D.C. United's Dejan Jakovic earns call up to Canada National Team

D.C. United announced today defender Dejan Jakovic will be part of the Canada National Team that travels to Europe later this month to play a pair of friendlies. Canada, which recently jumped 13 spots to 53rd in the world, will take on Macedonia on November 14 and Poland on November 18. The national side is 4-1-1 in six competitive matches in 2009.

Jakovic has appeared in three games for Canada this year, all coming during the summer in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, where Canada had a respectable quarterfinal showing. The 24-year-old has eight caps for the Canadian National Team in his career.

Jakovic had a breakout first season for D.C. United after signing on Feb. 27. The Croatian-born defender immediately stepped into the starting centerback role for the Black-and-Red and anchored the defense almost the entire year. Jakovic missed a couple of weeks due to sports hernia surgery, but despite the setback, Jakovic played every minute of all 23 games in which he appeared in MLS play. In all competitions, the defender played in 28 games (26 starts) for United.