Here are some storylines and other interesting tidbits to keep in mind ahead of Tuesday's international friendly between Canada and Costa Rica in Edmonton.
Tuesday programming alert: Watch Canada vs. Costa Rica in an international friendly from Edmonton live on all four main Sportsnet channels. Coverage begins at 8pm ET/6pm MT/5pm PT.
Canadian roster shuffle
If Canada looks a little disjointed on the field against Costa Rica tonight, there are a few good reasons for that: roster shuffling, late player arrivals and a young squad.
Interim coach Colin Miller originally named his 18-man roster for this match last week, but made some late additions to the squad, brining defender Nik Ledgerwood and midfielder Daniel Haber into the side.
It was also announced that defender Nana Attakora had to withdraw from the camp due to injury.
Four of the Toronto FC players on the team – Doneil Henry, Ashtone Morgan, Kyle Bekker and Jonathan Osorio – only arrived in town on Sunday, and Monday was their first training session. Edmonton native Tosaint Ricketts didn't arrive from his club in Norway until Monday night, which means Canada hadn't practised with its entire squad 24 hours before Tuesday's game.
This is also a young squad filled with inexperienced players – Osorio has never been capped by Canada. It's all part of the Canadian team's long-term rebuild after failing to qualify for the 2014 World Cup.
Instead of trying to win games, the focus is on giving young prospects as much playing time as possible to better prepare them for the future, including the CONCACAF Gold Cup in July.
Tuesday's game is an important learning opportunity for youngsters such as Osorio and others like Morgan and Bekker who are not getting regular playing time with their pro clubs. But that also means these inexperienced youngsters could be exposed and struggle against a top side like Costa Rica.
Canada has its hands full
While Canada is using this game as part of its ongoing rebuilding process and as preparation for this summer's Gold Cup, Costa Rica is getting ready for a heavy slate of important games.
Los Ticos currently sit tied for second place with the United States in the final round of CONCACAF qualifying for next year's World Cup, just one point behind first-place Panama.
Costa Rica has three crucial World Cup qualifiers in June: home to Honduras (June 7), away to Mexico (June 11) and home to Panama (June 18). Los Ticos need to take as many points from these games as possible in order to pull away from the trailing pack and significantly boost its chances of qualifying for Brazil.
Needless to say, Tuesday's tilt in Edmonton is an important part of the preparation for Costa Rica as it returns to World Cup qualifying action.
"Traditionally, they are technically very good and an attack-minded team," Miller offered. "They're so close to their next World Cup qualifying game that there's an incentive there for their players to do well."
Los Ticos will be taking this match seriously, and combine that with the fact that Costa Rica is currently the fourth-best ranked team in CONCACAF by FIFA, and it's evident that Canada will more than have its hands full.
"It's no friendly, that's for sure. These days, there's no such thing as a friendly any more. We have to go out and win," Canadian forward Randy Edwini-Bonsu stated.
Defender Nik Ledgerwood added: "We have to prove ourselves. It's going to be a hard game, but here in Edmonton, we have something to prove."
Fighting for Gold Cup spot
A strong showing in this match wouldn't exactly hurt a player's chances of being named to Canada's Gold Cup roster for July.
As noted, there are several youngsters on the Canadian roster, any number of whom could bolster their national team careers and possibly give Miller or whoever will coach the team in July something to think about when they're putting together the Gold Cup squad.
And then there are players such as Julian de Guzman. He's been recalled for international duty, in spite of Canada's youth movement and calls by supporters for the national team to sever ties with de Guzman and other national team veterans.
A solid performance by de Guzman could prove his value and show that he still has something to give to Canada.
"It's a great opportunity for a lot of the guys coming in here, getting this chance (to play) against an opponent like Costa Rica to showcase themselves," de Guzman said. "(Costa Rica) is one of the teams you do face when you want to qualify for a World Cup, so it's a good step in terms of rebuilding for the national team."
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Say what?
"The group's attitude has been fabulous, the (training) sessions we've had have been high tempo. Just the way I want them. The boys do look sharp and I'm confident we'll be competitive come Tuesday night." – Canadian coach Colin Miller.
"It is very exciting for me and my family to get to play here in Edmonton. I haven't played here since 2008, so I'm really excited and proud to play in front of my friends and family and for them to get to see me play live. I have a good group of them coming to the stadium tomorrow and I know they will cheer me on." — Canadian forward and Edmonton native Randy Edwini-Bonsu.
Facts and stats
– This will be Colin Miller's third game in charge of Canada this year as interim manager. He coached the team for a pair of friendlies back in January – a 4-0 loss to Denmark in Arizona and a 0-0 draw with the United States in Houston.
– Canada is 80th in the recent FIFA world rankings release on May 9. Costa Rica is 48th.
– Canada last faced Costa Rica in a 2-2 draw at the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup and has a record of four wins, seven draws and seven losses versus los Ticos dating back to 1985.
– The last time Canada played in Edmonton was in October of 2008 when it drew Mexico 2-2 in a World Cup qualifying match.
What's next
As of right now, Canada won't be in action again until this summer's CONCACAF Gold Cup, which runs from July 7 to 28. Canada is in a round-robin group with Mexico, Panama and Martinique.
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