Canada won't have much time to rpepare for the big showdown with Greece.
These Wednesday friendlies on quick, international dates are tough ones. There's hardly any time to get much accomplished but when you have an opportunity to play quality opposition, you don't turn it down.
Be that as it may, here's a rough itinerary of what Canada is facing in the lead up to their match with Greece, on Feb. 9.
Since everyone plays this weekend, the players will be filtering into Greece on Sunday and Monday.
They'll gather in Thessaloniki, which is a two-hour drive from the venue, for the game in Larissa. They'll bus to Larissa that day and have a light workout on Monday.
Finally on Tuesday, they'll have a full session on the stadium pitch and that's it. Only one full session to prepare for a match against the 11th-ranked team in the world.
I know the rankings are bogus, but Greece is a pretty good squad.
After that, the team disperses and awaits some better news for the FIFA date between Mar. 25 and 29. In actual fact, it becomes a 10-day window because of the way league matches fall on the bookend weekends.
As a result, there has a yet to be an announcement for where Canada's friendly will be played but expect it to be somewhere in Europe on neutral soil.
I can't remember the last time that happened but it will afford a much better opportunity for Stephen Hart to employ his strategy, in preparation for the upcoming Gold Cup in June.
As for Canada's squad heading to Greece, the roster is set, with only Patrice Bernier unable to make the trip due to injury. Stay tuned for more news on our coverage of this match.
