Former Arsenal academy player Marcelo Flores made his debut for Canada this weekend, switching from Mexico and explaining that he feels more at home with his new national team.
Former Arsenal youngster Marcelo Flores recently settled his international future by formally making the switch from Mexico to Canada.
Flores had represented Mexico (his father’s country) three times at senior level, but given his age at the time of those appearances, he was still eligible for a one-time international switch to either Canada (his birthplace), or England (his mother’s country).
The 22-year-old ended up choosing Canada, and he made his debut for the team on Saturday.
Coming on in a friendly match against Iceland, with Canada 2-0 down at the time of his substitution, Flores helped his new national team to turn things around for 2-2.
It might even have finished in a Canada win, if not for a red card to Tajon Buchanan in the 80th minute. Even so, it was a positive debut experience for Flores overall.
“It’s an honour,” Flores told One Soccer. “I came out to enjoy myself most importantly, and yeah, it was a tough result, 2-2, we got back in the game…but we did our best and it feels great to finally have my first debut.
“I loved all the fans and everything there, it was amazing. I feel like my style really fits into the Canadian system and exactly what (head coach) Jesse [Marsch] asked for, obviously I just need a little bit more adjustment, but he’s been helping me out a lot with that.”
Before the game, Flores had also spoken to One Soccer about his decision to switch from the Mexico national team to Canada, saying: “I was always in the Mexican system, since I was like 15, I’ve only ever been with them.
“[But] the little time that I spent here in Canada felt way more like me being at home than it did [for] me all those years in Mexico with that team.
“Not saying anything bad about the team and all that, but I feel like it also is like a cultural thing that doesn’t match with me, like my style, and the bond I felt between each national team.
“To make the decision, obviously it’s not easy, you know? But you gotta go where you feel is right, and I felt like here was right.”