancouver Whitecaps Academy), Sadi Jalali (FC Edmonton), Charles Joly (Montreal Impact Academy), Cyle Larin (UConn)
