It’s been quite a few remarkable months for Jonathan Osorio.
Osorio was invited to participate in Toronto FC’s pre-season camp in February and impressed team officials so much that he was signed to a contract. The next month, Osorio made his professional debut for TFC, and he has been one of the few bright spots for the Reds this season, scoring two goals in 10 Major League Soccer appearances.
Now comes another career milestone for the 20-year-old native of Toronto. On Thursday, Osorio was named to interim coach Colin Miller’s 18-man roster for Canada’s friendly against Costa Rica on May 28 in Edmonton. It’s the first time Osorio has been called up by the Canadian men’s team.
Programming alert: Watch Canada vs. Costa Rica in an international friendly from Edmonton live on all four main Sportsnet channels on May 28. Coverage begins at 8pm ET/6pm MT/5pm PT.
Osorio is one of several youngsters on the Canadian squad. Part of the reason is that Canada is in a rebuilding mode after its recent failure to qualify for the 2014 World Cup, and is trying to give young prospects as much playing time as possible to better prepare them for the future – including this summer’s CONCACAF Gold Cup.
The other reason is because the May 28 match doesn’t fall on a FIFA international date, which means pro clubs are not obligated to release their players.
Under normal circumstances, Miller might have drafted midfielder Patrice Bernier of the Montreal Impact into his roster. But because the Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps face off on May 29 in the second leg of the Amway Canadian Championship final in Vancouver, Montreal didn’t have to release Bernier for international duty.
Also, a lot of European-based players for Canada just finished their club seasons and some are out of contract, making it risky for them to come in and play for their country while their pro futures still unsettled.
Aside from Osorio, youngsters Doneil Henry and Samuel Piette have earned recalls to the senior team after playing for Canada at February’s CONCACAF U-20 Championship.
“The match against Costa Rica will be a great challenge for this young group,” Miller said. “Hopefully some of these young lads will rise to the occasion and stake a claim for a place at the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
“We are playing at home and we know that means we need to be positive – and I will certainly encourage the boys to be positive. We will not sit back and wait for Costa Rica to come after us.”
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The game at Commonwealth Stadium serves as a homecoming for Miller, who is the current coach of FC Edmonton of the North American Soccer League, a second-tier division one level below MLS.
This is Miller’s third stint as Canada’s interim coach, his first coming in 2003. In January, Miller took over the team as it played friendlies against Denmark (a 4-0 loss in Arizona) and the United States (a 0-0 draw in Houston).
Canada has been searching for a permanent coach since Stephen Hart stepped down following an 8-1 loss in Honduras last October, a result that officially eliminated Canada from qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Canada last played in March, losing a pair of friendlies to Japan and Belarus in Qatar. Canadian Soccer Association technical director Tony Fonseca coached the team for those games.
Canada is 80th in the current FIFA world rankings. Costa Rica is 38th and sits second in “the Hex,” the final round of World Cup qualifying in CONCACAF, the region that covers North and Central America and the Caribbean.
After the May 28 friendly, Canada will compete in the CONCACAF Gold Cup from July 7-21.
For Costa Rica, the Edmonton match will serve as preparation for its next World Cup qualifier on June 7 when it hosts Honduras.
Canada last faced Costa Rica in a 2-2 draw at the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup. The Reds have four wins, seven losses and seven draws in 18 official matches against Costa Rica dating back to 1985, according to the CSA.
CANADA’S ROSTER
Goalkeepers: Haidar Al-Shaïbani (Nîmes Olympique/France), Milan Borjan (Sivasspor/Turkey), Simon Thomas (Vancouver Whitecaps/MLS).
Defenders: Nana Attakora (San Jose Earthquakes/MLS), André Hainault (Ross County FC/Scotland), Doneil Henry (Toronto FC/MLS), Ashtone Morgan (Toronto FC/MLS), Adam Straith (FC Saarbrücken/Germany).
Midfielders: Kyle Bekker (Toronto FC/MLS), Stefan Cebara (Nogometni Klub Celje/Slovenia), Julian de Guzman (SSV Jahn Regensburg/Germany), Issey Nakajima-Farran (Alki Larnaca/Cyprus), Jonathan Osorio (Toronto FC/MLS), Pedro Pacheco (CD Santa Clara/Portugal), Samuel Piette (Fortuna Düsseldorf/Germany).
Forwards: Randy Edwini-Bonsu (Eintracht Braunsweig/Germany), Marcus Haber (Stevenage FC/England), Tosaint Ricketts (Sandnes Ulf/Norway).