KC Reporter

Sporting Kansas City midfielder Zorhan Bassong has been called up to the Canada Men’s National Team for two friendly matches in Europe during the September FIFA international window. The Canadian squad will play Romania on September 5 at Arena Națională in Bucharest and Wales on September 9 at Swansea.com Stadium in Swansea.

Before departing for international duty, Bassong is expected to be available for Sporting Kansas City's upcoming match against the Colorado Rapids this Saturday. The Western Conference fixture is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. CT, with tickets offered through SeatGeek.com and live coverage provided on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV.

Bassong's selection follows his participation with Canada at the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup earlier this summer. He made two appearances during the group stage, contributing to a 6-0 win over Honduras and playing a full match at left back in a 1-1 draw with Curacao. Prior to the tournament, he also started in a friendly victory over Ukraine on June 7 in Toronto.

Canada, led by head coach Jesse Marsch, has secured automatic qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup as one of the host nations alongside the United States and Mexico. The team is currently ranked 28th by FIFA and will face No. 48 Romania and No. 31 Wales during their European trip.

In his second season with Sporting Kansas City, Bassong has started in 14 of his 21 appearances across all competitions so far in 2025. He scored his first professional goal against FC Cincinnati on April 26 and has registered three assists this year, including recent contributions against New England Revolution, Houston Dynamo FC, and Seattle Sounders FC. On August 16, he wore the captain’s armband for Sporting Kansas City for the first time during a match against Orlando City SC.

Bassong is versatile on the field, able to play both central midfield and left back positions. In his debut season with Sporting Kansas City in 2024, he played primarily as a left back before moving into central midfield last August and helping lead Kansas City to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final that September.

Born in Toronto and raised in Montreal, Bassong moved to Belgium as a youth player to join Mouscron’s academy—where current teammate Logan Ndenbe also played—before continuing his development at Anderlecht and Lille academies. He began his professional career with Lille B from 2016-2019 before joining Cercle Brugge in Belgium.

Bassong later spent two seasons with CF Montreal starting in early 2021, making significant contributions including an assist during Montreal’s successful run to win the Canadian Championship that year. In total, he appeared regularly for Montreal across domestic league matches as well as continental competitions such as the Concacaf Champions League.

In 2023, Bassong played for Romanian clubs Arges Pitesti and Farul Constanta before signing with Sporting Kansas City on December 12, 2023.

"Sporting Kansas City midfielder Zorhan Bassong has been selected to the Canada Men’s National Team for two friendly matches during the FIFA international window in September. Bassong and Canada will travel to face Romania on Sept. 5 at Arena Națională in Bucharest before visiting Wales on Sept. 9 at Swansea.com Stadium in Swansea."

"Prior to joining Canada, Bassong will be available for selection on Saturday when Sporting hosts the Colorado Rapids. The Western Conference clash will kick off at 7:30 p.m. CT with tickets available at SeatGeek.com and live coverage on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV."

"Bassong will return to Canada after competing for the Reds at the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup earlier this summer. He made two tournament appearances in the group stage, helping the team to an emphatic 6-0 victory over Honduras and playing the full 90 minutes at left back in a 1-1 draw against Curacao. Bassong was a late addition to Canada’s Gold Cup squad, having previously started in a 4-2 friendly win over Ukraine on June 7 in Toronto."

"Led by head coach Jesse Marsch, Canada has automatically qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup as a co-host alongside the United States and Mexico. The Reds are 28th in the latest FIFA rankings and will meet No. 48 Romania and No. 31 Wales during their voyage overseas."

"Bassong has enjoyed a strong second season with Sporting in 2025, starting in 14 of 21 appearances across all competitions. He scored his first professional goal at FC Cincinnati on April 26 and recorded assists in a 3-3 home draw against the New England Revolution on May 24 and a 3-1 road win at Houston Dynamo FC on May 31. Bassong donned the captain’s armband for the first time on Aug.16 at Orlando City SC and added his third assist of the year on Sunday at Seattle Sounders FC."

"Capable of playing as a central midfielder or a left back, Bassong played25 competitive matchesin his debut seasonfor Sportingin2024.He loggedhisfirst17appearancesatleftbackbeforetransitioningtoacentralmidfieldrolelastAugustandhelpingKansasCityreachtheLamarHuntU.S.OpenCupFinallastSeptember."

"BorninTorontoandraisedinMontreal,BassongmovedtoBelgiumin2013tojointheMouscronacademy,wherellowSportingleftbackLoganNdenbealsocompetedasayouthplayer.BassongfurtheredhisdevelopmentintheheraldedacademysystemsatBelgiansideAnderlechtandFrenchclubLille,beginninghisprofessionalcareeratthelatterin2016."

"InthreeyearswithLilleBfrom2016-2019,Bassonglogged31appearancesandover2,100minutes.HejoinedBelgianoutfitCercleBruggeinJanuary2019andlefttheclubinJuly2020."

"Bassongenjoyedatwo-yearMLSstintwithCFMontrealthatbeganinearly2021.Heplayed26regularseasonmatchesinhisdebutMLScampaignandaddedanassistinMontreal’sruntohe2021CanadianChampionshiptitleappearingineverymatchofthetournament.Bassonplayed14morematchesinalcompetitionshefollowingyear—includingtwointhe2022ConcacafChampionsLeagueandtwointheCanadianChampionship—ashehelpedMontrealsetaclubrecordforregularseasonwins(20)andpoints(65)."

"FollowinghistimewithMontreal,Bassongspent2023withtwoRomanianclubsArgesPitesti(10matches)andFarulConstanta(twomatches).HesignedforSportingonDec12,2023."