Canada ready for Gold Cup clash with Guadeloupe

Canada will take part in a light training session on Friday afternoon at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa ahead of Saturday’s match against Guadeloupe in CONCACAF Gold Cup Group C competition (18.00 local kick-off).



The match will be broadcast in Canada on Rogers Sportsnet One (channel details) as well as streamed online at GoldCup.org. On-site twitter updates will also be available at CanadaSoccerEN. Pre and post-match video coverage is available at CanadaSoccerTV.



Both Canada and Guadeloupe lost their opening matches of the tournament in Detroit and will be looking to come away from Saturday’s contest with a much-needed result.



Canada fell 2-0 to the USA while 10-man Guadeloupe were defeated by Panama 3-2.



As a French protectorate, Guadeloupe is not eligible for FIFA competition but the island nation is recognized by CONCACAF and can thus take part in the Gold Cup.



“They are an organized team,” said Canada’s Head Coach Stephen Hart. “They’ve played together recently in a Caribbean competition. They look organized and we have to play better than we did in the opening game.”



The only previous match between the two sides ended in a 2-1 victory for Guadeloupe in the group stage of the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup.



The heat in southern Florida is also expected to play a factor in tomorrow’s game with temperatures forecasted to peak above 32 degrees Celsius on Saturday.



“The heat will be a factor,” Hart said. “But we expect the players to do what they need to do and to do it efficiently.”



“Everybody is upbeat and looking forward to doing their best for Canada for tomorrow.”



Canada needs to finish as one of the top two sides in Group C; or as one of the two highest ranked third-place finishera in the competition to advance to the knockout stages.



Canada’s final match in Group C play is against Panama on 14 June in Kansas City, KS.