Team Canada | Samuel Piette set aside for camp in Montreal

Samuel Piette will not be at Team Canada’s camp in Montreal next week. This is the second time in two months that the Quebecer has been sidelined, but Jesse Marsch does not seem to rule him out of his plans.

Canada Soccer announced on Wednesday the names of the 26 players – three more than in September – who will take part in the camp in Montreal from October 7 to 12. We find there in particular Jonathan Sirois, Nathan Saliba, Maxime Crépeau, Moïse Bombito and Mathieu Choinière. Jamie Knight-Lebel, a Montrealer who played four times on the U-20 national team, also earned a first call-up to the senior team. As for Ismaël Koné, he was not recalled due to an injury recently suffered with Marseille.

Let’s come back to the somewhat surprising absence of Samuel Piette.

Last September, for the first time in 12 years, Piette was not recalled by Canada. At that time, the main person admitted to having experienced a “disappointment”. The head coach, Jesse Marsch, explained to him that he wanted to deal “with a reduced group” and “see new players”.

Piette then had the impression that the national team was not turning its back on him. Only, a month later, he was not invited to what would be the men’s team’s first camp in Montreal since 2017.

Asked about this decision in a virtual media availability on Wednesday afternoon, Marsch explained, as in September, that he wanted to see some new players in action.

As in the past, the head coach did not skimp on compliments for the midfielder, calling him an “incredible person”. “What a pro he is!” », he exclaimed.

“When we look ahead, in November, we know that we have important matches in which we must have results to qualify for the Nations League. At that point, we’ll start to evaluate, to ask ourselves: OK, who are our best players that need to be there, and how do we evaluate that? Where are we with everyone? »

Remember that Piette did not play a single minute at either the World Cup or the Copa América. Last July, the native of Le Gardeur affirmed that he would “never” retire from the national team. “It’s the national team that will make me retire,” he added.

On Wednesday, Marsch indicated that he would have the opportunity, during his time in Montreal, to “have discussions” with Piette. “Sam will be ready when he’s called back.” I know that,” he concluded.

And what does the main person think? We asked him the question after CF Montreal’s 2-1 victory on Wednesday evening in Atlanta. From the outset, he said “he had no discussion” with Jesse Marsch on this subject.

“There is a certain level of disappointment, obviously,” said the Quebecer, also apologizing for “playing the same tape as last month.”

“You always want to be called up to the national team. […] Ultimately, I control what I can control. It’s a proverb that I say a lot and that sticks with me. My performance, my attitude, my state of mind. In the end, whether it is enough or not is not in my hands. I am disappointed at this level. But hey, we’re moving forward. »

Saliba continues to impress

Nathan Saliba “impressed” Jesse Marsch in September, after being recalled to replace Sam Adekugbe. And since then, things have always gone very well for the Longueuil resident. On Wednesday, Marsch compared Saliba’s journey to that of Alistair Johnston.

“Last camp I used Ali as an example of someone who played at a very high level with his club and used a lot of principles. I think Nathan demonstrated that too. […] That’s what we try to do: expose them to the way we think and the way we try to fit the team, and then we see if they can put it into practice, not just in camp. »

« [Nathan] plays remarkably well. Outstanding. It’s nice to see,” Marsch added.

In the category of players whose presence at the camp is surprising, there is Zorhan Bassong, from Sporting KC, a former CF Montreal full-back who played little in the metropolis. He has not represented the country since 2021.

« [Ce qui me plaît] more than anything, it is his combativeness, justified Marsch. He puts pressure. […] He is very present physically in the middle, in terms of duels won and ground covered. »

Return to childhood

During their visit to Montreal, the players of the national selection will visit various soccer clubs in the region, namely those of CS Longueuil, CS St-Hubert, Union Lanaudière-Sud, Notre-Dame-de -Thanks to Celtix du Haut-Richelieu, AS Blainville, FC Laval, Saint-Laurent and Lakeshore.

This means that several Soccer Québec alumni will have the opportunity to return to their youth club for a few hours.

“Recently I keep saying it’s the people’s team [people’s team]commented Marsch. We want people to feel it. We want them to be able to touch and see their players. We hope that it will generate more and more energy for what we are trying to become in 2026.”

Team Canada will also hold a public training session at Saputo Stadium on the evening of October 9, three days before leaving for Toronto for the October 15 match against Panama.