Whitecaps sensation Davies gets Canada call-up after gaining citizenship

The Canadian Soccer Association has pulled off a major coup in naming Alphonso Davies, 16, to his first national team squad after the Vancouver Whitecaps starlet obtained citizenship Tuesday.

The Liberian-born midfielder has already established himself in the senior setup at BC Place through 19 MLS outings since making his first-team debut aged 15 in a Canadian Championship loss at the Ottawa Fury in June 2016.

Now his speedy rise through the ranks sees him among manager Octavio Zambrano's 40-man provisional list for the CONCACAF Gold Cup which begins July 7. The roster will have to be whittled down to 23 by the time the tournament kicks off.

"It's a great honour to be able to call myself a Canadian citizen," Davies said in a statement, as quoted by Joshua Clipperton from The Canadian Press. "Not many people can say they're a Canadian citizen.

"I'm very proud that I'm one of those people."

He added: "To have the opportunity to represent the men's national team is a great honour."

Davies could make his international bow in next Tuesday's friendly against Curacao at the Montreal Impact's Stade Saputo, before Zambrano decides on his final throng for a Gold Cup campaign in the United States that could last as long as 19 days. When he appears in a competitive game, Davies can't then renege on representing Canada to instead turn out for Liberia.

His decision will be of great relief to fans of the Canadian national team. Big names like former Bayern Munich and Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves, Bournemouth goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, and Napoli's Jonathan de Guzman all decided against being capped by the Canucks so they could play for England, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Netherlands, respectively.

There was also a delay from Cardiff City winger Junior Hoilett to commit to his homeland while he explored the possibility of representing England. He was ineligible, and finally picked Canada over Jamaica in 2015.

Here's Zambrano's preliminary 40-man squad in full:

Goalkeepers: Milan Borjan (MKS Korona Kielce); Maxime Crepeau (Montreal Impact); Jayson Leutwiler (Shrewsbury Town); Simon Thomas (FK Bodo/Glimt)

Defenders: Dejan Jakovic (New York Cosmos); Manjrekar James (Vasas Budapest); Milovan Kapor (FC ViOn Zlate Moravce); Wandrille Lefevre (Montreal Impact); Adam Straith (FC Edmonton); Steven Vitoria (Lechia Gdansk); Samuel Adekugbe (Brighton Hove & Albion); Juan Cordova (CD Huachipato); Marcel de Jong (Vancouver Whitecaps); Andres Fresenga (Cerro Largo); Nik Ledgerwood (FC Edmonton); Tyler Pasher (Sporting Kansas City)

Midfielders: Fraser Aird (Unattached); Tesho Akindele (FC Dallas); Scott Arfield (Burnley); Kwame Awuah (New York City FC); Patrice Bernier (Montreal Impact); Marco Bustos (Vancouver Whitecaps); David Choiniere (Montreal Impact); Alphonso Davies (Vancouver Whitecaps); Raheem Edwards (Toronto FC); Kianz Froese (Fortuna Dusseldorf); Nicolas Galvis (Unattached); Junior Hoilett (Cardiff City); Will Johnson (Orlando City); Mark-Anthony Kaye (Louisville City); Jonathan Osorio (Toronto FC); Michael Petrasso (Queens Park Rangers) Samuel Piette (CD Izarra); Tosaint Ricketts (Toronto FC); Russell Teibert (Vancouver Whitecaps)

Forwards: Lucas Cavallini (Penarol); Marcus Haber (Dundee); Anthony Jackson-Hamel (Montreal Impact); Simeon Jackson (Walsall); Cyle Larin (Orlando City)