Canada Ready For Macedonia

Canada’s men’s national team wraps up its week-long training camp in Skopje on Friday morning before shifting camp to Strumica in the south east of Macedonia. Coach Stephen Hart and his staff are using the camp to prepare the team for their upcoming international friendly matches against FYR Macedonia (14 November) and Poland (18 November).

“The beginning of camp was a bit disjointed with players coming in at different times because of their club schedules and with the amount of rain that has fallen in the area,” said coach Stephen Hart.

“However, over the past couple of days we’ve completed two good sessions, including a nice sharp one today. The atmosphere in the camp is good, we have some players who haven’t been around for a while due to injury in Iain Hume and Rob Friend and it’s good to see them enjoying themselves.”

All of the players in camp are fit and training regularly.

Canada and Macedonia share a short competitive history. The two sides have faced each other only once before in international play. The lone match took place on 18 May 1998 in Toronto. A Niall Thompson goal was the difference on the day as Canada won 1:0.

Most of Canada’s squad arrived in Skopje on Monday. The team was based in Skopje until Friday. The team’s first full team training session was on Wednesday.

Beaulieu-Bourgault Added To Canadian Roster
Canada’s national team has added Jonathan Beaulieu-Bourgault to the roster for its current camp in Europe.

“This is a good opportunity for Jonathan to join the squad,” said Hart. “He was unlucky to miss out on the Cyprus game (31 May) through injury. He is available now and I am sure he is thrilled to be part of the selection.”

Beaulieu-Bourgault, 21, is a veteran of Canada’s youth teams, with experience at both the U-20 and U-17 levels. He has represented Canada at two FIFA U-20 World Cups, Netherlands 2005 and Canada 2007. At the FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007 he played every minute of every match for Canada, including 15 minutes in goal after Canada’s goalkeeper was sent off for a red card.

The Game
Canada will face FYR Macedonia on Saturday, 14 November at the Mladost Stadium in Strumica, Macedonia. The game which kicks off at 13.00 local time (07.00 ET / 04.00 PT), is being played outside of the Macedonian capital of Skopje due to the current re-construction at the Phillip II Arena.

Canada then meets Poland four days later on Wednesday, 18 November in Bydgoszcz, Poland. Kick off is at 17.00 local time (11.00 ET / 08.00 PT).