Plymouth Argyle forward Bim Pepple has received his first international call-up with Canada, following a terrific season to date.
The 23-year-old has been in fine form in recent times to fire the Pilgrims towards the League One play-off places.
Deserved
Six wins in their last eight matches have seen Plymouth join the increasingly thrilling race for the final two spots in the top six this season. For a side that were bottom of the division in November, their comeback this season has been mightily impressive. And it’s no surprise that Argyle’s rise in the standings has coincided with Pepple’s own excellent showings.
He scored only once before Christmas, partially due to missing most of the final two months of 2025. But after netting a last-gasp equaliser against Wycombe Wanderers at the end of the year, he has started every third-tier match since. Nine goal contributions in his last 10 appearances, including two goals and an assist against the then leaders Cardiff City, have Plymouth just two points adrift of the play-off positions.
Argyle boss Tom Cleverley, speaking to BBC Radio Devon, was pleased that his work had been spotted, even in a lower division.
“For Argyle to be represented by a player playing for a major nation like Canada we’re all so proud of him, his form’s deserved that. Sometimes what happens is because he’s playing in the third tier that can get overlooked, I know how the systems work, but thankfully they’ve seen through that and seen how well he’s performing against strong teams.
“I’m so delighted because he had to prove a lot of people wrong at the start, which he did, and he did that through hard work and belief. Now he’s flourishing and that’s been represented by a call-up for his national team.”
Further Twist
With two tough fixtures on the horizon, it appeared that Pepple would be absent for both. Canada are in action against Iceland next Saturday, which would rule him out of the Pilgrims clash against Bradford City the same day. The North American side then meet Tunisia in Toronto in the early hours of Wednesday morning (UK time). That would also make his participation in the Good Friday clash with Bolton Wanderers highly unlikely.
It did appear that Plymouth’s fixture against Bradford would go ahead next weekend, with Conor Hazard also absent due to international commitments with Northern Ireland. That left them one short of the three required players to be able to call a game off. However, reports are suggesting that Brendan Galloway may be in line for a Zimbabwe call-up. That would then allow Argyle to call off their clash with the Bantams, a game which looks pivotal in the battle for a play-off place.
