Canada took part in its final training session on Monday morning in Belek, Turkey, one day in advance of its Men’s International Friendly against Belarus this 29 March. Both players and coaches agreed that the team’s week-long camp in Turkey has been one of the sharpest and most focused sessions in recent memory.
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\u200b“It’s been one of the best camps we’ve had since I’ve been in the program,” said striker Rob Friend. “The boys have been very sharp, the intensity has been really high, so everyone is focused for the game tomorrow and the games this summer in the CONCACAF Gold Cup.”
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\u200bThe team has enjoyed the motivation of knowing that a match-up against local rivals USA lies just around the corner in June at the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
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\u200bMidfielder Atiba Hutchinson believes that the prospect of a match-up again the Americans has added an extra spark to Canada’s preparations for tomorrow’s match.
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\u200b\u0093I think all the boys really get up for that game against the States,\u0094 said Hutchinson. \u0093It’s a little bit of derby, a rivalry, and I think we’ll all be looking forward to it. We have to take it one game a time, get a good result here and hopefully prepare from there.”
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\u200bFor now, the focus remains Belarus, Canada’s opponent on the FIFA International Date this 29 March.
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\u200bThe Canada-Belarus match kicks off at 17.00 local / 10.00 ET / 07.00 PT. The match will be played at the Antalya Atatürk Stadyumu (stadium). In-match updates will be provided via twitter.com/CanadaSoccerEN. A full post-match report will be provided on CanadaSoccer.com as well as Sportsnet.ca.