Music: {allcanada} Canada begins Gold Cup prep vs. Japan

Thursday, March 21, 2013

{allcanada} Canada begins Gold Cup prep vs. Japan

Canada is still without a full-time coach for its national men's team and the rebuilding process continues on after the recent failed World Cup qualifying campaign.

But that hasn't stopped interim coach Tony Fonseca from looking ahead to this summer's CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Canada plays Japan on Friday in Doha, Qatar in an international friendly that Fonseca, the Canadian Soccer Association's technical director, will be using to evaluate his 21-man roster ahead of the Gold Cup, which runs from July 7-28 across the United States.

Friday programming alert: Watch Canada v Japan in a international friendly from Doha, Qatar live and exclusively on sportsnet.ca at noon ET/9am PT. To watch the live stream CLICK HERE

"We're waiting still for the decision on a new coach and it will definitely be his call, who he's going to call in or not for the Gold Cup. This group is quite strong and I am very confident that a lot of these guys playing (against Japan) will be present at the Gold Cup as well," Fonseca told reporters during a Thursday conference call.

The men's team has been without a coach since Stephen Hart stepped down last October following Canada's 8-1 road loss to Honduras, a result that officially eliminated from qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Friday's match against Japan, and Monday's contest versus Belarus in Qatar, mark team veterans Atiba Hutchinson's and Julian de Guzman's return to the national team since the debacle in San Pedro Sula. Fonseca said both payers have displayed good attitudes in recent training sessions and are anxious to play for Canada again.

"Those guys definitely want to paint a different picture from that one we last saw. Obviously they'll be very committed to it and they're excited to have an opportunity to (make amends)," Fonseca stated.

Two veterans who aren't in the Canadian roster are defender Kevin McKenna and midfielder Dwayne De Rosario. Fonseca said he wanted to save De Rosario for another time instead of making him travel to Qatar. As for McKenna, the decision to not call him up was based on giving younger players a chance.

"We tried to come with a group of players that we ended to see more. A lot had to do with ages and in the case of Kevin McKenna we have a lot of younger guys for that position and we thought at this point in time we would go with them," Fonseca explained.

Japan has a full-strength side for Friday's game, including Manchester United star Shinji Kagawa. But the Japanese will be missing two key players through injury: CSKA Moscow midfielder Keisuke Honda and Inter Milan right back Yuto Nagatomo.

Still, Fonseca expects a tough battle.

"Japan is very technical. They love to play short passes and on the ground. It'll definitely be a good challenge for our boys and good opponent to play against," Fonseca stated.

Fonseca said he has no injury problems and that all 21 Canadian players are available for selection.

NOTES: Fonseca did not reveal who will serve as Canada's captain against Japan in the absence of McKenna who skippered the team during the recent qualifying campaign…. Fonseca didn't say if a new full-time coach would be hired ahead of the Gold Cup… Canadian winger Josh Simpson, who is recovering from a broken leg, is now jogging on his own, according to Fonseca. He declined to speculate whether Simpson will recover in time to play at the Gold Cup…