The international break means time off for the majority of the soccer world. But most Canadian players were seemingly already on break, with few featuring prominently – if at all – for their clubs over the past week.
Caleb Clarke scored his fourth goal of the season for FC Augsburg II on Friday in a 4-0 win. The 20-year-old Vancouver Whitecaps loanee (above) was also rewarded on Tuesday by being added to Canadian national team camp ahead of its friendlies at the Czech Republic (Friday, 11 am ET, Sportsnet One) and Slovenia (Nov. 19, noon ET, Sportsnet One).
His club teammate Daniel Stanese also put in a 90-minute performance for the fourth-division side, which functions as the reserve unit for its Bundesliga counterpart.
Lars Hirschfeld did end the Norwegian season on a high note, earning a 2-0 victory for Valerenga on Norway. It was the Canadian goalkeeper’s fourth consecutive start after spending most of the season as backup.
Samuel Piette kept living up to his “bulldog” nickname, getting himself sent off in the 67th minute of Fortuna Dusseldorf II’s win on Sunday. The 19-year-old has two red cards and three yellows in just 13 games. While the “edge” in his game excites many fans, it could mean trouble against CONCACAF opposition in the years to come.
Michael Petrasso scored an early goal for Queens Park Rangers’ U-21 side on Tuesday, but the team (which also got 90 minutes of work from Dylan Carreiro) was unable to hold onto an early lead, falling 4-2 to Millwall.
Simeon Jackson finally got back on the field for Eintracht Braunschweig after several weeks of not making the 18. He came on during second-half stoppage time in a 0-0 draw on Friday. Daniel Haber made a similarly brief cameo for his club, appearing very late in Apollon Limassol’s 2-1 loss to Lazio in Europa League group-stage play on Thursday.
Adam Straith and Olivier Occean also came in as second-half substitutes for their German clubs – Wehen Weisbaden and FC Kaiserslautern, respectively – over the weekend, while Atiba Hutchinson and Tosaint Ricketts clocked the full 90 for their Turkish clubs – Besiktas and Bucaspor, respectively – on Saturday.
