Yallop Announces Roster for Friendly vs Spain

Ottawa, Ontario – Canadian Men’s National Team head coach Frank Yallop today named his 18-player roster for the upcoming international friendly against Spain on Saturday, September 3. The game will be played in Santander with a 9:45 p.m. kickoff (local time).



“This is another big game for us,” said Yallop. “You want to measure yourself against the top teams in the World and obviously Spain are a soccer power. It will be good to get together again so soon after the Gold Cup and to have a few days to prepare for what will be a real challenge for us but one we are eagerly looking forward to.”



Yallop continues to use friendlies as an opportunity to see different players and the Spain game is no exception with midfielder Rocco Placentino earning his first senior call-up. A member of Canada’s last Olympic team, Placentino moved in the off-season from Italian Serie C side Cavese to Serie B’s Arezzo, who subsequently sent him on loan to Gualdo in Serie C.



Yallop has also recalled goalkeeper Kenny Stamatopoulos from Swedish side FC Boden. He will be joined by goalkeeper Josh Wagenaar, who played for Canada at the FIFA World Youth Championships in Holland in June.



Defender Marco Reda returns to the squad for the first time since the Portugal game in March, as does striker Tomasz Radzinski and defender Mike Klukowski. Midfielder Julian de Guzman, who moved to Spanish side Deportivo La Coruna from Germany’s Hannover 96 in the off-season, has also been selected.



Several members of Yallop’s 2005 Gold Cup squad will also be involved – they include striker Ali Gerba, who was transferred from the Montreal Impact to Swedish side Sundsvall; Impact defender Adam Braz, captain Kevin McKenna who returned to German Bundesliga side Energie Cottbus in the summer; Tromso midfielder Patrice Bernier, Helsingborg’s Atiba Hutchinson, San Jose Earthquakes striker Dwayne de Rosario, Millwall’s Adrian Serioux and Josh Simpson and Ipswich midfielder Jaime Peters who made his debut earlier this season.



Defender/midfielder Ante Jazic, who has been sidelined with a number of injuries since World Cup Qualifying last year, is fit again and has also been selected from Russian side FC Kuban.



The squad will gather in Madrid on Monday, August 29 and practice at the Spanish Federation training facility before flying to Santander on September 1.



Canadian Roster For International Friendly vs Spain