The Canada U20 team was in Doncaster, England, last week to play two friendlies against the Young Lions U20 team.
James Pantemis, Thomas Meilleur-Giguère, Marco Dominguez and Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla, all from FC Montreal, took part in the eight-day camp.
The Canadian team lost 4-1 in its first game, in which Dominguez and Tabla were starters.
But the second game made headlines on both sides of the Atlantic. In a 2-1 win over England, the Canadians took the game head on and caught the attention of many British outlets.
Pantemis, Tabla and Meilleur-Giguère were all starters, while Dominguez came late in the game.
“I was really nervous in the beginning,” said Montreal’s goalkeeper James Pantemis. “I watch many of those guys on television. We told ourselves that they were merely names, and that we all can play soccer. At the end of the day, if you want it more, the name on the back of the jersey doesn’t matter. The nerves were there, but when the first whistle came, we focused on what we wanted to do.”
Facing them was a young Marcus Rashford, 18-year-old Manchester United forward in the English Premier League. FC Montreal defender Thomas Meilleur-Giguère had the hard task to cover him for 90 minutes, and that’s what he did.
“It proved that if you put your heart into it and you work, you can win,” said FC Montreal’s defender. “It means a lot to me, and it’s an experience that will stay with me forever. In addition to representing the country well, it shows that soccer is getting better in Canada and that players develop and work well.”
The Canadians tallied first. On a pass from Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla, Kadin Chung opened the scoring. After the break, the Canadians added a second goal, to the astonishment of fans. Kasey Palmer scored for England right afterwards, but Rob Gale’s young players held on and won the game, despite their underdog status.
“That’s where soccer started,” said Thomas Meilleur-Giguère. “Representing Canada in a win like this was moving. Soon, people will follow soccer here just as much as they do in England.”
“It’s always an honour to represent your country,” added Pantemis. “We were the underdogs, but we didn’t think about it. We gave ourselves a chance and fought until the end.”
The players are now back with their club to prepare for the second USL game of the season on April 9 against Toronto FC II, at the Olympic Stadium.
