Timbers defender Zac McGraw highlights CanMNT's Gold Cup provisional squad

The 56-player provisional list for the Canadian men's national team's 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup roster has been revealed, with yet another surprise dual-national being named, as John Herdman identified Portland Timbers centre-back Zac McGraw as a potential CanMNT option.

McGraw, 25, has quietly emerged as a key piece to the Timbers' backline in MLS this season, makign 14 appearances and scoring one goal thus far this season. The 6-foot-4 central defender was born and raised in California and came through the FC Golden State system before joining the Timbers as the 68th overall pick of the 2020 MLS SuperDraft.

He, alongside Columbus Crew midfielder Aidan Morris, represents the latest unearthed potential Canadian internationals.

Here is the #CanMNT preliminary roster for the upcoming 2023 Gold Cup!🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/dEU4vpHW5c

— Josh Deming (@tv_jjd) June 1, 2023

While the rest of Canada's usual brotherhood have made the first list, expect the Canadian Gold Cup team to feature plenty of new faces, as well as a few absent stars, as Alphonso Davies will reportedly not be participating in the competition, and Herdman already hinting that others like Jonathan David may be left out as they recover from their European campaigns and potentially establish themselves in new club environments during the summer transfer window.

Important note for the Gold Cup - any player who makes the final squad is automatically cap-tied for their team, so worth noting if any of these names do make the GC team next month#CanMNT

— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) June 1, 2023