Two Eddies crack Canada’s U-20 squad
At a time when FC Edmonton is pining for offence, two of their youngest talents are off to represent Canada in the opportunity of a lifetime.
Eddies forward Sadi Jalali and midfielder Hanson Boakai are scheduled to leave Wednesday morning to compete in the under-20 Milk Cup in Northern Ireland.
The tournament has been hosted there since its inception in 1983. The youth tournament boasts such graduates as international soccer stars David Beckham, Wayne Rooney and Mats Hummels.
“This is a big achievement for me,” the 17-yearold Boakai said. “It means a lot being one of the youngest players on the team.”
The Eddies midfielder will be a huge loss to a club that has been blanked in each of their last two matchups.
Although Boakai is rarely a part of the starting 11 — he has started only two games in 2014 — he has shown flashes of brilliance as a late-game substitution. The diminutive midfielder has barely missed out on a couple of goals, hitting the post in each of the last two games.
While the Guinea-born Boakai has acted as a real sparkplug on the pitch, FC Edmonton head coach Colin Miller says he is still a little hesitant to throw him into the starting lineup.
“(Boakai) has to be more consistent in training,” Miller said during practice last week. “One day, he’s terrific, and the next day, he’s just not himself.”
During FC Edmonton’s practices, it is easy to get a sense of Boakai’s potential, but his abilities are caught in glimpses and in passing moments. Inconsistency issues are expected with a young talent, but when Boakai is on, his skills appear to be a notch above the rest.
“He’s a creative and talented young lad, but I’m not going to throw him in for every minute of every game,” Miller said. “He needs to earn the chance to play in practice.”
Boakai is hoping the younger squad in Northern Ireland will let him see more action on the pitch. “I’m looking forward to it,” he said.
FC Edmonton will be wellrepresented at the tournament. Attacking forward Sadi Jalali will also be joining Boakai in Europe.
The Milk Cup will not be Jalali’s first appearance in a Canadian national kit. The 19-year-old attacker scored a goal for Canada in the 2011 Under-17 World Cup in Mexico.
Jalali recognizes this opportunity as a potential stepping-stone in his career.
“It’s exciting to get the chance to play against top players in the world,” he said. “Hopefully, if you do well, you can get bought or moved up to the senior level.”
Team Canada has been drawn into a group with Mexico, China and Northern Ireland. Playing the tournament hosts has been a source of friendly competition within the Eddies locker-room.
FC Edmonton captain and Northern Ireland native Albert Watson played in the tournament as a youth, and has no qualms picking sides.
“It’s no contest sorry, it’s Northern Ireland,” Watson said. “I hope that (Sadi and Hanson) do well individually, but I can’t switch my allegiances.”
Watson is a little less candid in front of the camera, but he told Jalali what to expect from the Irish side.
“All the players are the size of Albert, so don’t get too many touches or you’re going to get kicked,” Jalali said jokingly.
Team Canada kicks off their tournament against Mexico on Monday in the small Northern Ireland town of Ballymoney.