U.S. Virgin Islands vs. Canada
2018 Concacaf Nations League Qualifier
IMG Academy — Bradenton
Sunday, September 9 — 4 pm ET
A spot in the Concacaf Nations League Group A, as well as the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup, is on the line when the Canadian men's national team open its qualifying campaign against U.S. Virgin Islands Sunday at IMG Academy.
This is the first of four qualifying matches, with Canada hosting Dominica on Oct. 16, playing at St. Kitts and Nevis a month later and closing out at home vs. French Guiana in March.
It will also be the first competitive match in charge of the men's program for John Herdman, who won on his debut, a 1-0 victory over New Zealand in an international friendly in Spain in March.
"We have an exciting roster and, speaking with the players leading into this September match, everyone was fully committed," Herdman said. "We were able to share a vision of Concacaf Nations League and the Concacaf competition landscape and I think it got the group excited. They know that every match is critical and it is clear that we have to perform in every match to progressively move through this new competition approach."
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Canada Outlook
Canada will bring a strong squad to Bradenton to take on the minnows from the U.S. Virgin Islands, including 10 current MLS players led by 17-year-old phenom Alphonso Davies from the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Davies, who signed a record transfer deal to Bayern Munich in July, is one of five teenagers in the camp and is joined by club teammates Russell Teibert, Doneil Henry and Marcel de Jong. Jonathan Osorio leads a trio of Toronto FC players, along with Jay Chapman and Tosaint Ricketts, the most experienced of the group with 58 caps. Also on the 23-man roster are Tesho Akindele from FC Dallas, LAFC defender Dejan Jakovic and Montreal Impact midfielder Samuel Piette.
There are four European-based potential debutants in defenders Zachary Brault-Guillard from Lyon and Derek Cornelius from Javor Ivanjica in Serbia, goalkeeper Alessandro Busti from Juventus and Gent forward Jonathan Davis.
“It’s more meaningful matches more often,” Herdman said. “It’s exciting to bring a group of men together where there is real expectation, scrutiny and consequences which ultimately will drive the performance levels up. Knowing you have to win matches sharpens the focus; it breeds both competition for places and a togetherness.”
U.S. Virgin Islands Outlook
The Dashing Eagles are coached by Marcelo Serrano, who was previously an assistant coach with the United States U-17 national team, and is slated to coach the USL's new Austin Bold team in 2019.
Their last competitive matches were two years ago when they defeated Sint Maarten, 2-1, before falling to Grenada, 2-1, followed by matching 7-0 defeats to Guyana and Curacao in 2017 Caribbean Cup qualification.
History
This is the first-ever meeting between Canada and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
