Who Canada Should Call up for February Friendly Against the United States

Every January, Canada typically puts together a training camp and participates in a friendly match to develop chemistry and evaluate new players. This year is no different as Canada announced there would be a camp capped off with a match against United States. Given the training camp lies on a non-FIFA window, the roster will feature predominately domestic players and a few from European leagues in their offseason. As a result, the following article will consider the 23 players that Benito Floro is likely to invite to this training camp.

Goalkeepers

Kenny Stamatopoulos (AIK; Sweden Div. 1; 36) - Canada's backup keeper in this World Cup qualifying campaign, Kenny must be selected to maintain his recent form with Canada.

Quillan Roberts (Toronto FC; MLS; 21) - A potential Toronto FC backup keeper this season, the camp will provide critical experience for a possible future number one.

Maxime Crepeau (Montreal; MLS; 21) - Similar to Roberts, Crepeau is a young talent who has played in several youth tournaments with Canada and will look to gain more experience.

Defenders

Doneil Henry (West Ham; England; 22) - Although in midseason with West Ham, he has been seldom used due to injuries and loan spells. As a result, West Ham should have no problem releasing Henry and the camp will assist him in regaining form.

Adam Straith (Fredrikstad; Norway; 25) - Straith was fantastic in the November World Cup qualifiers and will look to continue his fine form while his club enjoys their offseason.

Dejan Jakovic (Shimizu; Japan; 30) - The other center back that played in both November World Cup Qualifiers, Jakovic will look to develop his partnership in the middle with Straith.

Ashtone Morgan (Toronto; MLS; 24) - After an impressive bounce back season with Toronto, Morgan has the potential to be a solid left-back option for Canada in March.

Karl Ouimette (New York; MLS; 23) - Ouimette was solid as the right back in both November Qualifiers and will look to continue to improve and develop chemistry with his defensive partners.

Wandrille Lefevre (Montreal; MLS; 27) - Has developed into Canada's number four or five option at center back and this camp will give him more experience with the national team.

Marcel De Jong (Kansas City; MLS; 29) - Canada's starting left-back despite only making 13 appearances last season for Kansas City, De Jong needs to see more playing time.

Sam Adekugbe (Vancouver; MLS; 20) - Despite being the third left-back listed on this roster, the training camp will be good for Adeukugbe to get more national team experience as he can potentially be a National Team regular in the future.

Midfielders

Scott Arfield (Burnley; England; 27) - Despite being born in Scotland, Arfield could be the next player to join the Canadian National Team. Being an elite player in The Championship and having EPL experience, Arfield would be a huge addition for Canada. He likely won't be entering this camp due to his club team being in mid season, however it does not hurt to try and have him join the national team before his inevitable call up against Mexico.

Michael Petrasso (Queens Park; England; 20) - Another player who is midseason with his club, Petrasso could be called up given he is not a regular with QPR yet. Given his young age and huge potential, it would be great to see Petrasso get a look against United States.

Maxim Tissot (Montreal; MLS; 23) - A solid MLS substitute for Montreal Impact, Tissot still has the potential to become a regular with Montreal.

Julian De Guzman (Ottawa; NASL; 34) - Canada's all time cap leader will bring a wealth of experience to this national team camp. He also remains an important player for this World Cup Qualifying campaign.

Will Johnson (Toronto; MLS; 28) - One of Canada's top players, Will Johnson will want to build off his impressive games in November.

Jonathan Osorio (Toronto; MLS; 23) - Another one of Canada's best players, Osorio needs to sort out whatever discrepancy he has with Benito Floro and get back into the national team fold.

Russell Teibert (Vancouver; MLS; 23) - A versatile and solid midfielder, Teibert should be a key option off the bench for Canada in this World Cup Qualifying series.

Kyle Bekker (Montreal; MLS; 25) - Everyone's favorite whipping boy, Kyle Bekker is good enough to retain an MLS contract and is still just 25 years old. There would be no downside in including him on the roster.

Kianz Froese (Vancouer; MLS; 19) - A young prospect that impressed in his limited action in MLS in 2015, Froese has huge upside.

Strikers

Olivier Occean (ODD; Norway; 34) - His last appearance for Canada came in a World Cup Qualifier against Cuba in which he was sent off. That red card paved the way for Canada to get obliterated in Honduras 4 days later. Despite that, he was on fire in Norway's top division and deserves a second (or third) chance.

Cyle Larin (Orlando; MLS; 20) - The best young striker in MLS and already Canada's top striker, Larin will look to build off an outstanding 2015.

Tesho Akindele (Dallas; MLS; 23) - Another solid MLS player, Akindele has the ability to become a key player for Canada in 2016.

Overall, this could potentially be a fairly strong Canada roster and much improved from last years January camp. The official roster is expected to come out next week, despite the United States already releasing theirs. This friendly match against United States will be vital preparation for the World Cup Qualifiers against a team of similar quality in Mexico.

More than half of the expected players to be selected to the Mexico roster would be in this camp, while the remaining are mostly young promising players who have a role to play in the future. One must note key exclusions include Milan Borjan, David Edgar, Atiba Hutchinson, Tosaint Ricketts, Junior Hoilett and Lucas Cavallini.