Tristan Borges
FullnameTristan Daniel Borges
Birth dateAugust 26, 1998 (age 28)
Birth placeToronto, Ontario, Canada
Height1.70 m
PositionMidfielder
CurrentclubForge FC
Clubnumber19
Youthyears 12004–?
Youthclubs 1Vaughan SC
Youthyears 2–2010
Youthclubs 2Kleinburg-Nobleton SC
Youthyears 32011–2015
Youthclubs 3West Toronto United
Youthyears 42015
Youthclubs 4Toronto FC
Youthyears 52016–2018
Youthclubs 5Heerenveen
Years 12015
Clubs 1Toronto FC III
Goals 16
Years 22018
Clubs 2Sigma FC
Caps 27
Goals 21
Years 32019
Clubs 3Forge FC
Caps 325
Goals 312
Years 42020–2022
Clubs 4OH Leuven
Caps 44
Goals 40
Years 52021–2022
Clubs 5→ Forge FC (loan)
Caps 532
Goals 58
Years 62022–
Clubs 6Forge FC
Caps 685
Goals 614
Nationalyears 12014–2015
Nationalteam 1Canada U17
Nationalcaps 16
Nationalgoals 11
Nationalyears 22015–2017
Nationalteam 2Canada U20
Nationalcaps 23
Nationalgoals 20
Nationalyears 32020
Nationalteam 3Canada
Nationalcaps 31
Nationalgoals 30
Club-updateNovember 3, 2024
NtupdateJanuary 10, 2020

Tristan Daniel Borges (born August 26, 1998) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Canadian Premier League club Forge FC.

Early life

Borges began playing youth soccer with Vaughan SC, later moving on to Kleinburg-Nobleton SC followed by West Toronto SC.[1] In 2015, he joined the Toronto FC Academy.[2] He is of Portuguese descent and holds a European passport.[3]

Playing career

Semi-professional and U21

In 2015, he played in League1 Ontario with Toronto FC III. He scored his first goal on July 4 against ANB Futbol.[4] Over the course of the season, he scored six goals.[5]

From early 2016 until summer 2018, Borges was a member of the youth academy of Dutch Eredivisie club SC Heerenveen where he played for the U21 team.[6][7][2]

After leaving Heerenveen in summer 2018, Borges returned to Canada and signed with League1 Ontario side Sigma FC in September of that year.[8]

Professional

On January 10, 2019, Borges signed his first professional contract with Canadian Premier League side Forge FC. He made his debut in the inaugural CPL match against York9 FC on April 27, 2019.[9] He scored the winning goal in the first leg of the CPL Finals, before being sent off. Forge appealed the red card to the Canadian Soccer Association and it was rescinded, allowing Borges to play in the second leg, which also ended in a 1–0 victory.[10] Borges was a standout in the CPL's inaugural season, winning the Golden Boot, with 13 goals,[11] and sharing in a six-way tie for most assists, with five.[12] In November 2019, Borges was announced as both the CPL Player of the Year and best Canadian U-21 player.[13]

On January 22, 2020, Borges was transferred to Belgian First Division B side Oud-Heverlee Leuven for a fee reported to be "between $300,000 and $500,000", signing a contract until summer 2022.[14][15][16] He made his debut on February 1 against Roeselare.[17]

On March 5, 2021, after receiving limited playing time for OH Leuven, Borges was loaned back to Forge FC for the 2021 Canadian Premier League season.[18] His loan was later extended in February 2022.[19][20] Upon the expiry of his contract with Leuven and thus his Forge loan, he remained with Forge for the remainder of the season.[21] In October 2023, Borges helped Forge win their fourth league title, scoring an Olympico goal to seal a 2–1 win over Cavalry FC in the play-off final.[22] At the end of the 2024 season, he was named the 2024 CPL Player of the Year, becoming the first player to win the award twice.[23][24]

International career

Youth

Borges received his first Canadian youth national team call-up in August 2014 for an under-17 friendly tournament in Mexico.[2] He participated in several other under-17 camps in the fall and winter of 2014–15 and was subsequently called up for the 2015 CONCACAF U-17 Championship.[2] Borges made six appearances in the tournament and scored Canada's lone goal in a 1–1 draw against Mexico.[2]

Beginning in September 2015, Borges participated in several under-20 team camps in the lead-up to the 2017 CONCACAF U-20 Championship.[2] At that tournament, he made three appearances for Canada and assisted on a goal in a 2–0 win over Antigua and Barbuda.[2]

In January 2018, Borges was called up for a Canadian under-23 camp in the United States.[2] In February 2020, Borges was named to the Canadian U-23 provisional roster for the 2020 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship.[25]

Senior

In January 2020, Borges was called up to the Canadian senior team ahead of friendlies against Barbados and Iceland.[26] He made his debut as a substitute on January 10 against Barbados.[2]

Career statistics

[9]

Club statistics
ClubSeasonLeaguePlayoffsNational Cup[a]Continental[b]Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Sigma FC2018[8]League1 Ontario7131——102
Forge FC2019Canadian Premier League25122120403313
OH Leuven2019–20Belgian First Division B40—00—40
2020–21Belgian First Division A00—00—00
Forge FC (on loan)2021Canadian Premier League243202061344
202285—3[c]020135
Forge FC15120——171
20232611130—302
2024238205020328
2025214204120295
Total217229117112115525
Career total1533514319116120240

  1. ^ Includes appearances in the Canadian Championship
  2. ^ Includes appearances in CONCACAF League and CONCACAF Champions League
  3. ^ Includes appearance in the 2020 Canadian Championship final (played in 2022).

Canada National Team
YearAppsGoals
202010

Honours

Forge FC

Individual

References

  1. ^ Lee, Kendra (October 17, 2015). "Get To Know A National Team Player: Tristan Borges". Canadian Soccer News
  2. ^ "Tristan Borges". Canadian Soccer Association. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  3. ^ "Forge FC sells star MF Borges to Belgian team - TSN.ca". TSN. The Canadian Press. January 22, 2020.
  4. ^ "ANB Futbol 3 - Toronto FC Academy 1". League1 Ontario. July 6, 2015.
  5. ^ "Scoring Leaders". League1 Ontario. Archived from the original on January 15, 2016.
  6. ^ Neil Davidson (March 16, 2016). "Alphonso Davies joins Canada's U-20 soccer team". CBC. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  7. ^ "Forge FC signs former SC Heerenveen and Canada youth player Tristan Borges". Canadian Premier League. January 10, 2019. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  8. ^ "Tristan Borges 2018 L1O Stats". League1 Ontario. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  9. ^ "Tristan Borges". Soccerway. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  10. ^ "Forge FC's Tristan Borges wins appeal, will play 2nd leg of final - Sportsnet.ca". www.sportsnet.ca. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  11. ^ Thompson, Marty (November 2, 2019). "Tristan Borges seals CPL Golden Boot in Leg 2 of Finals 2019". Canadian Premier League. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
  12. ^ "League Leaders". Canadian Premier League. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
  13. ^ "Forge FC's Tristan Borges wins CPL's Player of the Year award". Canadian Premier League. November 26, 2019. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  14. ^ "Borges Transferred to OH Leuven". Forge FC. January 22, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  15. ^ "OHL strikt Canadees toptalent" (in Dutch). OH Leuven. January 22, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  16. ^ "Forge FC's Tristan Borges sold to Belgian club in historic transfer (EN/FR)". Canadian Premier League. January 22, 2020. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  17. ^ "Mercier dirigeert OHL naar thuisoverwinning". February 1, 2020.
  18. ^ "Forge FC acquires Borges on loan from OH Leuven". Forge FC. March 5, 2021. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
  19. ^ "Forge FC extends loan of standout attacker Borges". Forge FC. February 14, 2022. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
  20. ^ Jacques, John (February 14, 2022). "Borges Is Back: Forge Secures Loan Extension". Northern Tribune
  21. ^ Jacques, John (July 3, 2022). "'Actions Speak Louder Than Words': Borges Confident In Forge Rise". Northern Tribune
  22. ^ Wharnsby, Tim (28 October 2023). "Borges scores 'Olimpico' goal as Forge FC completes comeback to win 4th CPL title". CBC Sports. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  23. ^ O'Connor-Clarke, Charlie (November 7, 2024). "Forge FC midfielder Tristan Borges named 2024 CPL Player of the Year". Canadian Premier League
  24. ^ Milton, Steve (November 8, 2024). "Borges first repeat Player of Year; Smyrniotis finally named coach of the year; Poku chosen top U-21". Forge FC
  25. ^ "Canada Soccer announces Provisional List for Concacaf Men's Olympic Qualifying". Canada Soccer. February 26, 2020. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
  26. ^ Jacques, John (January 3, 2020). "Tristan Borges Called Up To Canada National Team Ahead Of Three Friendlies"