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The 27-year-old winger from Elmira, Ont., Was selected for Canada in 2015 by Benito Floro and in 2017 by Octavio Zambrano. But he never saw any game action.
It wasn’t until John Herdman sent him off the bench against Haiti on July 15 at the Gold Cup that he got his first senior selection.
“(It was) a little surreal in a way,” Pasher, a former Canadian junior international, said of his senior debut. “I got to the point in my career where I didn’t think it would be a possibility. So the fact that I was able to prove myself wrong, and really dig deep and rectify and get back to that kind of level, definitely gave me a lot more inspiration to keep pushing.
The Houston Dynamo winger won his second selection off the bench against the United States last Sunday and can add to his tally on Sunday when the 70th-seeded Canadian men take on No.50 Costa Rica in the quarter-finals of the Gold Cup at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The Canadians (2-1-0) finished second to the United States in Group B, beating Martinique and Haiti both by a score of 4-1 before losing 1-0 to the Americans in Kansas City. . The loss to the 20th-ranked Americans ended Canada’s eight-game winning streak in 2021.
Costa Rica (3-0-0) won Group C on Tuesday with a 1-0 victory over Jamaica in a game delayed by more than two hours by bad weather in Orlando.
Pasher got his last call-up after turning heads in his debut season with Dynamo, recording three goals and three assists in eight games.
But his journey in football began when he was a child with Newcastle United in England. Growing up, Pasher worked with coach Eddie Edgar, the father of former Canadian international David Edgar.
David Edgar was with Newcastle and his father sometimes took local players to train with Newcastle academy.
“I happened to take one of the trips and I kept inviting myself again. They took a real interest in me, ”Pasher said.
He spent seven years training in Newcastle, during the school holidays. But the work permit and personal problems brought him back to Canada where he joined the TFC academy.
He made a first-team appearance in July 2012 in Toronto’s friendly against Liverpool in England at Rogers Center and wore the captain’s armband in the second half.
Upon leaving TFC, he signed at the age of 18 with the Kemi Kings of Finland, now known as Kemi City FC.
“It definitely built a lot of character in me, just to realize what it was like to play professionally in another country and far, far from home,” he said. “It was really tough… There was a lot of downtime on your own. It wasn’t easy, I’ll tell you.
He returned to North America, moving from Lansing United and the Pittsburgh Riverhounds to Swope Park Rangers, the Sporting Kansas City branch now known as Sporting Kansas City 2.
Moving on to the first team, Pasher made an appearance for Sporting Kansas City in 2017, but his option was turned down after the season.
Pasher moved to USL and rebuilt his career with Indy Eleven, scoring 23 goals and six assists in 50 appearances – 10 goals and two assists in 15 appearances in 2020.
“It gave me the opportunity to express myself in a different way than what was perceived in the past,” said Pasher, who had asked previous clubs to turn him into a defender. “I just wanted to take full advantage of it. I said ‘You know what? I have nothing to lose at the end of the day, so you might as well give it all away and see what happens.
His Indy Eleven exploits caught the attention of Houston. Pasher had lengthy discussions with Dynamo head coach Tab Ramos about his role before signing.
Herdman, who calls the Dynamo winger a “humble man who fought for everything,” said Pasher was disappointed after the game against the United States, thinking he had played it too cautiously.
“Understandably, his first game in a while,” he said. “For guys who had to fight so hard to get somewhere, sometimes it’s that fear of risking everything on that one roll of the dice and throwing everything there.
“So for him, this tournament, his next opportunity, I expect to see more of him. And he will have to show more to keep pushing to be part of a very talented group. But his club form has certainly put him in a position where he has trusted the coaching staff to be a guy we think we can count on in this tournament at the right time.
The Canadian men lost Ayo Akinola and Cyle Larin for the tournament after injuries during the game with American Herdman called Tesho Akindele as an emergency replacement, with the Orlando City veteran joining Pasher, Lucas Cavallini, Theo Corbeanu, Junior Hoilett and Tajon Buchanan. as options in advance.
Canada’s record against Costa Rica is 5-7-9, with victories for both teams hard to come by in recent years. The Canadian men are winless in five (0-1-4) against the Costa Ricans.
The teams drew 1-1 in their last meeting in Houston in the 2017 Gold Cup. Canada hasn’t recorded a win since the 2007 Gold Cup, a 2-1 decision at the Orange Bowl thanks to a pair of goals from Julian de Guzman.
“For us, it’s another part of the journey. And if we want to pass the next round, we have beaten Costa Rica and we have to find a way. So whatever the stadium, whatever the crowd, we’re just going to go out there and play like it’s our last game on the planet, ”Herdman said.
The Canada-Costa Rica winner will face Mexico (11th) or Honduras 67th in the semi-final next Thursday.
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