Canada loses midfielder for CONCACAF
The breaks have not gone Canada’s way in the buildup to the CONCACAF Women’s Championship, which doubles as a World Cup qualifying tournament. Veteran midfielder Desiree Scott, a 135-cap veteran known as The Destroyer, was injured during the first day of training camp in Texas.
Her foot was stepped on during a tackle, resulting in a small bone fragment coming loose.
The 31-year-old from Winnipeg is expected to be out six to eight weeks. “We’re pretty happy it’s not a long-term injury, but it’s very sad for Des,” Canada coach Kenneth Heiner-Moller said from Texas. “She definitely wanted to be in this tournament.
“And it’s, of course, a setback for us. But we’ve got great players ... Somebody else will step up.” Vancouver defender Shannon Woeller, meanwhile, broke her arm on the eve of the Sept. 2 friendly win over Brazil in Ottawa. Heiner-Moller has included uncapped Emma Regan and four other teenagers in his 20-woman squad for the eight-country tournament that runs from Oct. 4 to 17 in North Carolina and Texas. The 18-year-old Regan is joined by forward Jordyn Huitema (17), Julia Grosso (18), Gabrielle Carle and Deanne Rose ( both 19). With 269 caps, captain Christine Sinclair is one of four centurions along with Diana Matheson (196), Sophie Schmidt (172) and Erin McLeod (116). Fifth-ranked Canada will play out of Edinburg, Texas, in a group with No. 33 Costa Rica, No. 71 Jamaica and No. 85 Cuba — teams Canada is 19-0-0 against and has outscored 90-6.
Canada opens Oct. 5 against Jamaica before facing Cuba on Oct. 8 and Costa Rica on Oct 11. The other group features the top-ranked U.S., No. 25 Mexico, No. 50 Trinidad and Tobago, and unranked Panama. The top three finishers qualify for the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France, while the fourth-place team will meet Argentina in a playoff to see who joins them.