Canada's first ever taste of the Copa America this summer was a memorable one as Alistair Johnston and his teammates reached the semi-finals, losing 2-0 to Argentina with Lionel Messi on the scoresheet.

The Celtic full-back was so good throughout his nation's time in the competition that he was even named in the tournament's top XI.

"It was amazing," said Johnston. "There's something special about representing your country, especially in a major tournament like that. It's always been one of those ones you watch growing up.

"There's the World Cup, then the next tier down is the Euros and Copa America. It was cool to be a part of that. To go out there and test yourself against some of the biggest and best football nations like Argentina, was pretty special.

"It bodes really well, building into hosting a World Cup in 2026. You want to be playing in as many big tournaments as possible to get that learning experience under the belt.

"We showed progression from where we were in the 2022 World Cup. It was really positive for us. It was a really exciting and enjoyable summer."

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Johnston added: "It's a special honour to look at a tournament XI and see your name playing right back behind Messi at right wing! At the same time, it really could have been anyone in our team that got into that best XI.

"So many guys had monster tournaments, especially in our back line. It felt like it could have been any of us.

"It was obviously nice to get that honour. At the same time, it's just an honour - I would have definitely traded that for a chance to play in the final.

"Overall, our performance was a sign and a bit of an eye opener to people, maybe in South America too, that Canada is not just a hockey nation.

"Often, even in North America, we're labelled as that. So, to show South American teams that we can go toe-to-toe with them and we can beat some of their best sides, I think was really cool.

"To get that recognition of being in a best XI, only solidifies that."