Canada coach Jesse Marsch has brought Minnesota United forward Tani Oluwaseyi into camp for friendlies against the Netherlands and France.
It's a first national team call-up for the 24-year-old who has turned heads this season with seven goals and four assists for the Loons. Oluwaseyi has played in all 15 league games, with six starts, for Minnesota (8-3-4) and leads the team in goals with five more than designated player Teemu Pukki, Finland's leading scorer.
Born in Abuja, Oluwaseyi is also eligible for Nigeria.
Canada, ranked 49th in the world, plays the seventh-ranked Netherlands in Rotterdam on Thursday before facing No. 2 France in Bordeaux on Sunday.
The games, the first for Marsch at Canada's helm, are warm-ups for Canada's Copa America campaign which opens June 20 against World Cup champion Argentina. The Netherlands and France are preparing for Euro 2024, which kicks off June 14 in Germany.
Selected in the first round (17th overall) of the 2022 MLS SuperDraft out of St. John's, Oluwaseyi saw just 11 minutes of MLS action before this season.
He spent time with Minnesota's MLS Next Pro team during an injury-interrupted rookie season before being loaned to Antonio FC of the USL Championship in July 2023. But he has flourished this season under new coach Eric Ramsay.
Oluwaseyi moved to Canada with his family when he was 10, settling in Mississauga, Ont.
He played 49 games over four years at St. John’s University, scoring 20 goals including 11 in 2019. After being named Big East Offensive Player of the Year as a sophomore, he was sidelined by a knee injury for most of the 2021 season.
Oluwaseyi joins forwards Jonathan David, Cyle Larin, Theo Bair and Ike Ugbo in the Canada camp.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 3, 2024.
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
