Canada will face a depleted Haiti at the Gold Cup on Thursday with seven Haitian players sidelined by COVID-19.
Haiti dressed just 17 players Sunday in a 1-0 loss to the U.S. after five players and one assistant coach returned positive test results.
Coach Jean-Jacques Pierre said Wednesday that two more players were unavailable.
B次元官网网址淲e took the measures necessary every time we learn something to protect the rest of the group and continue to prepare (for) this competition,B次元官网网址� Pierre said through an interpreter in a virtual availability.
Canada coach John Herdman was sympathetic to HaitiB次元官网网址檚 plight.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not easy to actually live those (COVID) protocols B次元官网网址� ItB次元官网网址檚 difficult for players,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淎nd again, once the virus is in an environment, itB次元官网网址檚 very hard to contain. WeB次元官网网址檙e fortunate here. We have a lot of medical staff, people that are focused on it. But I know some teams, they just donB次元官网网址檛 have the depth of resources.
B次元官网网址淚 do feel for Haiti. TheyB次元官网网址檝e lost some good players B次元官网网址� One thing I know about Haiti is they always show up. It doesnB次元官网网址檛 matter whoB次元官网网址檚 on the pitch. The passion, the pride, the battle always comes. The critical part for us is the mentality of not falling into that trap of taking this Haitian team lightly. I donB次元官网网址檛 think you can take any Haitian team lightly.B次元官网网址�
Haiti captain Ricardo Ade showed that defiance.
B次元官网网址淭here are people affected by COVID but we remain concentrated and motivated,B次元官网网址� he said through an interpreter.
B次元官网网址淲e will fight (Thursday) B次元官网网址� With a victory we will make the people of Haiti smile again,B次元官网网址� he added.
Herdman said all of his players will be available Thursday with the exception of Ross County midfielder Harry Paton, who is still working his way through COVID protocols arising from time with his Scottish club.
The 70th-ranked Canadian men defeated No. 83 Haiti 4-0 on aggregate when they met in a two-legged CONCACAF World Cup qualifying series last month. Canada is 9-2-2 all-time against Haiti, with one of the losses a 3-2 defeat in the 2019 Gold Cup quarterfinals B次元官网网址� a game that saw the Canadians blow a 2-0 lead.
Canada, which downed unranked Martinique 4-1 in its opening match Sunday, wraps up Group B play Sunday against the 20th-ranked Americans. All of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 group matches are at ChildrenB次元官网网址檚 Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas.
While Canada showed composure in recovering from conceding a 10th-minute goal to Martinique, it received six cautions along the way. A second yellow against Haiti would force the likes of Stephen Eustaquio, Mark-Anthony Kaye, Steven Vitoria, Liam Fraser, Lucas Cavallini and Alistair Johnston out of the U.S. game.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 really a tricky situation,B次元官网网址� said Herdman. B次元官网网址淏ut I think (Thursday) itB次元官网网址檚 a game we must win. You know if you win that second game, it puts you in complete control. Typically it puts you in the quarterfinal and it allows you to make those considerations in Game 3, although Game 3 is the U.S., which IB次元官网网址檓 sure every man will want to play in that.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檒l put the best team out there tactically to win the game and B次元官网网址榪ue sera, seraB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� whatever happens in that match will happen,B次元官网网址� he added. B次元官网网址淲e need to make sure we get the result and weB次元官网网址檙e comfortable before we can start thinking about yellow cards and rotating.B次元官网网址�
Frantzdy Pierrot, who scored three goals in 11 minutes in HaitiB次元官网网址檚 preliminary-round 4-1 win over Bermuda, was among those who did not dress against the U.S. Pierrot, who plays for Guingamp in FranceB次元官网网址檚 second-tier, has four goals already at the tournament.
HaitiB次元官网网址檚 Duckens Nazon, whose last club was BelgiumB次元官网网址檚 Sint-Truiden, did play against the Americans. Canada will remember Nazon, who scored the opening goal and set up the third in HaitiB次元官网网址檚 comeback win against Canada in 2019. He has three goals at this tournament.
The Canadians did not help their own cause in the 2019 loss. The first goal conceded came from a poor back pass while the second was from the penalty spot. Alphonso Davies lost the man he was marking on the third goal.
A potential late tying goal by Atiba Hutchinson, off a Davies free kick, was called offside.
Former Vancouver Whitecap Bryan Silvestre, now with the USLB次元官网网址檚 Miami FC, helped keep Haiti in the game against the U.S. with several big saves. The six-foot-five keeper, a former U.S. youth international, is a product of the Whitecaps residency program.
The CONCACAF championship, which features 16 teams including 2022 World Cup host Qatar as a guest entry, runs through Aug. 1 across the U.S. Haiti had to survive the tournamentB次元官网网址檚 preliminary round, defeating St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Bermuda, to reach the main field.
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
Like us on and follow us on .
Want to support local journalism? Make a donation
