FC Edmonton defender Amer Didic made history on Friday, as he became the first Canadian Premier League player to suit up in a match for the Canadian men's national team. Didic was named to John Herdman's starting lineup for Canada's friendly against Barbados in Irvine, California. He lined up in a centre-back pairing with Derek Cornelius of the Vancouver Whitecaps. Fellow CPLers Tristan Borges (Forge FC) and Marco Carducci (Cavalry FC) await their men's national team debuts, which could come in the form of substitute appearances on Friday. The squad, captained by Jonathan Osorio, will also see Zorhan Bassong earn his first cap, and Charles-Andreas Brym his first start. Didic, participating in his fourth national team camp (and third since joining FC Edmonton for their inaugural season), finally earned his first cap after looking on from the sidelines for two camps in October and November 2019. The 25-year-old from Sherwood Park, Alberta caught Herdman's attention last year with his strong defensive play at FC Edmonton. Establishing himself as the Eddies' top central defender, Didic made 20 appearances for his club across all competitions. On top of patrolling the backline defensively, Didic provided three assists in 2019. "Trying to get myself onto the national team was a big factor in my decision to come back and home and play for FC Edmonton in this league," Didic told CanPL.ca in October when he earned his first call-up as an Eddie. "So, this is definitely validating, especially with the last couple of years and how it’s gone for me; it’s very rewarding." Didic's first national team camp was in 2017, while he was with Sporting Kansas City, but he didn't make an appearance for that Octavio Zambrano-led side in their friendly against Jamaica. He also represented Canada at the U-23 level in that same year, playing in two matches at a tournament at Qatar. Canada will try to earn another victory against 162nd-ranked Barbados, as they try to earn FIFA ranking points in order to catch up to El Salvador, and thus win a spot in "the Hex" for Concacaf's World Cup qualification process. They'll close out this January camp next Wednesday as they take on 39th-ranked Iceland. More to come.

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