Canada will play six matches against three teams in Stage III of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa\u0099 Qualifiers. Three of those matches are in Canada: 20 August against Jamaica in Toronto (Ticketmaster.ca / 416.872.5000), 6 September against Honduras in Montréal (admission.com or 514.790.1245) and 15 October against Mexico in Edmonton (Ticketmaster.ca / 780.451.8000). Tickets to the Toronto and Montréal matches have been selling very well while details regarding the Edmonton on-sale date should be announced shortly.
Canada will also play Mexico on 10 September in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, Honduras on 11 October (venue yet to be announced), and Jamaica on 19 November in Kingston, Jamaica. Canada needs to finish amongst the top-two teams in Group B to advance to CONCACAF Stage IV in 2009.
Canada’s 20 August roster features three new players that were unavailable in Stage II against Saint Vincent & the Grenadines (Canada won 3:0 in Kingstown and 4:1 in Montréal). Iain Hume of Brampton, ON, Daniel Imhof of Smithers, BC and Kevin McKenna of Calgary, BC have all been called for the 20 August match.
Hume is also one of four players that has switched teams during the European off-season. Hume transferred from Leicester City to Barnsley FC in the English Championship. The three other off-season moves were Patrice Bernier from
\u200bFC Kaiserslautern (GER) to FC Nordsjælland (DEN), Ali Gerba from FC Ingolstadt (GER) to Milton Keynes Dons FC (ENG), and Paul Stalteri back from loan at Fulham FC (ENG) to Tottenham Hotspur (ENG).
Of note from the four team competing in CONCACAF’s Stage III Group B (Canada, Jamaica, Honduas, Mexico), Ali Gerba is tied for second with four goals after two matches. Jamaica’s Luton Shelton leads the group with five goals (Stage II against Bahamas) while Mexico’s Jared Borgetti is tied at second with four goals (Stage II against Belize).
With nine goals in his international career, Gerba is now tied with teammates McKenna and Tomasz Radzinski for eighth on the all-time Canadian list. Dwayne De Rosario, who scored twice against Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, is fourth on the Canadian list with 15 goals, four back of the all-time leader and current head coach Mitchell (19).
As for appearances, Paul Stalteri is the most-experienced player, having most recently tied Lyndon Hooper with 67 caps for third place on the all-time list. He trails Mark Watson (78) and Randy Samuel (82). Elder statesman Pat Onstad (40 years young) is just one cap shy from tying Craig Forrest (56) for most appearances by a Canadian goalkeeper. Onstad does have the edge, though, with 21 career shutouts.
Goalkeeper Greg Sutton has the fewest caps of any player (11) while Issey Nakajima-Farran, who scored Canada’s first goal against Saint Vincent & the Grenadines in Kingstown, has the fewest caps of any outfield player (15). Nakajima-Farran is also the youngest player on the team at 24 years of age, about half a year younger than Iain Hume.
The 20 August match kicks off at 19.30 ET at BMO Field in downtown Toronto. It will be the 10th FIFA World Cup Qualifiers\u0099 match ever played in Toronto, but the first at BMO Field. To date, Canada has a record of four wins, three draws and two losses in those matches.
1 |Greg Sutton| G | Hamilton, ON | CAN / Toronto FC
\u200b2 |Daniel Imhof| D/M | Smithers, BC | GER / VfL Bochum
\u200b3 |Mike Klukowski| D | Oshawa, ON | BEL / Club Brugge KV
\u200b4 |Kevin McKenna| D | Calgary, AB | GER / 1. FC Köln
\u200b5 |Adrian Serioux| D/M| Scarborough, ON | USA / FC Dallas
\u200b6 |Julian de Guzman| M | Scarborough, ON | ESP / Deportivo La Coruna
\u200b7 |Paul Stalteri| D/M | Brampton, ON | ENG / Tottenham Hotspur
\u200b8 |Jim Brennan| D | East York, ON | CAN / Toronto FC
\u200b9 |Tomasz Radzinski| M/F | Toronto, ON | GRE / Skoda Xanthi
\u200b10 |Ali Gerba| F | Montréal, QC | ENG / Milton Keynes Dons FC
\u200b11 |Richard Hastings| D | Vancouver, BC | SCO / Inverness CT
\u200b12 |Issey Nakajima-Farran| M | Calgary, AB | DEN / FC Nordsjælland
\u200b13 |Atiba Hutchinson| M | Brampton, ON | DEN / F.C. København
\u200b14 |Dwayne De Rosario| M/F | Scarborough, ON | USA / Houston Dynamo
\u200b15 |Patrice Bernier| M | Brossard, QC | DEN / FC Nordsjælland
\u200b16 |Rob Friend| F | Kelowna, BC | GER / Borussia Mönchengladbach
\u200b17 |Iain Hume| F | Brampton, ON | ENG / Barnsley FC
\u200b18 |Pat Onstad| G | Vancouver, BC | USA / Houston Dynamo
Head of delegation / Chef de délégation : Victor Montagliani
\u200bHead Coach / Entraîneur-chef :Dale Mitchell
\u200bAssistant Coach / Entraîneur adjoint :Stephen Hart
\u200bAssistant Coach / Entraîneur adjoint :Nick Dasovic
\u200bVideo co-ordinator / Coordinateur de video : Vic Mendes
\u200bGoalkeeper coach / Entraîneur des gardiens :Paul Dolan
\u200bManager / Gérant : Morgan Quarry
\u200bEquipment manager / Gérant d’équipements : Mike Moretto
\u200bPhysiotherapist / Physiothérapeute : Eddie Cannon
\u200bPhysiotherapist / Physiothérapeute : Ted Tilbury
\u200bDoctor / Docteur : Dr. Michael Campbell