Canadian coach Benito Floro says that he is not ready to increase expectations of his team ahead of the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup. After having taken charge of the Canadian national team in 2013,Floro has had only relative success.
The Spaniard has failed to lead his team to a victory in the last four friendly matches. Their last success in any competition came against Jamaica in a friendly match back in September 2014 when the team won 3-1 with goals from the likes of Edgar and De Jong. The Gold Cup does not start until July 2015. It is seen as the most important competition for North American teams.
Prior to this competition, Canada have matches against the likes of Guatemala in friendlies while British Virgin Islands or Dominica will be their opponents in the World Cup qualifying matches. One of the major difficulties for the Canadian national team is that some of the players are playing in the MLS while the remaining are playing in European football. This means that both groups are not equal in terms of fitness and energy levels.Floro reveals the tough task he has had to manage these two groups of players. The national team will be taking on Guatemala towards the end of March.
“It’s difficult, because half our players are in MLS, another half are in Europe, and there are some that aren’t with a club. So, when it comes to the physical questions, that’s difficult. That’s not in our control. So, what we are going to do is basically construct the training so that everyone winds up in the same place, regardless of where or if they’re playing regularly. That game could be a special occasion, but in my experience, the downside is that there’s a lot of pressure on the players,” said Floro.