Canada in World Cup qualifying: Breaking down Herdman's roster
Canadian men's team coach John Herdman has named an expanded 27-man roster and he will likely have to make full use of it during October's qualifying matches.
After a bit of a break following a successful start to its Concacaf World Cup qualifying campaign, the Canadian men’s team returns to action this month with a trio of important games.
Canada heads to Mexico on Thursday for a date with El Tri at Estadio Azteca, followed by another road game on Sunday against Jamaica, before returning to home to host Panama on Oct. 13 in Toronto.
Coach John Herdman has named an expanded 27-man roster for this slate of matches and he will likely have to make full use of it, as several key players are dealing with injury and health issues or face possible suspension due to yellow card accumulation. Herdman has kept the core of the recent team in place, opting for continuity as he didn’t want to disrupt things too much going into these qualifiers, although he has drafted in a few relative newcomers.
Toronto FC winger Jacob Shaffelburg (one cap) joins defender Derek Cornelius (13 caps) and forward Charles-Andreas Brym (three caps) as first-time call-ups for this World Cup qualifying cycle. Fullback Zachary Brault-Guillard (five caps) has earned a recall after last playing for Canada in June in a qualifying match against Aruba.
Here's a breakdown of Herdman's roster....
