Canada announces roster for upcoming Qualifiers

Canada has announced its roster for the upcoming FIFA World Cup Qualifiers matches on 7 and 11 September 2012 in Toronto and Panama. Canadian head coach Stephen Hart has selected 21 players to participate in the two-match series against Panama, the third and fourth matches in the six-match CONCACAF 3rd Round of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Qualifiers.

From the goal out, Canada’s squad features goalkeepers Milan Borjan, Lars Hirschfeld and Kenny Stamatopoulos, defenders Marcel de Jong, David Edgar, André Hainault, Dejan Jaković, Ante Jazić, Nik Ledgerwood, Kevin McKenna, and Ashtone Morgan, and midfielders/forwards Patrice Bernier, Terry Dunfield, Julian de Guzman, Dwayne De Rosario, Atiba Hutchinson, Simeon Jackson, Will Johnson, Olivier Occean, Pedro Pacheco and Tosaint Ricketts.

On Friday 7 September, the Canada-Panama match kicks off at 19.30 at BMO Field. The match will be broadcast live on Sportsnet One, with a pre-match show starting at 19.00 ET / 16.00 PT. The return match will be played on Tuesday 11 September at Estadio Rommel Fernandez in Ciudad Pamama. That match kicks off at 20.00 local (21.00 ET / 18.00 PT), with the broadcast schedule to be announced shortly.

In advance of the match, the Canadian Soccer Association will pay tribute to the Canadian women’s national team that won bronze at the London 2012 Women’s Olympic Football Tournament. Fans can enter BMO Field via Gate 1 as of 18.00 local for an opportunity to meet the women’s team and visit the Canada Soccer Fan Fest. All other gates will be open at 18.30.

Hart’s current squad features a mix of footballers attached to clubs in 10 different countries. Three players – Dunfield and Morgan of Toronto FC as well as Bernier of Impact Montréal – play in Canada. Of note, Dunfield, Bernier and Marcel de Jong of FC Augsburg (Germany) have been added to the squad since the last FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in June.

All 21 players have experience in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. Only de Jong is making his debut in this cycle for Brazil 2014, having missed the previous series because of an injury. The most experienced players are De Rosario and McKenna, both of whom are participating in their fourth cycle of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers since Korea/Japan 2000.

From the three groups of four teams in the 2012 CONCACAF 3rd Round for 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Qualifiers, the top-two teams from each group will advance to the 2013 CONCACAF Final Round. All CONCACAF 3rd Round matches are played in June (8 and 12), September (7 and 11) and October (12 and 16). After two matches in June, Canada sits in second place in its four-team group with four points (a win and a draw). Panama is in first place (six points) followed by Canada, Honduras (one point) and Cuba (no points). On the same September dates that Canada faces Panama, Honduras will face Cuba in a home-and-away set.

Tickets to Canada’s next two home matches in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers are available via ticketmaster.ca or by phone at 1.855.570.7500, with full information available on CanadaSoccer.com. Group discounts are available via marketing@soccercan.ca or 613.237.7678. Following the Friday 7 September match against Panama at BMO Field, Canada’s next home match is Friday 12 October against Cuba. Canada’s remaining away dates are Tuesday 11 September in Panama and Tuesday 16 October in Honduras.

For full coverage of Canada’s road to the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™, fans can follow all the news at CanadaSoccer.com. Fans are also encouraged to connect with Canada’s national teams viatwitter.com/CanadaSoccerEN, facebook.com/CanadaSoccer, flickr.com/canadasoccer, and youtube.com/CanadaSoccerTV. 

CANADA
1- GK- Lars Hirschfeld | NOR / Vålerenga Fotball
2- M- Nik Ledgerwood | SWE / Hammarby Fotboll
3- FB- Ante Jazić | USA / Chivas USA
4- CB- Kevin McKenna | GER / FC Köln
5- CB- André Hainault | USA / Houston Dynamo
6- M – Julian de Guzman | USA / FC Dallas
7- M – Terry Dunfield | CAN / Toronto FC
8- M- Will Johnson | USA / Real Salt Lake
9- F- Tosaint Ricketts | ROM / Politehnica Timişoara
10- F- Simeon Jackson | ENG / Norwich City FC
11- FB- Marcel de Jong | GER / FC Augsburg
12- CB- Dejan Jaković | USA / D.C. United
13- M- Atiba Hutchinson | NED / PSV Eindhoven
14- M/F- Dwayne De Rosario | USA / D.C. United
15- CB- David Edgar | ENG / Burnley FC
16- M- Pedro Pacheco | POR / CD Santa Clara
17- F- Olivier Occean | GER / Eintracht Frankfurt
18- GK- Milan Borjan | TUR / Sivasspor
19- FB- Ashtone Morgan | CAN / Toronto FC
20- M – Patrice Bernier | CAN / Impact Montréal
22- GK- Kenny Stamatopoulos | SWE / AIK Fotbol

CANADA A-Z
Bernier, Patrice | 1979 | Brossard, QC, CAN |
Borjan, Milan | 1987 | Hamilton, ON, CAN | Radnicki JP
de Guzman, Julian | 1981 | Scarborough, ON, CAN | Wexford
de Jong, Marcel | 1986 | Toronto, ON, CAN |
De Rosario, Dwayne | 1978 | Scarborough, ON, CAN | Scarborough Blizzard
Dunfield, Terry | 1982 | Vancouver, BC, CAN | Point Grey
Edgar, David | 1987 | Kitchener, ON, CAN |
Hainault, André | 1986 | Hudson, QC, CAN |
Hirschfeld, Lars | 1978 | Edmonton, AB, CAN |
Hutchinson, Atiba | 1983 | Brampton, ON, CAN | Brampton
Jackson, Simeon | 1987 | Mississauga, ON, CAN | Clarkson
Jaković, Dejan | 1985 | Etobicoke, ON, CAN |
Jazić, Ante | 1976 | Bedford, NS, CAN | Bedford Hearts
Johnson, Will | 1987 | Toronto, ON, CAN & Chicago, IL, USA |
Ledgerwood, Nik | 1985 | Lethbridge, AB, CAN | Lethbridge Cosmos
McKenna, Kevin | 1980 | Calgary, AB, CAN | Calgary
Morgan, Ashtone | 1991 | Toronto, ON, CAN | West End United
Occean, Olivier | 1981 | Brossard, QC, CAN | Brossard
Pacheco, Pedro | 1984 | Ponta Delgada, POR | Santa Clara
Ricketts, Tosaint | 1987 | Edmonton, AB, CAN | Edmonton Juventus
Stamatopoulos, Kenny | 1979 | Markham, ON, CAN | Markham Lightning