Canada names 60-man preliminary roster for next month’s Gold Cup
Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David highlight Canada’s preliminary 60-man roster for next month’s Gold Cup.
The final 23-man squad will be confirmed prior to the July 2 start of the tournament’s 12-country preliminary round, which will determine the final three entries in the 16-team main field that includes Qatar as a guest side. After that, roster changes will only be allowed “in the event of force majeure or injury” up until 24 hours before each team’s group stage first match.
Canada opens Group B play against Martinique on July 10 before facing a preliminary-round survivor on July 15 and the U.S. on July 18. All three matches will be in Kansas City.
Choosing the final roster will be a challenge given the delicate balance between club and country, especially in a congested schedule due to the pandemic. But it seems clear that coach John Herdman will look to assemble as strong a squad as possible to continue Canada’s progress and get as much time with his players ahead of the final round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying that starts in September.