It wasn't until earlier this week that the men's national team's friendly against Belarus on March 29 was officially finalized, but it's taken the CSA mere days to produce the 18-man lineup for that encounter. Coach Stephen Hart intentionally went with a mostly European-based lineup for the last friendly (against Greece on February 9), and with Major League Soccer still not recognizing FIFA international dates, it'll be a similar situation when Canada takes on Belarus for the first time at the end of the month:
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
1- GK- Lars Hirschfeld | NOR / Vålerenga Fotball
2- D- Jaime Peters | ENG / Ipswich Town FC
3- M- Mike Klukowski | TUR / MKE Ankaragücü
4- CB- Kevin McKenna | GER / FC Köln
5- D- André Hainault | USA / Houston Dynamo
6- M- Pedro Pacheco | POR / CD Santa Clara
7- D- Paul Stalteri | GER / Borussia Monchengladbach
8- M- Will Johnson | USA / Real Salt Lake
9- F- Rob Friend | GER / Hertha BSC
10- M- Simeon Jackson | ENG / Norwich City FC
11- M- Josh Simpson | TUR / Vestel Manisaspor
12- CB- Adam Straith | GER / FC Energie Cottbus
13- M- Atiba Hutchinson | NED / PSV Eindhoven
14- D- David Edgar | ENG / Burnley FC
15- DF- Nik Ledgerwood | GER / SV Wehen Wiesbaden
16- M/F- Tosaint Ricketts | ROM / FC Politehnica Timisoara
17- M- Jonathan Beaulieu-Bourgault | GER / SC Preußen Münster
22- GK- Milan Borjan | SRB / FK Rad
Quick notes:
- Mike Klukowski is back! This is terrific news, as the fullback had been off international duty for a while, most recently attending to unspecified personal issues. But his reappearance on the senior roster is a great addition ahead of the Gold Cup
- Paul Stalteri is, once again, back. You have to imagine he'll ride the bench (with Klukowski and Peters starting as fullbacks), but no doubt his selection will cause some controversy amongst Canadian fans.
- Pedro Pacheco has, in about a year's time, gone from "who the hell is that?" to a regular (and expected) selection on the Canadian team. Hart has to get some credit there.
- Good to see we're carrying a third keeper (Jonathan Beaulieu-Bourgault).
- Interesting that Hainault got the call over Dejan Jakovic; though perhaps Houston was just more accommodating than D.C. United felt like being.
What do you think? Is this the best squad Hart could have picked? Any glaring omissions?
.