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Canada coach Jesse Marsh will hold a 10-day January camp in California for North American players ahead of a friendly against Guatemala.
The camp will take place from January 8-18 in Irvine, California, and the game against No. 94 Guatemala will take place on January 17 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
Since European players are limited to domestic club competitions, the camp is intended for off-season North American players.
According to Canada Soccer, the match in Guatemala will be classified as a Tier 1 international match and will count towards the FIFA men's world rankings.
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The Canadians have a score to settle with Guatemala after they crashed out of the Gold Cup in June, losing 6-5 on penalties in the quarterfinals in Minneapolis. The game ended 1-1 in the 90th minute, with Canada reduced to 10 players after striker Jacob Schaffelburg was sent off in first-half stoppage time.
After six rounds of penalty shootout, the score was 5:5, Canadian defender Luc de Fougerolles hit the crossbar. Jose Morales came out and beat Dane St. Clair to send Guatemala into the semifinals.
Canada's record against Guatemala is 10-2-3 (including the recent Gold Cup loss). The Canadian men's previous losses to the Central Americans came in World Cup qualifying: 2-0 in August 2004 in Burnaby, British Columbia, and 1-0 in October 1998 in Guatemala.
With only two FIFA international windows before the start of the World Cup on June 11, March 23-31 and June 1-9, the January camp is another chance for Marsh to spend time with at least some of his players.
“This camp provides a valuable opportunity for a group of our North American players to come together, spend time in our environment and continue their development as we prepare for the important year ahead,” Marsh said in a statement. “The match against Guatemala adds an important competitive component and helps the players build and maintain fitness ahead of pre-season games.”
The 27th-ranked Canadians will open the World Cup on June 12 at BMO Field in Toronto against the winner of the European playoffs.
