Forge FC announced Thursday that the club has signed Canadian international striker Lucas Cavallini.
Cavallini, a Toronto native, arrives in Hamilton with plenty of experience, including at the highest level with the Canadian men's national team. The 33-year-old was part of John Herdman's Canada squad at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, where he appeared in the group stage against Croatia. He will be the first player in Canadian Premier League history to have played minutes at a World Cup.
Since making his senior debut in 2012, Cavallini earned 40 caps for Canada, scoring 19 goals — putting him in a tie for fourth among the national team's all-time leading scorers. He was an important part of Canada's 2022 World Cup Qualifying campaign, appearing in 10 matches. He scored five goals in the preliminary qualification stage, including a hat trick against the Cayman Islands.
At club level, Cavallini played most recently in Liga MX for Puebla. He has 37 career goals in the Mexican top flight in 120 matches, split between stints with Puebla and Tijuana. Cavallini also spent six years playing in the Uruguayan Primera División for Nacional, Juventud, Fénix and Peñarol. In his time in Uruguay, he tallied 38 league goals in 108 games, winning a title in 2017 with Peńarol.
This will be Cavallini's second club stint in Canada, following three years in Major League Soccer as a Designated Player with the Vancouver Whitecaps. He helped them win the 2022 Canadian Championship, the first of four in a row the club would go on to take.
"Lucas is a proven goalscorer at the highest levels of our region, and a player who has represented Canada on the biggest stage," said Forge head coach Bobby Smyrniotis in a statement. "He brings a physical presence, a real hunger in the box, and the kind of leadership and international pedigree that raises the standard around our group. We're excited to welcome him to Hamilton."
Cavallini is expected to be immediately available for Forge, who travel this weekend to Calgary for a top-of-the-table clash with Cavalry FC.
