Before they get to head home for the holidays with their families, Canada’s Men’s U-20 Team will get one final training camp in before the end of the year.
Since the 2015 CONCACAF Under-20 Championships take place immediately following the holiday season, the team will need to be as close to match fitness as possible. And while the European based players will continue to see action with their respective clubs, a selection of largely North American-based players will head to Sunrise, Florida for a week of training.
The first full day of training is Thursday 11 December with the last day on Wednesday 17 December.
“This is a chance to get our North American players together one last time,” said Head Coach Rob Gale. “Many of them have been out of season for a while and we'll want to measure their physical readiness for qualifying as well as build on some tactical principles and objectives for Montego Bay in January – making sure everyone is on the same page heading into qualifying.”
Canada’s quest for the FIFA U-20 World Cup New Zealand 2015 gets underway on Saturday 10 January against Haiti so the players will have to come out of the holiday season focused on the task at hand. They’ll have five games in Group B to try and book a spot in their first FIFA U-20 World Cup since 2007.
The team is scheduled to arrive into Montego Bay, JAM, on 8 January in advance of the competition and the 20-man roster hasn’t been fully selected so this is also a final chance for players to make their case for inclusion.
“The squad is not finalized yet with myself and the staff still looking to select the final squad members who have not featured with us in international competition yet this season and those that have not fully convinced us they are ready for the level of competition we face. All will be afforded the opportunity to stake their claim for a spot on the plane on 8 January into Jamaica, and as it should be – it’s up to them to prove their worth."
CANADA
GK- Marco Carducci | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC
GK- Nolan Wirth | USA / Oregon State University
D- Marko Aleksic | CAN / FC Edmonton
D- Sebastian Cabrera | CHI / Union Espanñola
D- Quinton Duncan | USA / University of Tulsa
D- Jackson Farmer | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency
D- Jordan Haynes | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency
D- Brandon John | GER / FC Erzgebirge Aue
D- Rares (Chris) Serban | CAN / UBC Thunderbirds
M- Manuel Aparicio | CAN / Toronto FC
M- Louis Béland-Goyette | CAN / Impact de Montréal
M- Hanson Boakai | CAN / FC Edmonton
M- Marco Bustos | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC
M- Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé | CAN / Impact de Montréal
M- Christopher Nanco | USA / Syracuse University
M- Mitch Piraux | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency
F- Jordan Hamilton | CAN / Toronto FC
F- Brody Huitema | USA / Duke University
F- Sadi Jalali | CAN / FC Edmonton
F- Charles Joly | CAN / Académie Impact de Montréal
F- Cyle Larin | USA / University of Connecticut
