Stage is set for decisive match against Panama

After an evening of intriguing football action on 11 June at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Canada find themselves sitting in third place in Group C at the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup.



Canada defeated Gaudeloupe 1:0 in the opening match of the day’s double-header courtesy of a cool penalty conversion by veteran attacker Dwayne De Rosario.



The goal moves the Scarborough, ON native into a tie for third place in all-time Canadian scoring with Alex Bunbury at 16 goals.



Following Canada’s match, Panama pulled off a surprise 2:1 defeat of the USA on home soil in Florida propelling the Central Americans to top place in Group C with six points from its opening two matches.



Canada now sits in third behind second-place USA due to goal difference, both sides with three points. Guadeloupe is currently last in the group with zero points taken thus far.



The Canadian team was pleased to get a much-needed result out of Saturday’s encounter with Guadeloupe, a CONCACAF associate nation, but midfielder Terry Dunfield knows that Canada could have done better on the evening after Jean-Luc Loumbarde was sent off in the third minute for a dangerous tackle on Will Johnson.



“On another day we could have had two or three goals,” said Dunfield.



“I think you have to give Guadeloupe credit. Defensively hey were hard to break down. Sometimes you need that little bit of luck, other times you have to be a little bit more patient.”







Canada will now need to await the completion of play in both Group A and Group B before it knows exactly where it stands ahead of Tuesday’s match against Panama (19.00 local kick-off).



As per the rules of the competition, Canada will need to finish as one of the top two teams in its group; or as one of the first or second highest ranking third-place finisher in the overall tournament.



While it is possible that Canada’s currently tally of three points will be enough to see the team through to the quarter-finals, the team is preparing itself for any situation come match day.



“We’ve set ourselves up for a big one,” said Dunfield.



“We’ll have to be on our mettle to get a result. I know all of the boys really want to progress out of this group and put a stamp on this tournament.”



Canada’s match against Panama on 14 June will be played at Livestrong Sporting Park in Kansas City, KS. The match will be broadcast in Canada on Rogers Sportsnet One (20.00 ET / 17.00 PT) as well as streamed online at GoldCup.org.



CanadaSoccerTV will be providing online video coverage in the build-up to the match, while CanadaSoccerEN we be providing up-to-date information via Twitter.