Canada’s men’s national team concluded its 2009 schedule on Wednesday in Bydgoszcz, Poland. Canada finished the season with a record of four wins, one draw and three losses following an 0:1 loss to Poland.
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\u200b“It was important for us to get the opportunity to be together and play some games,” said head coach Stephen Hart. “Overall, I think it is important for us to see each other, to work together and to see how the players are progressing.”
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\u200bOn this trip, Canada faced FYR Macedonia on 14 November in Strumica (an 0:3 loss) and Poland on 18 November in Bydgoszcz (an 0:1 loss).
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\u200b“It shows that you can’t just step in and play international soccer whenever you want,” said Hart. “We were facing teams that just a few weeks ago were trying to qualify through FIFA World Cup\u0099 Qualifiers. To match them physically and technically was difficult as they had such a good understanding of each other.”
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\u200bAll 18 Canadian players saw action during this camp. In fact, 17 of the 18 players started in at least one game while newcomer Jonathan Beaulieu-Bourgault got to make his international debut as a substitute against FYR Macedonia.
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\u200bVeteran Paul Stalteri, meanwhile, moved into second place on Canada’s all-time list for international appearances (79, just three back of Randy Samuel). Stalteri served as captain in the game against FYR Macedonia while Polish-born Canadian Tomasz Radzinski served as captain in the game against Poland.