Scottish-born midfielder David Wotherspoon joins Canadian men’s national team

Scottish-born midfielder David Wotherspoon has been called up by the Canadian men’s national soccer team for their March 24 friendly against New Zealand. Canada Soccer announced this news yesterday on Twitter, also confirming that Kris Twardek was added to the camp.

Wotherspoon, who is a midfielder for St. Johnstone in the Scottish Premier League, has been linked to joining the national team for just under a year. However, it appears that the 28-year-old’s paperwork took a while to process before he could officially pull on the red and white.

He represented Scotland at the U-18, 19 and 21 levels, but a call-up from the senior national team has not been forthcoming. In that sense his story mirrors Scott Arfield’s, a player who has now become a vital piece of Canada’s squad.

Wotherspoon is the fourth player in this camp who is getting his first call-up for Canada. Marcus Godinho, Derek Cornelius and Liam Millar are the other three as coach John Herdman takes a look at his expanded player pool in his first camp.

Born in Perth, Wotherspoon qualifies for the national team through his Canadian mother.

He primarily plays as a right midfielder for St. Johnstone, and is a talented player with good technical skill. He is also a set piece specialist who will bring another option to Canada on dead ball situations.

On top of this, Wotherspoon has plenty of experience having played 203 matches for St. Johnstone since joining them in 2013, scoring 14 times in all competitions. He has also played in 11 Europa League matches.

Canada doesn’t have a whole lot of depth in his position on the right of the midfield, although Raheem Edwards has recently been converted to that side with the Montreal Impact. This should give Wotherspoon a chance to make a case for himself as a starter.

Twardek, the other player added to the Canadian roster after it was initially announced earlier this week, has one senior cap for the national in a friendly against El Salvador. He is the four player 21 or younger who has been called into camp.

Herdman made it a point during his time as women’s national team manager to integrate young players who showed promise into the senior national team. This is perhaps a sign that he is once again doing that with the men’s team.