Canada roster named for South Korea match

John Herdman has named an 18-player preliminary roster for the Oct. 30 friendly in Edmonton against Korea Republic, though the federation expects to add additional young players by the start of camp.

Thirteen players on the roster were on Canada’s bronze medal-winning 2012 Olympic team, and the entire squad will meet for camp on Oct. 24.

At just 16 years old, Sura Yekka of Mississauga, Ontario, has earned her first call-up to a senior team camp.

Of note: Kara Lang will join the team for the last two days of the Edmonton camp and may sit on the bench for the match. She is not yet ready to play, but Herdman is aiming to have Lang ready for the 2015 World Cup. Lang’s return from retirement has been well documented, and it’s a wonder if she could feature in the Nov. 24 match vs. Mexico in Vancouver.

Canada lost to Korea Republic earlier this year at the Yongchuan Cup in January, the first time in four all-time meetings the Canadians did not win.

“South Korea will be a tough test for us,” Herdman said. “Our 1-3 lost to them in January this year and their recent win over Japan has shown we will need to be on our game to get a result while still developing our new playing models.”

Here’s the full roster:

GK- Stephanie Labbé | SWE / KIF Örebro DFF

GK- Karina LeBlanc | USA / Portland Thorns FC

GK- Erin McLeod | USA / Chicago Red Stars

D- Robyn Gayle | USA / Washington Spirit

D- Carmelina Moscato | USA / Seattle Reign FC

D- Marie-Eve Nault | SWE / KIF Örebro DFF

D- Lauren Sesselmann | USA / FC Kansas City

D- Rhian Wilkinson | USA / Boston Breakers

D- Sura Yekka | CAN / Brams United

D- Emily Zurrer | USA / Seattle Reign FC

M- Kaylyn Kyle | USA / Boston Breakers

M- Diana Matheson | USA / Washington Spirit

M- Sophie Schmidt | USA / Sky Blue FC

M- Desiree Scott | USA / FC Kansas City

M- Brittany Timko | unattached

F- Mélissa Busque | USA / Seattle University

F- Adriana Leon | USA / Chicago Red Stars

F- Christine Sinclair | USA / Portland Thorns FC