Canada - Panama Pre Match Thread

[Winnipeg Fury]

Canada will juggle roster for Panama friendly

By Jim Morris, THE CANADIAN PRESS

Partly by necessity, partly by desire, national team coach Dale Mitchell will be juggling his roster when Canada plays Panama Wednesday night in an international friendly in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Midfielder Dwayne De Rosario and goalkeeper Pat Onstad both returned to their MSL team in Houston following Canada's 3-2 loss to Brazil Saturday night. That means defender Jim Brennan, of Toronto FC of the MSL, and forward Ali Gerba, who plays for FC Ingolstadt in Germany, will be added to the lineup.

Mitchell will also be without midfielder Julian de Guzman who scored a goal against Brazil and was one of the best Canadians on the pitch. De Guzman, who plays in the Spanish first division, returned to Toronto with a leg injury but Mitchell was reluctant to give out too much information.

He stuck to the hockey diagnosis of a "lower body injury."

"He's been checked out by medical people in Toronto," Mitchell said in a telephone interview Tuesday. "We don't have a detailed report.

"My understanding right now is it's not that serious an injury. We hope he will be joining the team when we get back together on June 8."

The game against Panama will lack the atmosphere and excitement of Saturday's match in Seattle, where a crowd of over 47,000 watched Canada come close to tying the No. 2-ranked team in the world.

But Mitchell warned his team, ranked 62nd in the world by FIFA, can't take Panama, ranked 67th, lightly

"They are an up-and-coming CONCACAF country," said Mitchell. "They are preparing for (World Cup) qualifying like ourselves. They have an athletic team that is on the rise.

"They have done well at the last couple of under-20 World championships. They are starting to see the benefits of that. They have players scattered across leagues and various parts of the world. They'll give us a good test."

The Panama game will also help Mitchell decide his roster for Canada's World Cup qualifying series against St. Vincent & the Grenadines. Mitchell is anxious to take another look at some players in certain positions.

"I want to see some of the guys I didn't see for very long against Brazil," he said. "We've seen these guys in training. We want to give them an international game because that's the best way to judge.

"It won't be easy because there is a good squad of players within Canada now. We are going to have a few tough choices to make. We're confident we are going to have a good group. There will be some people outside the 18-man initial roster that will play a part in the qualifying process if it goes as long as we hope it will."

The increase in Canadian talent means Mitchell has more players to select from.

"Players are always on the bubble at this level," he said. "When you've got a good group of players, when you have more than 18 that can help you, there are people that are going to be on the bubble.

"That is the nature of having a team at this level."

Canada opens its series against St. Vincent and the Grenadines June 15 in Kingstown. The second game will be played June 20 at the Saputo Stadium in Montreal.

A win in that series moves Canada into a group which will likely include Mexico, Honduras and Jamaica. Only two teams will advance.

Mitchell planned to fly to Jamaica Tuesday night to watch St. Vincent and the Grenadines play. He's never seen the side live and said it's difficult to find any tape of the team because they rarely play on television.

"St. Vincent and the Grenadines are our focus for the next couple of weeks," he said. "We want to be diligent about passing that test."

[Winnipeg Fury]

Reggae Boyz Whips St Vincent and the Grenadines 5-1

June 3, 2008

Technical director Rene Simoes seems to have found a good combination and formation for the Reggae Boyz as they defeated St Vincent and the Grenadines 5-1 in an international friendly here today at the National Stadium in Jamaica.

Playing in front of a packed house, the Reggae Boyz put on a good display of teamwork that had their opponents on the back pedal for most of the game. Jamaica went ahead at the 17 minute mark with a nice pass from Marlon King to Demar Phillips who scored from a left foot strike. The Boyz kept up the attack playing with pace and determination that earned them 5 corners in the first 25 minutes.

The second goal came by way of Andy Williams laying off a nice ball to Gardner who was brought down in the penalty box. Marlon King stepped up and sent the keeper the wrong way to make it 2-0, 27 minutes into the game. St Vincent tried to get their attack going by playing the long ball but they were easily picked off by Goodison who was reading the plays well in defense.

The Boyz continued to dominate maintaining about 65% of the ball possession and were rewarded on the 40th minute as King struck again scoring a beautiful volley. The half ended with Jamaica leading 3-0

St Vincent and the Grenadines seemed more determined in the second half and were rewarded when Marlon James pulled one back making it 3-1. Deon Burton and Ricardo Gardener closed out the scoring for Jamaica to make it 5-1.

[Winnipeg Fury]

Reggae Boyz Whips St Vincent and the Grenadines 5-1

June 3, 2008

Technical director Rene Simoes seems to have found a good combination and formation for the Reggae Boyz as they defeated St Vincent and the Grenadines 5-1 in an international friendly here today at the National Stadium in Jamaica.

Playing in front of a packed house, the Reggae Boyz put on a good display of teamwork that had their opponents on the back pedal for most of the game. Jamaica went ahead at the 17 minute mark with a nice pass from Marlon King to Demar Phillips who scored from a left foot strike. The Boyz kept up the attack playing with pace and determination that earned them 5 corners in the first 25 minutes.

The second goal came by way of Andy Williams laying off a nice ball to Gardner who was brought down in the penalty box. Marlon King stepped up and sent the keeper the wrong way to make it 2-0, 27 minutes into the game. St Vincent tried to get their attack going by playing the long ball but they were easily picked off by Goodison who was reading the plays well in defense.

The Boyz continued to dominate maintaining about 65% of the ball possession and were rewarded on the 40th minute as King struck again scoring a beautiful volley. The half ended with Jamaica leading 3-0

St Vincent and the Grenadines seemed more determined in the second half and were rewarded when Marlon James pulled one back making it 3-1. Deon Burton and Ricardo Gardener closed out the scoring for Jamaica to make it 5-1.

[strobe_z]

Does anyone know why this game is being played in a closed stadium? What's the point?

Also... how are we going to get any information on it?! The Brazil game's got me stocked up again on enthusiasm (I've been replenishing my batteries since the U20s finished...). Bring on the WCQ!

[Alex]

Ill take a crack at the starting lineup for this one:

Gerba-------------Friend

Issey---------Hutch----------Nsaliwa-------Radz

Klukowski-----Hastings-----Hainault------Stalteri

-----------------Sutton---------------

Bench:

Brennan

Serioux

Bernier

Cann

Wagenaar

De Jong

Jazic

Peters

[PunjabiOil]

So why is De Rosario heading back to Houston for the MLS instead of playing for his national team?

[snake]

why wasnt marc bircham added?

[Aljarov]

A lack of an AMC with JDG and DDR both missing.

I think we go 4-1-4-1. I also think MITCHELL will stack the team with fringe guys for one last look...this is a closed doors game after all. We'll probably be hard pressed to even get the score!!

[jonovision]

Do we know what time the match actually begins?

Edit: CSA gives the match time as 17:00 (I assume local).

[jonovision]

quote:Originally posted by Aljarov

A lack of an AMC with JDG and DDR both missing.

Hutchinson could and should fill that role, but then there is nobody to take his more central role.

[Guest Ed]

quote:Originally posted by Aljarov

A lack of an AMC with JDG and DDR both missing.

I think we go 4-1-4-1. I also think MITCHELL will stack the team with fringe guys for one last look...this is a closed doors game after all. We'll probably be hard pressed to even get the score!!

Hey chicken little, look out!!

Canada will score. Gerba and Friend baby.

[MikeF]

Is the game on TV or are we stuck with internet streams?

[Gian-Luca]

quote:Originally posted by MikeF

Is the game on TV or are we stuck with internet streams?

Neither. It's a closed door match played in a training field next to the team's hotel. At best there will be a CSA match tracker, I suspect.

[BearcatSA]

quote:Originally posted by jonovision

Hutchinson could and should fill that role, but then there is nobody to take his more central role.

Probably Bernier in central mid to do more of the defensive side of things. But I think this is big chance for Hutchinson to prove what he can do without DeGuzman and DeRosario's presence: he can't go AWOL like he did in South Africa last year.

Also important to see what Gerba can do, though I wonder if we will see him as a sub as opposed to starting alongside Friend. I'd also like to see Serioux starting at CB again.

[ken]

We're playing at the Sunrise Holiday Inn field in Sunrise Florida. Is that a sponsored field ie BMO field or a field attatched to an actual Holiday Inn?

[jonovision]

According to the CSA tracker and fixture link, a bunch of the players have switched jersey numbers from Saturday's match. De Rosario leaving opened up #14 claimed by Klukowski. Brennan comes in and takes Kluka's #19, while De Jong swaps his #2 to Nsaliwa for #8 (which is interesting given how the ESPN Deportes had the two confused for the Brazil match).

Not important, really, just a bit strange.

Edit: Now according to the fixture page, Brennan has taken over the #11 while Hastings will wear #19

[Gian-Luca]

quote:Originally posted by ken

We're playing at the Sunrise Holiday Inn field in Sunrise Florida. Is that a sponsored field ie BMO field or a field attatched to an actual Holiday Inn?

The latter. The team has stayed & played there a number of times over the years.

[redhat]

quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca

The latter. The team has stayed & played there a number of times over the years.

It's nearby the hotel. Here's Expedia:

"What to expect: Surrounded by golf courses and various corporate headquarters, Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites attracts business travelers as well as vacationers visiting Sawgrass Mills, a vast collection of more than 400 shops and outlet stores as well as nationally known restaurants. Adjacent to a professional-quality soccer field, it also attracts international teams for training."

[jonovision]

Starting lineup appearing on the fixture page now. There don't appear to be many changes from Saturday:

01 Canadian player Greg Sutton entered the game.

01 Canadian player Paul Stalteri entered the game.

01 Canadian player Adrian Serioux entered the game.

01 Canadian player Richard Hastings entered the game.

01 Canadian player Mike Klukowski entered the game.

01 Canadian player Issey Nakajima-Farran entered the game.

01 Canadian player Patrice Bernier entered the game.

01 Canadian player Atiba Hutchinson entered the game.

01 Canadian player Marcel de Jong entered the game.

01 Canadian player Tomasz Radzinski entered the game.

01 Canadian player Rob Friend entered the game.

[ken]

quote:Originally posted by jonovision

Starting lineup appearing on the fixture page now. There don't appear to be many changes from Saturday:

01 Canadian player Greg Sutton entered the game.

01 Canadian player Paul Stalteri entered the game.

01 Canadian player Adrian Serioux entered the game.

01 Canadian player Richard Hastings entered the game.

01 Canadian player Mike Klukowski entered the game.

01 Canadian player Issey Nakajima-Farran entered the game.

01 Canadian player Patrice Bernier entered the game.

01 Canadian player Atiba Hutchinson entered the game.

01 Canadian player Marcel de Jong entered the game.

01 Canadian player Tomasz Radzinski entered the game.

01 Canadian player Rob Friend entered the game.

If that holds true, and the fixture link is usually pretty accurate, Sutton has taken over in goal. The back line stays the same, a bit of a suprise but may speak as to the starting backs on the 15th in SVG. If the formation is the same, I would guess that Bernier takes Hutchinson's role, Hutchinson takes Deguzeman's, Issey moves to the right side and DeJong takes Issey's spot. Radzinski moves up to the supporting striker playing behind Friend. A lot of the same people in different spots, likely DM making depth chart decisions.

[Juby]

will this be on TV at some point or on the internet?

[BearcatSA]

De Jong gets a start. Let's see what he can do.

I'd like to see how we deal with attacks down our right flank during tonight's match.

[youllneverwalkalone]

So, shouldn't we be close to half time now?

[djcuse]

This looks to be where the lads are playing...

http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=3003+N.+University+Drive,+sunrise,fl&sll=49.891235,-97.15369&sspn=21.357335,58.535156&ie=UTF8&ll=26.162824,-80.257305&spn=0.003626,0.007145&t=h&z=18

[Metro]

quote:Originally posted by youllneverwalkalone

So, shouldn't we be close to half time now?

Well, the match is listed over at livescore.com and they have it starting at 7pm EDT.