Canada announces roster for South Africa friendly

Canada’s men’s national team announced the roster today for their international friendly match with the Republic of South Africa. The Canadian players will arrive on Thursday and then have four days of training before their 20 November match next Tuesday in Durban, South Africa. This will be Canada’s senior team’s tenth and final match of the year.



“We know that South Africa will be a strong opponent as they build towards hosting the 2010 World Cup,” says head coach Dale Mitchell. “For us it is an opportunity to test ourselves against a different style of play but in conditions we face regularly in CONCACAF. 2007 has been a positive year for the men’s national team and we would like to continue to build momentum towards the qualifying process that begins in 2008.”



Mitchell has selected 17 players for the camp and friendly. Not only will this be Canada’s first-ever match against South Africa, it will also be Canada’s first trip to the African continent in four and a half years. Canada defeated Libya 4:2 back on 12 February 2003 in Tripoli, Libya. So far this season, Canada has four wins, three draws and two losses. Under newly appointed head coach Dale Mitchell, Canada has two draws – one in Ísland and one in Toronto at BMO Field.



Canada’s men’s senior team is currently ranked third amongst all CONCACAF countries in the September 2007 FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings. Next year, Canada will begin their qualifications road for the FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010. Incidentally, the draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa qualifying ties and groups takes place in Durban on 25 November, just five days after the Canada-South Africa friendly. Both coach Mitchell and manager Morgan Quarry will be on hand at the draw.



Canada

Head Coach / Entraîneur-chef : Dale Mitchell

Assistant Coach / Entraîneur adjoint : Stephen Hart

Assistant Coach / Entraîneur adjoint : Nick Dasovic

Goalkeeper coach / Entraîneur des gardiens : Paul Dolan

Video coach / Entraîneur video : Vic Mendes

Manager / Gérant : Morgan Quarry

Equipment manager / Gérant d’équipements : Mike Moretto

Physiotherapist / Physiothérapeute : Ted Tilbury

Massage Therapist / Massothérapeute : Garret Kusch