Adekugbe, Teibert Called Up For World Cup Qualifying vs. Belize

Now that the Voyageurs Cup party has died down somewhat, it's time to put our focus on other competitions of importance to the Canadian soccer fan - World Cup qualifying, for example. Canada is set to take on Belize in a two-legged fixture this September, playing the home leg first at BMO Field in Toronto on Friday, September 4th before jetting off to FFB Field in Belmopan for the second leg on Tuesday, September 8th.

Since losing at this stage of qualifying would be an unthinkable calamity, Canada head coach Benito Floro has not spared the big guns in his call-ups, recalling goalkeeper Milan Borjan and midfielder Atiba Hutchinson who were not with the Gold Cup squad. Joining them will be two Vancouver Whitecaps players who are no strangers to the CanMNT setup: Russell Teibert and Sam Adekugbe. Here's the full roster:

It's worth noting that Adekugbe, Crépeau, Gasparotto and Petrasso have not been capped at the senior international level. While it's unlikely that Crépeau sees time ahead of Borjan, I wouldn't be surprised to see sub duty for the other three. Since Adekugbe accepted the call, it's fair to assume his injury troubles may finally be behind him - a good sign for the Whitecaps with three more CONCACAF Champions League matches to come.

Also, how good is it to see whatever bugaboo existed between Teibert and Floro exorcised? You'd have to think Teibert is a mainstay in the squad going forward. His versatility and workrate are unimpeachable and Floro would be foolish to leave that kind of asset behind.

The winner of this two-legged fixture moves onto the fourth round of World Cup qualifying, joining Mexico, Honduras and either El Salvador or Curaçao in a group stage that runs from mid-November 2015 to early September 2016.