Kingston Whig-Standard coverage of "Team Canada"

[MikeD]

Nothing really new here, but it's nice to see the match get a decent write up in the local paper.

It does mention that the football goalposts have been removed and the field had to be widened to meet FIFA standards. It also mentions that Belize is scheduled to practice at Richardson Stadium tomorrow.

*****

There's no place like home for soccer's "Team Canada"

By Doug Graham

Friday, June 11, 2004 - 07:00

Local Sports - Soccer’s version of Team Canada hits town today preparing to take the first step in the long trail to the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

Head coach Frank Yallop of Vancouver has selected his 18-man roster for the two-match, total-goal World Cup regional qualifier against Belize.

Yallop and his players will face the media today at a news conference. The Canadian team will practise at Royal Military College at 4 p.m.

Sunday’s 4:30 p.m. game at Richardson Stadium will mark the first time Canada has played at home in four years. Tickets are almost sold out.

With nine of the roster players from Ontario, including strikers Paul Peschisolido of Pickering, Toronto’s Tomasz Radzinski and Dwayne de Rosario of Scarborough, the game will be the first chance for many family and friends to see the players perform internationally.

“The whole squad is very much looking forward to playing our first game at home in quite some time,” said Yallop while the team was finishing three days of practice at Carleton University in Ottawa.

“We’ve had two weeks of good preparation. It’s good to have the roster set for the upcoming qualifiers,’’ Yallop said.

The Canadians are coming off a 3-1 win over San Jose Earthquakes last Saturday. San Jose was the team Yallop coached to Major Soccer League championships in 2001 and 2003.

Canada, which dropped two spots to No. 95 in the FIFA world rankings released yesterday, lost 1-0 to Wales in another tuneup for the World Cup run. It’s Canada’s lowest ranking since August 1997 when it was ranked 97th.

Belize dropped one spot to No. 180.

Canada stands 10th in CONCACAF, which represents North and Central America and the Caribbean.

All 16 players who played against San Jose are on the roster for the World Cup series against Belize. The most recent addition is defender Mark Watson, who missed the San Jose game while playing for Charleston Battery. He joined the Canadian squad on Tuesday.

Yesterday, midfielder Patrice Bernier of Montreal arrived from Norway, where he was playing a cup game for Moss FK.

The field at Richardson Stadium has been reconfigured to meet with FIFA standards. More than 100 square metres of sod was used to bring the playing surface to the required width. The football goal posts also had to be removed.

Canada and Belize will have only once practice on the Richardson Stadium field before Sunday’s game. Both teams are scheduled for practices tomorrow. Canada goes first at 10 a.m.