FCE Academy members Shamit Shome and Thomas Shores are joining the Canadian U18 team in Slovakia for a tournament next week.

Jeff Paulus, the Academy’s technical director, notes that both players posses a high soccer IQ and ability to play the possession game that nicely dovetails with the new style of Canadian soccer.

“I like them both as central midfield players, they’re both very technical, but I think both of their strengths lie in what they do without the ball,” Paulus said. “Their movement off the ball, (going) into spaces, playing in between players, in between lines of defenders, is just as good as I’ve seen for kids that age.”

This marks Shores’ first national team experience, while Shome previously participated with Team Canada in France last October.

Both have been with the Academy for three years, and recently played for the Eddies during a pre-season exhibition match in Florida against Jacksonville United of the NPSL.

“To be very honest, and no disrespect to our first-team players, but if you asked a casual observer, ‘Can you pick out the two Academy kids in this group?’ they couldn’t do it,” said Paulus. “That’s how well they fit in.”

The Canadian players arrived in Slovakia on Thursday and will train in advance of their team’s opening match against the host side on Monday. Canada plays China on Tuesday, before concluding its round-robin schedule against Austria on April 23. The championship and third place matches are scheduled for April 24.