When Chinese Taipei takes on Australia in a World Cup Qualification matchup a week from now, Emilio Estevez will be with the national team – though whether he makes his debut remains to be seen.

The 21-year-old creative midfielder is a month away from wrapping up his first year of tier one professional action after having impressed York9 FC gaffer Jim Brennan at the Got Game Open Trials in Toronto and being picked up by the York Region club.

Prior to 2019, Estevez had played for League1 Ontario side North Mississauga SC and the CSL’s SC Waterloo Region after having trialed with the likes of Queens Park Rangers and Levante.

Hailing from Etobicoke, Emilio has made twenty appearances for York9 FC in his rookie season, registering a goal and an assist during his 801 minutes of professional action. Brennan has typically deployed him as a late game substitute, with his tricky footwork giving tired defenders a run for their money.

Estevez, who is eligible to represent Chinese Taipei through his mother, has been called up to the national team twice before: once in 2018, and once shortly after signing for York9 FC. He didn’t play in either game, meaning a high profile debut against Australia would finally cap-tie the 21-year-old to Chinese Taipei.

While York9 FC gaffer Jim Brennan stated that many of his players are now fighting to keep their roster spots for next year, Emilio’s position appears to be safe: recently, the Nine Stripes boss touched on the youngster’s development in his first year of professional football and mentioned that the club will be working to prepare the midfielder for 2020.

He’s still developing. It’s his first real year, but he’s had some great games. In the offseason, we’ll have to do a lot of work with him and get him ready for a good season next year. Jim Brennan

Estevez won’t be the only member of the Nine Stripes with international duty in the near future: 26-year-old defender Justin Springer has been called up to the Saint Kitts and Nevis national team, making his first appearance for the Sugar Boyz since mid-April.

York9 FC will play out the final 905 Derby of the season when it hosts Canadian Premier League finalists Forge FC at York Lions Stadium this Saturday. With Estevez and Springer expected to be away on international duty (with Telfer a possibility as well), the home side will need to play smartly if it wants to secure a first-ever win against the hammer.

The Canadian Premier League is beginning to see several players earn international call-ups, with Halifax’s Akeem Garcia and Abd-El-Aziz Yousef recently both getting national calls, Amer Didic and Marco Carducci being selected by Canada, Quillan Roberts featuring for Guyana, and Ryan Telfer now representing Trinidad and Tobago.

Chinese Taipei will take on Australia this Tuesday, October 15, 2019 at 7:40AM EST in the second round of the World Cup Qualifiers. Having suffered two straight losses, Chinese Taipei finds itself at the bottom of its group, which includes Kuwait, Australia, Jordan, and Nepal.