Canada’s men’s national team held its final training session in Oxnard, CA this morning before traveling to Los Angeles to officially begin its 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup trip. The team was greeted by its CONCACAF team liaison in Oxnard for the bus drive to Torrance, CA. Canada opens the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup in two days against Jamaica in the opening match on 3 July.
Canada will train one last time on 2 July, this time at The Home Depot Center where it will have a brief 45 minutes in the competition stadium. Canada returns to The Home Depot Center on Friday night to kick off the 2009 confederation championship.
Canada’s men’s national team played its final preparatory match today before the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Near the culmination of a six-day mini camp in Oxnard, CA, Canada won 3:0 over Guatemala at Oxnard College. It was Canada’s second win of the 2009 season.
“We created a fair number of chances and should have been a little more ruthless,” said coach Stephen Hart. “Ali (Gerba) took his first goal very well – a diving header. His second goal was a penalty. As for the build up to the goal that Patrice (Bernier) scored, it (was something that) got you off your seat.”
The Canadian Soccer Association announced today that Rogers Sportsnet will broadcast all of Canada’s matches from the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Sportsnet’s coverage will open this Friday, 3 July as Canada faces Jamaica in the opening match of the 2009 tournament. The match kicks off at 17.00 local (20.00 ET) from the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles and can be seen live on Sportsnet Ontario and West. Canada has been drawn into Group A at the 12-team competition along with Costa Rica, El Salvador and the aforementioned Jamaica. Please find the full broadcast schedule below.
Brazil won the FIFA Confederations Cup South Africa 2009 after a 3:2 victory over USA in the final. Brazil overcame a 2-0 deficit at the half by scoring three times in the final 45 minutes for the title. It marked Brazil’s third FIFA Confederations Cup title.
USA won silver after upsetting Spain in the Wednesday semi-final with a 2-0 victory. Brazil, meanwhile, reached the final after a 1:0 win over host South Africa in the Thursday semi-final. In the bronze-medal match on Sunday, Spain won 3:2 after extra time over South Africa.
Canada’s women’s national team remains the 11th ranked team on the FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Ranking. Canada dropped four points, but held its position on the most recent 26 June 2009 ranking. It marks the third-consecutive ranking (since December 2008) that Canada has held the 10th position.
The FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Rankings looks at each country’s international results from the last four years. The ranking takes into account the result, the importance of the match, the strength of the opponent, the regional strength, the time period, and the number of matches per year.
L’équipe canadienne féminine demeure au onzième rang selon le classement mondial féminin de la FIFA/Coca-Cola. Le Canada a perdu quatre points, mais l’équipe a pu garder la onzième position lors du classement le 26 juin passé. C’est la troisième fois de suite depuis le mois de décembre 2008 que le Canada est resté au onzième rang.
Le classement mondial féminin de la FIFA /Coca-Cola prend en considération les résultats internationaux de chaque pays depuis les quatre deniers années. Le classement prend en considération le résultat, l’importance du match en question, le niveau des adversaires, la force régionale, la période de l’année et le nombre de matchs joués par année.
Toronto FC showed off its first piece of hardware to its fans on Wednesday night at BMO Field. The team had Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers walk the 2009 Voyageurs Cup onto the pitch before the 24 June Major League Soccer match between Toronto FC and New York Red Bulls. The RCMP handed the trophy to a Toronto fan who in turn handed it to TFC members Jim Brennan and Dwayne De Rosario.
Toronto FC clinched the 2009 Voyageurs Cup on Thursday 18 June after passing Vancouver Whitecaps FC in the Nutrilite Canadian Championship standings. Toronto FC finished first with nine points and a +5 goal differential in the six-match tournament.
Toronto FC’s Dwayne De Rosario has been awarded the George Gross Memorial Trophy after being selected most valuable player of the 2009 Nutrilite Canadian Championship. De Rosario won the award after leading Toronto FC to the 2009 Voyageurs Cup, helping the Toronto FC overtake Vancouver Whitecaps FC on the final day of the competition.
De Rosario sparked Toronto FC’s unbelievable victory on 18 June to claim the championship. He scored three goals – the first hat trick in the competition – en route to a 6:1 victory over the Impact de Montréal at Stade Saputo. He finished with three goals and one assist in four games.
Unbelievable, but true: up against improbable odds to stave off elimination, Toronto FC pulled off the greatest victory in franchise history to win the 2009 Nutrilite Canadian Championship. In need of a victory by four or more goals to skip past leaders Vancouver Whitecaps FC, the Toronto team drummed up an away 6:1 win over the Impact de Montréal on the final night of the competition.
Dwayne De Rosario scored the first hat trick in competition history while Amado Guevara score two goals and Chad Barrett scored the competition winner. De Rosario earned Toronto’s Man of the Match honours and also picked up the championship’s most valuable player prize – the George Gross Memorial Trophy.