Canada back on the pitch after Centennial celebration

Canada was back on the pitch today in preparation for the upcoming FIFA World Cup Qualifiers that begin Friday 8 June against Cuba. Following Canada’s impressive 0:0 draw with USA for its Centennial Match on Sunday 3 June 2012, Canada returned to the pitch under the watchful eye of head coach Stephen Hart. Canada will have one more session in Toronto before the team travels into Cuba to open the CONCACAF 3rd Round of 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Qualifiers.

This month, Canada plays two qualification matches: Cuba away on 8 June in Havana (14.00 local) and Honduras at home on 12 June in Toronto (19.30 local). Future matches will be played in September and October. Tickets to Canada’s 2012 home matches are available via ticketmaster.ca or by phone at 1.855.570.7500, with full information available on CanadaSoccer.com. Group discounts are available via marketing@soccercan.ca or 613.237.7678.

CANMNT: Canada trains at BMO Field ahead of trip to Cuba

Canada is one of 12 teams remaining in CONCACAF 3rd Round of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Qualifiers. The 12 remaining teams are split into three groups of four teams, with each group to play a round-robin, home-and-away series of six matches. The top-two teams from each group (six teams total) will advance to the CONCACAF Final Round in 2013. The top-three teams from the CONCACAF Final Round will automatically qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil; CONCACAF’s fourth-place team may also qualify, but only if it wins the inter-continental playoff.

From the goal out, Canada’s current squad features goalkeepers Milan Borjan, Lars Hirschfeld and Kenny Stamatopoulos, defenders David Edgar, André Hainault, Dejan Jaković, Ante Jazić, Mike Klukowski, Nik Ledgerwood, Kevin McKenna, and Ashtone Morgan, and midfielders/forwards Julian de Guzman, Dwayne De Rosario, Iain Hume, Atiba Hutchinson, Simeon Jackson, Will Johnson, Issey Nakajima-Farran, Olivier Occean, Pedro Pacheco, Samuel Piette and Tosaint Ricketts.

For full coverage of Canada’s road to the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™, fans can follow all the news at CanadaSoccer.com. Fans are also encouraged to connect with Canada’s national teams via twitter.com/CanadaSoccerEN, facebook.com/CanadaSoccer, flickr.com/canadasoccer, and youtube.com/CanadaSoccerTV. The Friday 8 June match will be broadcast live on Sportsnet East, Sportsnet Ontario, Sportsnet West and Sportsnet Pacific, with a 13.30 ET / 10.30 PT start time for the broadcast. The Tuesday 12 June match will be broadcast live on Sportsnet One.

CANMNT: Canada begins preperations for Cuba