By Canadian Press

Toronto FC heroes Bradley, Altidore will be the enemy on home soil in Canada game

Oct 4, 2019 | 9:25 AM

Used to cheers at BMO Field, Toronto FC captain Michael Bradley and star striker Jozy Altidore will be the enemy on home turf Oct. 15 when the U.S. faces Canada in CONCACAF Nations League play.

U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter has summoned Bradley and Altidore for the Canada contest as well as an Oct. 11 game against Cuba. He had elected not to pick the two TFC veterans — as well as teammate Omar Gonzalez — for games against Uruguay and Mexico last month so they could remain with TFC in its drive for the MLS playoffs.

Bradley, with 150 caps, and Altidore, with 115, are the most experienced players on the U.S. roster.

Two of Altidore’s 42 international goals came against Canada and both were game-winners. He scored in a 2-0 Gold Cup group stage victory on June 7, 2011, in Detroit and an 89th-minute header in a 1-0 victory on Feb. 5, 2016, in Carson, Calif.

The 21st-ranked Americans play No. 178 Cuba on Oct. 11 at Washington, D.C., before meeting No. 75 Canada in Toronto. The North American rivals will meet again Nov. 15 in Orlando.

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Canada opened its CONCACAF Nations League A campaign last month by beating Cuba 6-0 and 1-0.

The group winner will advance to the final four of the Nations League in June.

The U.S. series is key for Canada, which is looking to accumulate valuable FIFA ranking points. The top six teams in the June 2020 FIFA rankings will move into the so-called Hex round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying — the most direct path out of the region.

Those six countries will compete for three automatic berths at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Teams ranked No. 7 through No. 35 in the region, which covers North and Central America and the Caribbean, will slog it out for the right to meet the fourth-place Hex finisher with the winner advancing to an intercontinental playoff to get to the World Cup. 

Canada is currently ranked seventh among CONCACAF countries, just five ranking points behind El Salvador.

Canada, whose all-time record against the U.S. is 8-11-14, has not beaten the Americans since March 1985. The Canadians are 0-9-8 since then and have been outscored 17-1 in the last 11 matches. 

But two of the last three meetings have been 0-0 draws with the U.S. winning the other match 1-0.

The 26-man American roster features 18 MLS players from 14 different clubs with the remaining eight from sides in Europe: England (4), Germany (3) and Turkey (1).

Defender Sergino Dest was left off the U.S. roster, a decision that keeps open his option to switch allegiance from the Americans to the Netherlands.

The 18-year-old made his U.S. debut at left back in an exhibition against Mexico on Sept. 6 after playing for the Americans at the 2017 Under-17 World Cup and this year’s Under-20 World Cup. The son of a Surinamese-American father and Dutch mother, Dest has become a regular this season at Dutch power Ajax, which reached last year’s Champions League final.

Dest said he is being recruited by the Royal Dutch Football Association. If he played in the new Nations League, which is an official competition, he would be tied to the U.S.

In a conference call with reporters, Berhalter declined to detail his conversations with Dest and whether the rest of the American player pool would be affected by Dest’s indecision.

Christian Pulisic, the Americans’ 21-year-old star midfielder, was included despite his benching by Chelsea. Released early from U.S. camp after the Mexico match, he has appeared just once for Chelsea since then, in the League Cup against Grimsby on Sept. 25.

“In terms of our team, his status hasn’t changed one bit. He’s a very important player for our team. He’s a catalyst for our attack,” said Berhalter, who visited Chelsea last week. “When you look at his situation with Chelsea, it’s not uncommon for a player to take some time to get settled and to adapt. You see a player like Antoine Griezmann at Barcelona is having a difficult time. This happens.”

Brenden Aaronson, an 18-year-old midfielder with Philadelphia, is the only newcomer among 26 players on the roster announced Wednesday by Berhalter.

“We want to see how he reacts, see how he takes in information,” Berhalter said.

Defenders DeAndre Yedlin and Matt Miazga are on the roster after returning from injury layoffs. Montreal Impact fullback Daniel Lovitz, a former Toronto player, also makes the squad.

U.S. Roster:

Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Atlanta), Sean Johnson (New York City FC), Zack Steffen (Fortuna Duesseldorf, Germany)

Defenders: Reggie Cannon (FC Dallas), Nick Lima (San Jose), Aaron Long (New York Red Bulls), Daniel Lovitz (Montreal Impact), Matt Miazga (Reading, England), Tim Ream (Fulham, England), DeAndre Yedlin (Newcastle, England), Walker Zimmerman (Los Angeles FC).

Midfielders: Brenden Aaronson (Philadelphia), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Sebastian Lletget (Los Angeles Galaxy), Weston McKennie (Schalke, Germany), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea, England), Cristian Roldan (Seattle), Wil Trapp (Columbus), Jackson Yueill (San Jose)

Forwards: Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC), Paul Arriola (D.C. United), Corey Baird (Real Salt Lake), Tyler Boyd (Besiktas, Turkey), Jordan Morris (Seattle), Josh Sargent (Werder Bremen, Germany), Gyasi Zardes (Columbus)

—

With files from The Associated Press

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 2, 2019.

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press