The leap year has brought a treat to fans of the Canadian men's national team: A friendly against Armenia on Feb. 29 at a neutral venue in Cyprus. Rumours had circulated that Canada would play New Zealand in London this date, and head coach Stephen Hart confirmed that this was originally the team's plan.
"But that fell through due to some complications," Hart said on Tuesday.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
Instead, Les Rouges will square off against a mid-level European team, following a trend established in the past few years with games against the likes of Ukraine, Macedonia and Belarus. Hart said he expects to use predominantly in-form European-based players for the game -- though as always, those plans are subject to change if circumstances warrant.
Atiba Hutchinson, still recovering from surgery, is unlikely to be one of those players, according to Hart. As for Josh Simpson, who parted ways with his Turkish club earlier on Tuesday, "we'll play that one by ear." Hart said he has his eye on "one or two" European-based players on the fringes of the national team for potential call-ups, but declined to provide names.
With a short, three-day FIFA international window, Hart said playing the game at a neutral venue was a "logistical necessity" more than a deliberate choice. But given the difficulty Canada often has in scheduling games at all -- and considering that the original plan fell apart -- Hart was just thankful to have an opportunity to get most of his players together in a competitive environment.
"I'm really happy we've got a game to play," said Hart. "The opposition is an excellent one."
As of Tuesday, Canada sits at #72 in the FIFA world rankings, while Armenia is at #46; however, FIFA is set to update the men's world rankings on Wednesday. This is the first-ever meeting between the senior men's teams of the two nations, and Hart described the Armenian squad as a "really effective attacking team" and "very tricky, very dynamic."
The Feb. 29 game will be Canada's last chance to play a full international friendly prior to the resumption of World Cup qualifying in June. Hart couldn't say what his plans for the team would be in the intervening gap, but was thankful to have this opportunity to "have some one-on-ones with players" about his plans for qualifying.
Our men's national team resumes its World Cup qualifying campaign on June 8 in Cuba, then returns home to play Honduras on June 12. The venues for Canada's three scheduled home qualifiers in 2012 are yet to be announced, though the CSA has hinted that such details should be available next month.
Canada will need to finish first or second in its four-team group (which also includes Panama) this year in order to advance to the final round of regional World Cup qualifying in 2013.