:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47340882/usa-today-8834948.0.jpg)
Junior Hoilett, Fraser Aird, Wandrille Lefevre and Lucas Cavallini. The Canadian men's national team roster released on Friday must have seemed like an early Christmas present for long suffering national team supporter. In just one day the Canadian team became significantly more talented than it has been in some time.
The news could be getting even better. A report from Marc Weber of the Vancouver Province says that Canada has reached out to Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Gershon Koffie about playing for the national team, and it could happen.
He has been linked to the Canadian team in the past, but not substantially since 2013. That's when Floro named him alongside Felipe, Hassoun Camara and Whitecap's teammate Camilo: all who had applied for permanent residency, a step towards earning Canadian citizenship.
The 24-year-old Koffie was born in Ghana, and played for his nation of birth at the Under-20 level. Under FIFA rules this would appear to make Koffie ineligible to play for Canada, although some exceptions have been made in the past.
Koffie is also not currently eligible for a Canadian citizenship either, as he hasn't been a permanent Canadian resident for long enough. However, the government has made exceptions to this rule for sport before.
The holding midfielder has been with the Vancouver Whitecaps since 2010, when he played two games for the club in NASL. He then made the transition with the team to Major League Soccer where he has played 130 games and scored 9 goals.
He has often been paired in the Vancouver Whitecaps midfield with current Canadian international Russell Teibert, something that makes him an enticing option from a chemistry standpoint.
It is highly unlikely that Koffie would be available for the start of round 4, which begins on November 13 with Canada playing against Honduras in Vancouver.
Even with all the recent success the Canadian program has had with convincing players on the fence to join the team, there could still be some red flags as to the timing of this information being released.
During the last set of World Cup qualifiers, there was belief that Jonathan De Guzman, who has since been cap-tied, and played at a World Cup with the Netherlands, would play for Canada.
Koffie's birth country of Ghana is playing Canada in a friendly on October 13. Ghana has called up a few Major League Soccer players as of late, with David Accam of the Chicago Fire and Harrison Afful of the Columbus Crew both suiting up for them at the African Cup of Nations.