Aldergrove’s Joel Waterman will be playing for Canada at the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Waterman is one of 24 players named to the roster of the men’s national team that will host Bermuda in Orlando, Florida on Thursday, March 25 before facing Cayman Islands on Sunday March 28 in search of a berth at the 2022 championships.
“It’s any kid’s dream,” to play for Canada, Waterman told the Langley Advance Times on Tuesday, March 23.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
To get there, he had to get past the initial cull of players through two training scrimmages as well as a Canada intra-squad scrimmage.
“For me, it’s an honour to wear the Maple Leaf and represent my country,” Waterman enthused.
“This is another step for me personally in my career, but as a team, it’s also a chance to accomplish something really special. I’m grateful for the opportunity and now it’s time to take full advantage of what’s in front of us by qualifying for the World Cup next year in Qatar.”
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Waterman, a former member of Canada Soccer’s national training centre program in B.C., is the first Trinity Western University Spartan to take part in a senior men’s camp.
Among his standout accomplishments, in his final season with the Langley-based Spartans in the fall of 2018, Waterman led TWU to a Canada West silver medal, making first team all-stars in the process.
Since graduating from TWU, Waterman played his 2019 season in the Canadian Premier League with Cavalry FC in Calgary before being transferred to the Montreal Impact (Major League Soccer) for the 2020 campaign.
He was the first Canadian Premier League (CPL) player to sign a U.S. Soccer Federation Major League Soccer (MLS) contract, inking a two-year deal.
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John Herdman, the men’s national team head coach, said the players were focused.
“It is an opportunity for this group of men to do something special for their country that hasn’t been done for a long time,” commented Herdman.
“Our players do not need much motivation, they’re just really excited to play for their country again and every time we’re together we remind them that this team can change football in this nation.”
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