Former CPLers Loturi, Zator called up by Canada for 2023 Concacaf Nations League Finals

2023-06-07

Mitchell Tierney, Digital Content Producer (@mitchelltierney)

On Wednesday, the Canadian men’s national team announced their squad for the finals of the 2023 Concacaf Nations League in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The squad features former Canadian Premier League players Dominick Zator and Victor Loturi. Zator, who made over 100 appearances between CPL sides Cavalry FC and York United, moved to Korona Kielce in January helping the side stave off relegation in the Polish Ekstraklasa. Loturi, meanwhile, formerly of Cavalry, was key to Ross County defeating Partick Thistle in the Scottish Premiership Playoffs to stay in the country’s top flight.

The squad also features many of the key players who led Canada to top 2022 Concacaf World Cup qualifying, including Alphonso Davies, Jonathan David, Cyle Larin — who finished the season in red-hot form in La Liga — and Stephen Eustáquio.

Canada, who are the competition’s third seed, open the Nations League against Panama on June 15 at 7:00 p.m. ET. All matches are available live on OneSoccer. The result of that match will determine whether they play in the third-place game (6:00 p.m. ET) or the final (8:30 p.m ET) against either Mexico or the United States.

The Canadian men’s national team will be looking to win their first international trophy since the 2000 Concacaf Gold Cup. The United States won the inaugural edition of the competition back in 2021, defeating Mexico 3-2 in extra time in the final.

“We talked about this in March, this year is about pushing to lift a trophy, pushing to allow our fans to feel that experience with us,” said head coach John Herdman in a media conference. “We are very close, two games away from doing something pretty special for Canada.”

Here is the full Canada squad:
* Derek Cornelius was originally called up but was replaced by Moïse Bombito due to injury