A new year has brought some new faces to Canada's men's national team ahead of its first game of 2016.
Head coach Benito Floro has called in 23 players for a training camp in Southern California, which starts next week and culminates with a friendly against the United States on Feb. 5 in Carson, California.
Along with the familiar names are a handful of new faces to the program, including former Philadelphia Union defender Steven Vitoria, Finland-based midfielder Jamar Dixon and goalkeepers Callum Irving and Tyson Farago. On the other side of the experience scale, all-time Canadian caps leader Julian de Guzman has been summoned by Floro, along with fellow national team veterans Will Johnson, Nik Ledgerwood, Iain Hume and Marcel De Jong.
Several of Canada's players from the most recent World Cup qualifiers were not available as the camp does not fall within a FIFA international break. However, with a healthy mix of newcomers and seasoned heads in camp Floro said that he will continue along the same path as seen in 2015.
"We need to continue to put forth our best defence, our best attack, and our best set pieces in 2016," he said in a statement. "Last year, we scored 18 goals and conceded only six, but we could have scored more through the chances we created. We need to improve our last pass and our shots on target."
Canada's match against the U.S. is currently the only contest scheduled for the team ahead of a crucial pair of World Cup qualifying matches against Mexico in March. On Friday, Canada Soccer announced that the home game against the Mexicans on Mar. 25 at BC Place in Vancouver has sold over 30,000 tickets.
FULL CANADA ROSTER
GOALKEEPERS: Maxime Crépeau (Montreal Impact), Tyson Farago (FC Edmonton), Callum Irving (Unattached)
DEFENDERS: Nik Ledgerwood (FC Edmonton), Samuel Adekugbe (Vancouver Whitecaps), Doneil Henry (West Ham United), Adam Straith (Fredrikstad FK), Wandrille Lefèvre (Montreal Impact, Steven Vitória (Unattached), Karl W. Ouimette (New York Red Bulls), Mallan Roberts (FC Edmonton)
MIDFIELDERS: Julian de Guzman (Ottawa Fury), Iain Hume (Unattached), Will Johnson (Toronto FC), Kyle Bekker (Montreal Impact), Issey Nakajima-Farran (Terengganu FA), Jamar Dixon (FF Jaro), Marco Bustos (Vancouver Whitecaps) Kianz Froese (Vancouver Whitecaps), Marcel De Jong (Sporting Kansas City)
FORWARDS: Cyle Larin (Orlando City), Caleb Clarke (Unattached), Tesho Akindele (FC Dallas)
