Ahmed, Bombito, McGraw, Russell-Rowe and Zator make their debuts for Canada

Ali Ahmed, Moïse Bombito, Zac McGraw, Jacen Russell-Rowe and Dominick Zator all made their debuts for Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team in the opening match of the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup in Toronto. It marked the first time since 2020 that three or more Canadians debuted in the same Men’s National Team match (Zorhan Bassong, Tristan Borges, Amer Didić and Jacob Shaffelburg) and the first time since 1968 that five or more Men’s National Team players debuted in a competitive match.

Ahmed, 22, is in his second season at Vancouver Whitecaps FC after playing for their academy and then the U-23 squad. He recently helped Vancouver win the 2023 Canadian Championship where he was named the tournament’s Best Young Canadian Player.

Bombito, 23, is in his first Major League Soccer season with the Colorado Rapids. Bombito came up through the CS St-Laurent and CS St-Hubert youth programs before heading to college in the United States.

McGraw, 26, is in his fourth season at Portland Timbers FC in Major League Soccer. He was part of the Portland team that won the 2020 MLS is Back Tournament and finished runners up in the 2021 MLS Cup playoffs.

Russell-Rowe has spent the last two seasons with the Columbus Crew organisation from Major League Soccer. Alongside his MLS debut in 2022, he led MLS NEXT Pro in goalscoring and helped Columbus Crew 2 with the league title.

Zator, 28, spent the 2022-23 season in Poland with Korana Kielce where he was named the team’s defender of the season. Before moving back to Europe, he led all Canadians in CPL minutes played in 2022.