Canada announces CONCACAF Gold Cup roster
Canada’s men’s national team has announced its extended 23-player roster for the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Coach Stephen Hart and his team will meet this week near Los Angeles, CA to begin preparations for the confederation championship which runs this July 3-26 in 13 different American cities.
“I am looking forward to the challenge of another CONCACAF Gold Cup,” says head coach Stephen Hart. “We will have a strong midfield and strong backline.”
In the opening group phase, Canada plays July 3 in Los Angeles against Jamaica, July 7 in Columbus against El Salvador, and July 10 in Miami against Costa Rica. Of the 12 teams in the competition, eight teams advance to the elimination phase. Should Canada advance, it will play in the quarter-final stage on July 18 or 19 in Philadelphia or Dallas, the semi-final stage on July 23 in Chicago, and the final on July 26 in New York.
Two years ago at the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Canada reached the semi-final stage before falling to the eventual champions USA. Canada previously reached the semi-final stage in 2002 and was confederation Gold Cup champions in 2000.
Canada’s extended roster features 11 players from that 2007 team, including 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup most valuable player Julian de Guzman. Three other players have taken part in previous editions of the CONCACAF Gold Cup while nine players could make their CONCACAF Gold Cup debut this July. The “new” players, however, have international experience including the most recent cycle of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.
Paul Stalteri is the most experienced player on the team with 73 career international appearances. Stalteri and Richard Hastings are Canada’s all-time co-leaders with 17 appearances at the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Hastings is the second oldest player on the team, one month younger than goalkeeper Greg Sutton.
Jaime Peters, 22, is the youngest player on the 2009 team. While he didn’t take part in the 2007 edition, he did take part in the 2005 edition when he became Canada’s youngest player at a CONCACAF Gold Cup (he was 17 at the time). Simeon Jackson (also 22), Dejan Jakovic (23) and Joshua Wagenaar (24) come into the tournament with one national appearance to date. Of note, Jackson scored in his debut on May 30 2009 in Larnaka, Cyprus (a 1:0 win over Cyprus).
Stephen Hart is taking part in his second CONCACAF Gold Cup as coach of the men’s national team. Including the most recent 1:0 victory over Cyprus, his record as coach of the national team is six wins, one draw and four losses.
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