Canada will face an exhausted Haiti in the Gold Cup on Thursday, with seven Haitian players missing due to COVID-19.
After five players and an assistant coach tested positive, Haiti wore only 17 players in Sunday’s 1-0 loss to the United States.
Coach Jean-Jacques Pierre said on Wednesday that two other players were unable to play.
“Every time we learn something, we will take the necessary measures to protect the other members of the team and continue to prepare for this game,” Pierre said through a virtual available translator.
Canadian coach John Hedman expressed sympathy for Haiti’s plight.
“The actual implementation of these (COVID-19) agreements is not easy. It is very difficult for the players,” he said. “Also, once the virus enters the environment, it is difficult to control. We are very lucky here. We have a lot of medical staff and they focus on it. But I know some teams, they just don’t have enough resources.
“I do feel about Haiti. They have lost some good players. I know one thing about Haiti is that they always show up. It doesn’t matter who is on the court. Passion, pride, and battle always come. For us The key is not to fall into the trap of underestimating this Haitian team. I don’t think you can take any Haitian team lightly.”
Haitian captain Ricardo Ade showed this contempt.
He said through an interpreter: “Some people have been affected by COVID, but we still remain focused and motivated.”
“We will fight (Thursday). With victory, we will make the Haitian people smile again,” he added.
Hedman said that all his players will play on Thursday, with the exception of Ross County midfielder Harry Parton, who is still working to resolve the COVID agreement arising from his cooperation with the Scottish club.
When the 70th Canadian man met in the North American and Caribbean World Cup qualifier series last month, he defeated 83rd Haiti with a total score of 4-0. The Canadian team has a 9-2-2 record against Haiti in history. One of the losses was a 3-2 loss in the quarterfinals of the 2019 Gold Cup-this game Canada led 2-0.
The Canadian team defeated unranked Martinique 4-1 in the first game on Sunday, and ended the Group B match against the 20th-ranked American on Sunday. All group matches in Canada are held at the Children’s Charity Park in Kansas City, Kansas.
Although Canada showed composure after conceding a goal to Martinique in the 10th minute, it received 6 warnings in the process. The second yellow card against Haiti will force Stephen Eustacchio, Marc-Anthony Kaye, Steven Victoria, Liam Fraser, Lucas Cavallini and Alistair El Johnston and others withdrew from the US team.
“This is really a tricky situation,” Herdman said. “But I think (Thursday) this is a game we have to win. You know if you win the second game, it will give you complete control. Usually it will get you to the quarter-finals and allow you to Consider these factors in the third game. Although the third game is the United States, I believe everyone wants to participate in the game.”
“We will send the best team tactically to win the game, and then’que sera, sera’-anything that happens in that game will happen,” he added. “Before we start thinking about yellow cards and rotation, we need to make sure we get the result and we feel comfortable.”
In Haiti’s 4-1 victory over Bermuda in the first round, Franzdi Pierrot, who scored 3 goals in 11 minutes, did not wear clothes in the game against the United States, and played for France’s second-tier Guingamp. Eero has scored 4 goals. game.
The last club of Haiti’s Dukens Nazon is Belgium’s Sint-Truiden, and it does play against the United States. Canada will remember Nathan, he scored the first goal and created the third goal in the 2019 Haiti game against Canada. He scored three goals in this tournament.
Canadians did not help their careers in the 2019 loss. The first goal conceded came from a bad return, and the second came from a penalty spot. Alfonso Davis lost the man he targeted in the third goal.
Atiba Hutchinson scored a potentially late goal from Davis’ free kick and was sentenced for offside.
read more: Canada loses Alfonso Davis due to injury in training before the Gold Cup
Watch below: some global news videos about Alfonso Davis.
Former Vancouver White Caps Bryan Silvestre (Bryan Silvestre) now plays for USL’s Miami Football Club, helping the Haiti team make several major saves in the game against the United States. The 6-foot-5 goalkeeper is a former U.S. youth international and is a product of the White Hats’ residency program.
The Central, North American and Caribbean Regional Championships have 16 teams, including the 2022 World Cup host Qatar as a guest team, which will continue throughout the United States until August 1. Haiti must survive the tournament’s preliminaries and defeat Saint Vincent and Green Naddings and Bermuda can advance to the main field.
© 2021 Canadian Press
