Canada Prepares for Uzbekistan Tuneup

By Daniel Feuerstein | Edmonton, AB | June 1st

Canada’s Men’s National Team is getting ready to face a tough Uzbekistan side as both teams are preparing for their World Cup journey on June 11th, in North America. Both sides should be excited to play in these tuneups this week. After announcing the roster, Head Coach Jesse Marsch is excited to get underway after his training camp in Charlotte, North Carolina, to get ready for their difficult group against Bosnia and Herzegovina, Qatar & Switzerland in Group B.

Marcelo Flores is done for the World Cup

On Saturday, May 30th, Marcelo Flores was playing for his club side UANL Tigres against Toluca in the CONCACAF Champions Cup final, and came on the pitch as a second-half substitute. was playing in a scoreless match at the time. When Flores entered the match in the 76th minute, he was a spark for Tigres to create chances inside the Toluca area. 13 minutes later, inside the Toluca area, Flores tried to make a move, made a turn, but his left leg was stuck, and he fell immediately. A close-up shot of his face showed the look of horror on it as he knew his night was done. After the match, his club announced Flores suffered a torn ACL and was done for Canada. Now, Marsch has the task of replacing Flores from the roster.

“So we’re obviously disappointed for him. You know, all the guys have been asking about him all last night and all this morning. I was trying to give updates to the team on where things were at. We were all fearing that he wouldn’t. That he would have something like this because it obviously didn’t look like a good injury, but we were our hearts with him. He’s in good spirits. He’s already focused on you know moving forward and getting himself healthy for the future, and I told him, if he ever wanted to come and see us after he got a surgery and be around the team for parts of the World Cup when we’re together, that he’s more than welcome. He loves the team. He said he would love to do that, and he said one of his favorite things to do is be with this team. So, yeah, we’re thinking about him, and we’re devastated for him,” said Jesse Marsch

The pitch at Commonwealth Stadium

Canada will be playing this match at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, and they have laid down a fresh grass pitch, as the playing surface has always been field turf or the old astroturf. They will have a great chance to play on the natural surface, just like they will when they host their three group stage matches in Toronto and Vancouver. The National Team is very excited to get underway and can’t wait to play this first friendly.

“It looks pretty good from here, so hopefully it holds up. We were told that they were investing a lot into making sure that this would be a pitch that would play at a high level, so we’re hopeful still that… The rain is coming down, but it’s not so hard, and hopefully it won’t be puddling or anything, but we’ll use today to evaluate uh, what the pitch feels like and then make some decisions on what we think for our very quickly,” said Marsch

Injured players making a return for minutes

It was a difficult year for Canada, as some of their top players have been injured and are just coming back from injury to play, or still need some time to get back to training, but without a doubt, they are the most important players to be on the squad. Ali Ahmed, Jacob Shaffelburg, Alphonso Davies, and many more. Marsch knows that the training will be intense during this World Cup, and is preparing these players for the two friendly matches against Uzbekistan and the Republic of Ireland. So it will be a good moment to see where the 26-man roster is at and what they will do.

“Boys should be ready to go. Most of our guys should be ready to go. Ali Ahmed, we think it’s a little bit too early, so he’ll need a little bit more time. Jacob Schaffelberg will need a little bit more time. And Alfonso joins us tonight at 11 p. m., so we’re all excited for him to get here. It’ll be late, but he’ll be with us, so that’ll be great. We’re looking really good. The training has been really dynamic and sharp. It’s easy to focus on the injuries, especially in the exterior, externally, because that’s a big talking point, but internally, I think there’s a real drive and concentration and focus to make sure that we’re getting the most out of everything. And then using every moment to prepare. We’re not building any excuses. We’re not letting anybody tell the story about us. We’re telling the story about us. We’re going to make sure that we’re the drivers of the success, that we’re the drivers of the expectation, and that’s the way our focus has been every day,” said Marsch

Estaquio & Davies make Canada dynamic

While every player is important to Canada’s success in the World Cup, the two most important players, as many know, are midfielder Stephane Eustaquio and the Captain of the National Team, Alphonso Davies. Estaquio came over to LAFC on loan from FC Porto, but developed an injury that sidelined him for several games. He was able to get back into shape, then returned to Porto. Davies, of course, suffered an injury over at Bayern Munich, but has been returning to full fitness. Hopefully, these two will be ready to go when they have their first kick in Toronto.

“I think we need a player like that in our group, somebody who has been through these types of games and tournaments, and I think, with the quality he has, he’s ready to step up. As a leader as well, show us the way. I mean, for me, as a personal opinion, I just can’t wait for him to be ready to help us push this tournament because we really need him. I think he’s one of the players on our team. There aren’t many, but there are a couple that really can make us go far in this tournament. So yeah, I hope he recovers well. We’re going to be here with him to support him along the way. Yeah, and I just can’t wait. I’ll say one of the best things about the relationships with Steph, Alphonso, and the team.

Text me more about Alfonso and how Alfonso’s doing, and, you know, checking in on him and how his injuries are. You know, more than anyone. And so he knows, and, you know, his comments to me are that he’s the difference maker in our team. You know, the guy who can really help us be great. And so we all see that. We all know that, and we’re excited for him to get back.”‘ said Marsch

The first big test in this tune-up week for the World Cup is Uzbekistan. Of course, there will be a huge crowd in Edmonton as they hope to see their favorite son play and to root for the National Team as well, to see what they can do before their first match on Friday Afternoon, June 12th, comes into play. This will be exciting to watch, and the hope is for a long road to qualify out of the group stage and play in the knockout stages for the first time in their third World Cup tournament.

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