Stephen Hart Makes His Peru-Honduras Picks

Canada announces roster for home matches
Coach Stephen Hart has announced his roster for the upcoming Men’s International Friendly series against Peru and Honduras in Toronto and Montréal. Coach Hart has selected 20 players for the two-match series, with the team schedule to meet this coming week in Alliston, ON. Canada plays Peru on 4 September at BMO Field in Toronto and Honduras on 7 September at Stade Saputo in Montréal.

Tickets to both matches are currently on sale to the public. Tickets to the Canada-Peru match at BMO Field are available via Ticketmaster (Ticketmaster.ca / 416.872.5000) while tickets to the Canada-Honduras match at Stade Saputo are available via Admission (ADMISSION.com / 514.790.1245 and 1.800.361.4595).

Canada’s national roster features a mix of veterans and young players that are progressively making their way into the national program. Paul Stalteri is the most experienced player on the roster, having made 81 appearances for his country – one less than the national record held by Randy Samuel. Staleri is also the oldest player on the roster, although he is only 32 years old.

Centre back Adam Straith is the youngest player on the squad at just 19 years of age. Straith is one of several new young players that joined the national team this season. Also new to the national squad this season are centre back Nana Attakora (21 years), goalkeeper Haidar Al-Shaïbani (26) and midfielder Gianluca Zavarise (24).

So far this season, coach Stephen Hart has seen 43 different players in his national camps. Four players are taking part in their first camp of the 2010 season: Patrice Bernier, Iain Hume, Atiba Hutchinson and Kevin McKenna. Three of those players were part of Canada’s 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup team, with only Hume missing the biennial continental championship for injury reasons. Hart’s roster for the pair of home Men’s International Friendly matches features 12 players from last year’s CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Finally, several players have joined new clubs since coach Hart last saw them. Marcel de Jong now plays for FC Augsburg in Germany, Rob Friend now plays for Hertha BSC in Germany, Lars Hirschfeld now plays for Vålerenga Fotball in Norway, Hutchinson now plays for PSV Eindhoven in Netherlands, Simeon Jackson now plays for Norwich City FC in England, and Zavarise now plays for Iraklis FC in Greece.

Canada’s professional players will group in Alliston, ON next week in advance of the two Men’s International Friendly matches. Fifteen players are arriving from Europe while five players are arriving from Major League Soccer, including three from Canada’s Toronto FC (Attakora, Julian de Guzman and Dwayne De Rosario).

Both matches will be broadcast live on Rogers Sportsnet (all regions), with the 4 September match kicking off at 17.30 ET / 14.30 PT and the 7 September match kicking off at 19.30 ET / 16.30 PT.

Canada On Home Soil

Catch Canada battle Peru at BMO Field in Toronto on Saturday September 4th and CONCACAF rival Honduras in Montreal at Stade Saputo on September 7th.

Tickets are now on sale through:

Ticketmaster.com (416.872.500) in Toronto
Admission.com (800.361.4595) in Montreal