Jeudi: Canada-Brésil

[François]

Qui va au match?
On se rencontre en quelque part pour souper?
Le match est à 19h00.

[Daniel]

Je devrais arriver vers la mi-temps (je finis de travailler à 19h, mais p-e un peu plus tôt).

[François]

Je devrais arriver vers la mi-temps (je finis de travailler à 19h, mais un p-e un peu plus tôt).

Cool, on se verra au stade. Je vais être avec Matt.

[François]

La Québécoise âgée de 16 ans, Véronique Maranda, a été rappelée d'Europe, où elle participait au camp d'entraînement de l'équipe canadienne de soccer des 19 ans et moins, afin de joindre les rangs de l'équipe nationale qui disputera un match hors concours contre le Brésil jeudi au Stade Percival-Molson.

Une des deux plus jeunes joueuses de la formation de l'entraîneur Even Pellerud, l'athlète de Saint-Lambert était ravie de ce changement de programme.

"Cette décision prouve qu'on a confiance en moi. Ça fait plaisir à entendre ", a-t-elle déclaré.

Une expérience hors de l'ordinaire pour Véronique Maranda

Celle qui occupe la position de milieu de terrain se trouvait en Italie, avec trois autres Québécoises (Josée Bélanger, Myriam Gousse et Justine Labrecque), dans le cadre d'une tournée de parties amicales contre l'Italie et l'Allemagne, quand on lui a demandé de revenir à Montréal.

"On m'avait parlé de cette possibilité avant de partir pour l'Europe. C'est une bonne nouvelle, même si je serai pas sur la formation partante de 11 joueuses. On apprend toujours plus vite au contact de joueuses de haut niveau. C'est plus vite c'est sûr, c'est plus difficile, mais on s'améliore plus rapidement", a fait remarquer la seule Québécoise au sein de l'équipe.

Le match, le premier d'une série de deux, aura lieu jeudi à 19h au stade de l'Université McGill, domicile des Alouettes. La deuxième rencontre se déroulera à Ottawa, dimanche à 19h.

Deux fois, le Canada a affronté le Brésil en match hors concours et deux fois il a subi la défaite: 2-1 le 4 juillet 1996 et 4-2 le 4 juin 1999.

[Daniel]

Veterans missing as Canadian women brace for pre-World Cup test vs. Brazil

http://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/shownews ... t=s071625A

posted July 16 @ 12:45, EST

MONTREAL (CP) - Some key veterans will be missing when the Canadian women's soccer team faces Brazil in the first of a pair of World Cup warm-up matches on Thursday night.

Forwards Charmaine Hooper, Christine Latham and Christine Sinclair and defenders Breanna Boyd and Sharolta Nonen, all established national team players, will be missing for the friendly match on the new FieldTurf surface at Molson Stadium. Hooper, an Ottawa native, and Latham, are expected to be in the lineup for a second match against Brazil on Sunday at Frank Clair Stadium in Ottawa.

Even Pellerud, the Norwegian head coach of the national women's side, said it will be a big test for some of the younger players battling for trips to the World Cup Sept. 20 to Oct. 12 in the United States.

"You always want to test your full team," said Pellerud after a workout this week. "But at the same time, it's nice to see how some of the players below the starters are developing."

Hooper, a national team member since 1986 with 56 goals in 97 international matches, could not make the Montreal game due to commitments to her club team the Atlanta Beat.

In Ottawa on Sunday, Hooper is to be honoured at halftime in anticipation of her becoming the first Canadian with 100 caps, which she is expected to reach in a pair of exhibition games against Mexico on Aug. 31 in Edmonton and Sept. 4 in Vancouver.

Boyd, from Edmonton, is out with a concussion suffered in a league match last Saturday, while Nonen, from Vancouver, has a hamstring injury.

Latham, who is from Calgary, will not arrive in time for the Montreal game due to club commitments, while Pellerud said Sinclair, from Burnaby, B.C., was ill and will be out of action for a week.

Goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc of Maple Ridge, B.C., will play in Montreal but won't be available for the game in Ottawa.

But not all the veterans will be missing. Midfielder Andrea Neil of Vancouver, with 81 caps, will lead the young Canadian side against the highly skilled Brazilians.

And with so many veteran forwards out, 16-year-old phenom Kara Lang of Oakville, Ont., could get a chance to shine.

"They are key players, for sure, but we played without them in practice this week and did pretty well," said Lang. "Although they'll be missed, we're still a strong team.

"We're in the last stages before the World Cup. Everybody knows Brazil is a good team. We're looking at a hard game."

Brazil is coming off a 1-0 loss to the defending World Cup champion United States in New Orleans on Sunday, when its star striker Pretinha was carried off in the first half with a knee injury.

While Pellerud described Brazil as "fancy, tricky, smart, cynical and, of course, with lots of skill and speed," Lang felt Canada could exploit their one weakness - a lack of on-field discipline.

"I don't think they really play for each other," said Lang, who faced Brazil in a hard-fought semifinal at the under-19 championships last year in Edmonton. "They have excellent individual skills, unmatched in the world, but if we can exploit their lack of discipline it could be to our advantage."

A crowd of more than 12,000 is expected at Molson Stadium, a sign of how the popularity of soccer for both men and women has picked up in Canada in recent years.

Neil recalled playing in nearly empty parks not so long ago.

"Everything has been on a growth curve since Even took over (in 2000)," said Neil. "We started getting results on the field, which was exciting for us.

"Now it seems the country has caught on. For as long as I've been with the team, that was never the case, so this is really an exciting time."

The World Cup draw is set for Thursday in Carson, Calif., to determine the four groups of four teams each to play in the first round.

Other teams to qualify for the 16-country tournament are the U.S., Brazil, Argentina, North Korea, South Korea, China, Japan, Nigeria, Ghana, Australia, Germany, Norway, Russia, Sweden and France.

It is the third consecutive time Canada has qualified for the women's World Cup, but this time some see them as a dark horse favourite to reach the final, which brought a smile to Pellerud.

"That is a long shot," he said. "It's nice to hear these things because it means we have reached a new level, but now, the big exam is coming.

"Only the World Cup games will show how many steps we have taken. I think we can beat anyone, but can we beat them again and again, as you have to do at the World Cup? We don't know yet."

Canada lost both previous matches against Brazil, 2-1 in 1996 and 4-2 in 1999.