FC Edmonton midfielder Hanson Boakai has been selected to play for Canada’s under-23 team in the 2015 CONCACAF men’s Olympic qualifier in the United States from Oct. 1-13.

Boakai, 18, who has scored one goal in 12 North American Soccer League appearances this season, also played on the national team in the recent Pan American Games in Toronto. An exciting player on the field, he is only five-foot-four, 148 pounds.

Eight teams are playing in the Olympic qualifier, with the top two teams advancing to the 2016 Olympic Games at Rio de Janeiro while the third-best team will get another chance in an intercontinental playoff at a later date.

Canada’s games are against the United States on Oct. 1 and Panama on Oct. 3, both at Kansas City, and Cuba on Oct. 6 at Commerce City, Colo.