L’équipe nationale canadienne féminine senior reprend l’entraînement, le jour de la Fête du Canada, entamant ainsi la dernière phase de ses préparatifs en vue de participer à l’édition 2008 du Tournoi Olympique de Football Féminin. Les joueuses se réuniront à 10 h 00 au terrain Kinsmen pour rouvrir le camp résidentiel à Vancouver, en Colombie-Britannique, sous la direction de l’entraîneur-chef de la sélection féminine nationale senior, Even Pellerud.
Le premier point à l’ordre du jour sera le match international amical opposant le Canada au Brésil, qui aura lieu au Stade BMP Field de Toronto, en Ontario, le 10 juillet prochain. Le Canada attend une grande foule pour marquer la première visite de l’équipe nationale canadienne féminine senior au Stade BMO Field. Le coup d’envoi de ce match, présenté par Winners, est prévu à 19 h 00 (Heure de l’Est). Les billets sont disponibles auprès de l’agence Ticketmaster, à ticketmaster.ca, ou au 416 872-5000.
The table is set. Canada will be facing Jamaica, Honduras and Mexico in CONCACAF Stage III of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ Qualifiers. Canada’s three home matches are 20 August against Jamaica in Toronto, ON, 6 September against Honduras in Montréal, QC, and 15 October in Edmonton, AB.
Canada will also play Mexico on 10 September in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, Honduras on 11 October (venue yet to be announced), and Jamaica on 19 November in Kingston (Jamaica). Canada needs to finish amongst the top-two teams in Group B to advance to CONCACAF Stage IV in 2009.
Tickets to the Toronto match will be available through Ticketmaster (ticketmaster.ca or 416.872.5000) while tickets to the Montréal match will be available through Admission (admission.com or 514.790.1245). Tickets for the first two matches go on sale this 14 July. Tickets to the Edmonton match will be available through Ticketmaster (ticketmaster.ca or 780.451.8000); details regarding the Edmonton on-sale date should be announced shortly.
Canada Day will mark the start of the second half of the inaugural Nutrilite Canadian Championship. It will also mark the championship’s debut at BMO Field, the Toronto, ON home of Major League Soccer’s Toronto FC. It will be the Vancouver Whitecaps flying into town to face Toronto FC.
Of note, the kickoff time for the 1 July bash at BMO Field has been pushed back to 16.00 ET. The match had originally been scheduled for 15.00 ET. The match will also be televised live, nationwide on CBC as well as CBCsports.ca.
The Impact de Montréal won its second-straight match in the Nutrilite Canadian Championship, winning 2:0 over the Vancouver Whitecaps. Roberto Brown and David Testo scored for the Impact while Matt Jordan recorded his second-straight clean sheet.
The match was pretty even for the first 20 minutes with few chances at either end. Just before the half-hour mark, the Impact started to penetrate the Whitecaps zone. After a few chances, Testo got a shot on goal that was stopped by Whitecaps goalkeeper Jay Nolly. The rebound came to Brown who fired it home for a 1-0 lead in the 30th minute.
The Nutrilite Canadian Championship will be making its first stop at Swangard Stadium, home of the Vancouver Whitecaps. The Whitecaps are hosting the Impact de Montreal in the return leg from last Tuesday’s battle at Stade Saputo. The Whitecaps will be looking to reverse its 0:2 loss in Montreal.
The 25 June match in Vancouver will have a full house in the stands and a live crowd on television. The match will be broadcast live on CBCSports.ca. The kickoff time is 20.00 PT.
FIFA.com
There were precious few surprises at the weekend as the second round of qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ drew to a close in North, Central America and the Caribbean. The USA, Mexico, Costa Rica and Trinidad and Tobago – the region’sentatives at the last world finals in Germany in 2006 – all moved on to the first group stage.
There was little mystery heading into the USA’s second leg against Barbados in Bridgetown on Sunday. Having amassed an 8-0 edge in Los Angeles a week earlier, the return fixture was a foregone conclusion and allowed coach Bob Bradley to experiment with youngsers like Freddy Adu, Danny Szetela and Sacha Kljestan.
Canada’s women’s national team had another succesful run at the Peace Queen Cup, but again the team finished second behind the top-ranked United States. In what was the fourth 2008 contest between the two sides, Canada lost 0:1 after Angela Hucles scored off a free kick in the 90th minute.
“It was a good game, a fast-paced game, and a game with a lot of drama,” says coach Even Pellerud. “It was very good from the get-go because you had two teams that wanted to attack.”
L’équipe nationale canadienne féminine senior a réussi un nouveau parcours impressionnant à l’édition 2008 de la Peace Queen Cup, mais a une fois de plus dû se contenter de la seconde place derrière les États-Unis, classés premiers à l’échelle mondiale. Au cours de ce quatrième match opposant les deux équipes, le Canada s’est incliné sur le score de 0 à 1, suite à un coup franc signé Angela Hucles à la 90e minute de la rencontre.
Selon l’entraîneur-chef de la sélection nationale canadienne féminine senior, Even Pellerud : « Le match était très bon, un match rapide, un match avec beaucoup de rebondissements. C’était un bon match dès le début, puisque les deux sélections ont voulu jouer très offensivement. »
Canada is moving on to Stage III of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ Qualifiers. Canada won both games in its two-match series with Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, first on the road in Kingstown on 15 June (3:0 win) and then at home tonight in Montréal, QC (4:1 win).
Canada will now face Mexico, Jamaica and Honduras in the CONCACAF semi-final (group 2) from August to November. Canada will play three games at home and three games on the road (two matches against each opponent).