Canada trains in Chongqing

Canada’s women’s national team is training in Chongqing, China in advance of its 24 April 2010 international friendly against China. Today was the team’s third day of training, with a few additional players arriving after their weekend club matches or their delayed flights.



Canada now has 18 of its 22 players in camp. The training sessions have all been led by assistant coach Andrea Neil because head coach Carolina Morace has been delayed in her travel. Morace was traveling from Europe and was affected by the delays from the Iceland volcano eruption. Morace is scheduled to arrive this 20 April evening.



As part of the week-long camp, Canada will share a training session with China on Wednesday 21 April at the Olympic Sports Centre in Chongqing. The two sides will play against each other for three 30-minutes periods in a closed-door setting.



The Saturday 24 April international friendly will be Canada’s sixth match of the 2010 season. Canada has won all five of its matches this year, including a 1:0 victory over New Zealand in the 2010 Cyprus Women’s Cup final.



Canada, whose title sponsor is Winners and whose presenting sponsor is Teck, is preparing for the 2010 CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup. That confederation championship, which is expected to run late October and early November, will serve as the qualification route for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany 2011. Two CONCACAF teams will earn automatic berths while the third-place team will face Europe’s fifth-place team in a qualification playoff.