Canadians in Europe: Koleosho leads Burnley to victory
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Luca Koleosho earned three points for Burnley, while Derek Cornelius saw red for Marseille and Oumar Diallo made his debut in Austria. Here's a look at Canadians in Europe over the weekend.
Luca Koleosho, Burnley - After this summer's Copa America, Canada manager Jesse Marsch said that one of his goals heading into the 2026 World Cup is getting players with multiple international eligibilities to commit to Canada. He was successful with one already last month when Burnaby, BC-born Croatia under-21 Niko Sigur switched allegiances to Canada and made his competitive debut in Canada's 0-0 draw with Mexico last week. Another player who is undoubtedly on Marsch's list is Burnley winger Luca Koleosho. Getting Koleosho to commit won't be an easy task, but it's easy to see why Canada wants this 20-year-old winger to suit up for the national team. A native of Norwalk, CT, Koleosho has not been capped by a senior side. On top of the United States, Koleosho is eligible to play for Nigeria through his father and Canada and Italy through his mother. After playing for the US at the under-15 level, Koleosho has since represented the Azzurri at under-19, under-20 and under-21 levels. On three different occasions, Koleosho has been called up to Canada senior squads, but has not dressed. After 15 appearances last season in the Clarets' Premier League campaign that saw them get relegated, Koleosho has already emerged as a key component in new manager Scott Parker's Championship squad, starting four of five league matches to date, as Burnley looks to return to the top flight. On Saturday away to Leeds, it was Koleosho who scored the match's only goal. But he was almost a villain only seconds into the match. Koleosho gave the ball away cheaply at midfield and this allowed Mateo Joseph to run in alone at goal as Koleosho desperately gave chase. James Trafford came out to cut the angle in the Clarets' goal and Joseph managed to shank his shot wide, letting Koleosho off the hook. He made up for it in the 18th. After a Leeds attack was repelled, Manor Solomon slipped and ceded possession to Koleosho on the left. With only Jayden Bogle back, Koleosho ran into the box and dragged a low shot past Illan Meslier and into the net to make it 1-0. It was Koleosho's second goal of the young season. The match would finish on that scoreline. Through five matches, the Clarets sit in fifth place in the table on 10 points, three behind leaders West Brom.
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Derek Cornelius and Ismaël Koné, Marseille - The transition to playing in a new league is often fraught with struggle for players getting used to the intricacies of how the game is played there compared to where they've plied their trade in the past. That was evident in more ways than one on Saturday when Marseille played host to Nice in Matchweek 4 competition in Ligue 1. That match was to have featured the rarity of Canadians facing off against one another with OM's Derek Cornelius and Ismaël Koné taking on countryman Moïse Bombito, but that wasn't to be. Bombito, in his first season with Nice after a transfer from Colorado Rapids, was sent off in the team's 4-1 victory over Angers on Sept. 1. As such, he was suspended for Saturday's game. Cornelius got the start for Roberto De Zerbi's side with Koné on the bench. After a first half that was mostly devoid of good chances, it was a former Nice player who got the hosts on the board in the 40th. Luis Henrique's lofted cross into the area took a big deflection leaving Neal Maupay, on loan from Everton, first to it to head home past Marcin Bulba to make it 1-0. Under 10 minutes into the second half, OM would be up two goals to the good. After a fine give and go with Amine Harit, Henrique unleashed a fine curling effort past Bulba to make it 2-0 in the 53rd. Twenty minutes later, Cornelius would find himself in some trouble and neither he, nor the fans could believe it. In the 63rd, Cornelius went into the book for a hard challenge on Mohamed-Ali Cho. Then in the 74th, Nice's Ali Abdi was cautioned for fouling Jonathan Rowe in the Marseille half. Cornelius stood over the subsequent free kick and took too long for the referee's liking. He reached into his pocket and showed Cornelius a second yellow for time wasting and ended his afternoon. The Ajax, Ont. native was in complete disbelief as he left the field. Cornelius finished his match completing 66 of 70 pass attempts, a block and a tackle. Luckily for OM, Nice couldn't make anything happen with the man advantage and the match finished at 2-0. Koné came on for a 19-minute shift, replacing Harit. In his time on the pitch, Koné completed seven of nine passes and made a pair of blocks. The victory kept Marseille undefeated and in second place on 10 points, two behind leaders Paris Saint-Germain.
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Oumar Diallo, LASK - Perhaps not a name you're yet familiar with, but another Canadian made his professional debut on the weekend in Austria's Bundesliga. Toronto's Oumar Diallo suited up for the first time for the Linz-based Linzer Athletik-Sport-Klub, better known as LASK, on Saturday in a derby match against Blau-Weiß Linz. The 19-year-old centre forward had previously been a part of the Inter under-18 side. He joined the Austrian side in June. Among others on LASK alongside Diallo are United States left-back George Bello and World Cup-winning defender Jerome Boateng, formerly of Bayern Munich and Manchester City. Internationally, Diallo has made six appearances for the Canada under-20 side. On Saturday, he received his first taste of senior football, coming on the pitch in the 78th minute in place of former Serbia midfielder Branko Jovicic with LASK trailing 1-0 on a 16th-minute goal from Ronivaldo. Diallo's time on the pitch was relatively uneventful, but he did make a successful tackle in his senior debut. LASK would go on to lose the match 1-0 to continue a tough start to the season. Through six matches, LASK has only won once. Still, Diallo's debut with the first team is a hopeful sign of more opportunities to come.