Canada’s men’s national team completed its two-week January camp on Sunday evening following an 0:1 loss to Jamaica in an international friendly match. Canada’s opening match of the 2010 season followed the opening leg of the January camp which ran from 18 January to 29 January in Sunrise, FL, USA. The camp and match officially opened Stephen Hart’s campaign as the men’s national coach.
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\u200bFor Hart the camp was the beginning of what will be a long road to the 2014 FIFA World Cup\u0099 Brazil 2014. \u0093We had the opportunity to see many young players in a number of situations,\u0094 said Hart. \u0093We are going through a building phase. When we play games of course we want to win, but the most important thing will be to win when it is important to win.\u0094
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\u200bThe Canadian camp predominantly featured players from North American and Scandinavian clubs. Over the course of the two-week camp, a total of seven young players were introduced into the national team set-up for the first time. The camp followed quickly on the heels of the men’s U-23 (Olympic) camp which was also based in Sunrise, Florida. That camp, led by head coach Tony Fonseca, ran 11-18 January.
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\u200bLuton Shelton scored the lone goal for Jamaica in Sunday’s match from the National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica. Five Canadian players made their debuts for Canada: goalkeeper David Monsalve, defender Nana Attakora, midfielder Massih Wassey, midfielder Carlos Rivas, and forward Randy Edwini-Bonsu.