Scott Arfield practised with his Canadian teammates for the first time Monday at B.C. Place.
The Scottish-born Burnley winger, who was eligible for Canada through his Toronto-born dad, revealed that he’d made his mind up a year ago and was just waiting on the paperwork.
His ex-Burnley teammate, Canadian David Edgar, was the “driving force” behind the decision, said Arfield, 27. His dad had also been pestering him for years to play for Canada and was “delighted” with the decision, the winger said.
Arfield, who had never been to Canada before this week, is the latest in a string of good-news recruiting stories for Canada Soccer, who’ve also seen dual citizens Junior Hoilett, Fraser Aird and Steven Vitoria make their debuts in recent months under coach Benito Floro.
Canada hosts Mexico at BC Place on Friday (7 p.m., TSN) with around 50,000 fans expected to pack the Dome for a crucial FIFA World Cup qualifier.
Canada beat Honduras 1-0 at home and earned a 0-0 draw in El Salvador to open qualifying in November. Mexico opened with a 3-0 win at home to El Salvador and a 2-0 victory in Honduras.
mweber@postmedia.com
twitter.com/TheInterWeber (yes, new Twitter handle)
facebook.com/ProvinceWeber
