Injured veteran Scott misses out on CONCACAF championship
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 on 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. “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 on his 20woman squad for the eightcountry tournament that runs Oct. 4-17 in North Carolina and Texas.
The 18-year-old Regan is joined by forward Jordyn Huitema (17), Julia Grosso (18) and Gabrielle Carle and Deanne Rose (both 19). Carle and Rose were members of Canada’s 2016 Olympic bronze medallists and already have 42 caps between them.
“They’re definitely showing us, the coaching staff and the rest, that the future of this national team, also after the World Cup, after the Olympics, is looking very promising,” Heiner-Moller said.
There is no shortage of experience with a combined 1,331 caps (for an average of 66.5) on the squad. 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 that Canada is a combined 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, playing in Cary, N.C., features the topranked U.S., No. 25 Mexico, No. 50 Trinidad and Tobago, and Panama, which is unranked because it has been inactive for more than 18 months.
The top three finishers qualify for the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France while the fourthplace team will meet Argentina in a playoff.